Follow Me
SERMON PREACHED JANUARY 25, 2026
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A
THE COLLECT; ISAIAH 9:6-7[1]; PSALM 27:1, 5-13; MATTHEW 4:12-23
From the Collect: Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation…
Now when Jesus hears that John has been arrested, this crisis moment sends him into retreat. Jesus withdraws from the crowds of John’s followers. He is on the cusp of initiating his ministry, but needs first to reflect on the differences between John’s work and his own.
John preached the prophets, those who alerted faithful Israel to the coming of a messiah, who would be powerful and gracious above all others. We heard these prophesies from Isaiah during Advent and Christmas: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
With this in view, how exactly will Jesus’ own ministry develop? If John preached the prophets, and Jesus and his coming was who and what they prophesied, what will be the message of the Messiah, and what will be his works? Certainly, Jesus will be stepping into the prophesies laid out before him. But in what way?
Seeking clarity and wisdom, Jesus withdraws to Capernaum. This is a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, a dynasty Hellenistic in culture and ruling from about 140 to 37 BCE. The village was located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In Jesus’ time, Capernaum it had a population of about 1,500.
On his retreat, Jesus might well be praying Psalm 27:
One thing have I asked of the Lord;
one thing I seek; *
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;
To behold the fair beauty of the Lord *
and to seek him in his temple.
There, in the beauty and peace of the Lord, Jesus restores his soul. Perhaps, like many folks, he finds special solace and uplift in treading the seashore, making footprints in the sand, feeling the water lap at his feet, picking up an especially lovely seashell. He begins to envision his ministry.
For us as well, when critical moments shake our lives, and we seek wisdom and understanding, it is in the presence of God where we may find it. We may come to St. Francis Church, or perhaps to the Trinity Center at the beach, and in these sacred places ask God to provide what we desperately need, yet perhaps do not know how to articulate. Or we may feel that our need is impossible to fulfill or undeserved. Yet, when we knock, the door of God’s holy presence will be opened to us. Like Jesus, we may withdraw and rest in the fair beauty of the Lord.
In Jesus’ case, the very first thing he does in his new ministry is proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near! But in order to enter the Kingdom, Jesus insists, one must first repent. A reorienting of life must occur. A first crucial time, then again and again, one must persevere in resisting evil and return to the Lord. This done, we are fully liberated to embrace the good news of God in Christ. We enter the Kingdom of God.
Next, Jesus needs companions on his journey. He needs close friends to teach, friends who will follow wherever he leads. So, walking by the seashore, Jesus sees two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew. As they cast their fishing nets into the sea, something about them strikes Jesus and he calls them. “Follow me,” he says. Correspondingly, something about Jesus strikes the brothers — for they do not hesitate, or discuss the possibility between them, or question Jesus. They just drop their nets and follow this strangely compelling man. “I will make you fish for people,” Jesus enigmatically tells them.
A little further on, Jesus spies another pair of brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee. All three men crouch in their boat, for they also are fishermen, painstakingly mending their nets. When Jesus calls the brothers to follow, immediately they drop what they are doing. They leave their father and the boat and the nets, and traipse after Jesus into the unknown.
The immediacy of Peter and Andrew, James and John’s response to Jesus’ call is stunning. They are fully engaged in their livings and settled in their families. But suddenly, things change! They follow the one who calls them. Jesus has this effect on people. When we recognize a call to follow him in a particular way, it can be so intense that nothing else matters! We must respond, and our life changes. If your faith is more calm than intense, don’t worry: your faith is true nonetheless.
Now, the parts of Jesus’ ministry are in place. With his disciples – the number grows – Jesus meanders throughout “Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”
Jesus’ ministry matures, throughout the three years he gives to it before powers and principalities crush the revolution he has begun. Throughout, his voice remains consistent. He preaches a loving God, whose kingdom will have no end, and whose reign of justice and mercy contradicts and overthrows secular rulers. He preaches a kingdom of peace and plenty, of health and friendship. No one is left out. Even little children find a special place in the kingdom.
Now, as we just sang, Jesus calls us over the tumult our life’s wild, restless sea. Day by day his clear voice sounds, saying, Christian, follow me.
It is a joy to hear that clear voice of Jesus. Sometimes, it is a mysterious thing, to discern what he wants you to know, calls you to do. But listening carefully, the call will become clear, and it will change your life.
Notice that Jesus calls followers, plural, so that together we can learn how to proclaim and live in the Kingdom of God. This is why we have church, the body of Christ: we discern together, and learn together and live together into the call of Jesus.
Together we grow in faith and serve with joy.
THANKS BE TO GOD. Amen.