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Third Sunday (A)
Matthew 4:12-23

In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells us about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. That ministry begins when Jesus moves from his hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum, a small fishing village on the Sea of Galilee. This is a surprising choice of place for first proclaiming the extraordinary message about the coming of God’s kingdom that Jesus had come to share with all humanity. You would have expected him to head for Jerusalem. If Jesus had grown up in Framingham, it would be as if he decided to move to a small town on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee rather than moving to Boston.

Just as surprising are the people he decided to call to help him in his work. Rather than asking for the help of high priests and educated scribes, he walks down to the seashore and recruits four guys who make their living as fishermen. They’re two sets of brothers: Peter and Andrew, and James and John. It’s doubtful they’ve even graduated from high school. If he’d grown up in Framingham, it would be as if Jesus hired day laborers rather than recruiting graduates from Boston College.

Most surprising of all is that the four fishermen whom Jesus called dropped everything in order to follow him. They all left their jobs, and two of them, James and John, walked away from their father and their boat. They abandoned the family business. And it’s not as if Jesus offered them lucrative long-term contracts. He simply said: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Why did these four men follow Jesus? What did they see in him that would’ve caused them to give up their livelihood and leave their families in order travel with Jesus throughout Galilee and Judea? Matthew doesn’t tell us why they followed Jesus, but Jesus must have said or done something that awakened in them a sense of hope and a desire to be with him even if that involved some big sacrifices on their part.

We do know that Jesus preached in the local synagogue in Capernaum, and Peter and the others must have heard him there. Jesus brought a message of hope. God has not forgotten us. God loves us. God’s kingdom is at hand. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah in describing the impact that Jesus’ preaching must have had on them:

“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, On those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death Light has arisen.”

What about us? Does Jesus still call people to follow him today? Does Jesus call us to follow him? The answer to that question is an unequivocal “yes.” Of course, he’s not here in the flesh today to preach at St. George as he did in the synagogue at Capernaum. And don’t expect him to walk up to you if you’re fishing some summer day at Coast Guard beach down on the Cape. But Jesus is truly with us in this day and age, and he still calls each of us to follow him just as he called his first apostles. Now, though, that call comes indirectly. Perhaps it comes through someone we know, our parents or a teacher or a friend. Or perhaps we hear Jesus call us through the scriptures that we read, or through a unique combination of people and events that speaks only to us. Today’s Gospel makes it clear that Jesus is in love with ordinary people, and he wants to be with us in whatever out-of-the-way place we live.

Here’s the important thing to remember, though. Like the four fishermen, we have to be willing to say “yes” when Jesus calls us. Jesus calls people, but he does not coerce them into saying “yes” to his call. Sad to say, many ignore his call or, even worse, flatly reject it. When Jesus calls, we need to follow the advice of the Psalmist who said, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Those who do say “yes” to Jesus should be ready for adventure. Peter could never have imagined that his “yes” would take him from a fishing village in Galilee to the head of a worldwide church in Rome. Most of us, thankfully, will not experience that kind of drama, but the life of a Christian is a life open to the kind of surprises that only God can give.

Finally, the followers of Jesus are a people filled with hope. To follow Jesus is to travel in the presence of a great light. No matter how dark things may get at various points on our life journeys, we know that at the end of the day Jesus will bring us safely to new life in God’s kingdom. So if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. And buckle your seat belts so you’ll be ready for the ride.