CHRIST’S MISSION & MINISTRY
Psalm 27:1, 4-9; Matthew 4:12-23
3rd Sunday after Epiphany, January 22, 2023
The Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams
On this third Sunday after Epiphany, we meet Jesus as he begins his public ministry in Galilee.
Matthew tells us that when Jesus learns John the Baptist has been arrested, he withdraws to Galilee. Where was Jesus precisely before verse 12? He was in the wilderness recovering from his encounter with Satan. “Withdraw” is an interesting word choice, carrying connotations of pulling back or retreating from a situation of danger. The wilderness, obviously, was a place of danger. When Herod Antipas arrests John, the Jordan Valley also becomes a place of danger. Jesus hightails it to Galilee, but almost immediately leaves Nazareth behind, and settles in Capernaum. Could it be that Nazareth, 4 miles from Herod’s capital city, was no longer safe?
Capernaum was a modest fishing village, at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. As one scholar writes, Capernaum was “a good place to get away from,” with easy access both by land and sea to the territory of Herod Philip, a fairer and more moderate ruler than his half-brother, Herod Antipas. Did Jesus care about security and quick getaways? Maybe.
But perhaps moving to Capernaum was also an intentional mission strategy. It was located in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, in a region historically known as Galilee of the Gentiles. The Greek word translated as “Gentiles” is ethnoi, the root of the English word ethnic and ethnicity. In the Bible it is a tag for non-Jewish, non-Israelite peoples and nations. Personally I dislike the ethnocentric if not racist overtones of the word Gentile. No one in the ancient world called themselves “Gentiles.” The ethnic groups so tagged referred to themselves as Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans and so forth.
Matthew’s point is that Jesus deliberately settles in an ethnically diverse region, populated by different tribes and peoples. Roman emperors gave land grants to their friends, allies and the veterans who fought for them. Local elites secured their social and economic status by cooperating with Rome. The few and the powerful benefited at the expense of many. The vast majority of people literally sat in darkness, in the shadow of death (Matthew 4:16). 70-90 percent of folks, regardless of their ethnic or religious commitments, lived in varying degrees of poverty. Food insecurity, lack of clean water, and minimal hygiene resulted in widespread diseases, stress, and trauma for everyone.
At the center of Jesus’ mission is the proclamation “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is exactly the same message John the Baptist preached. John’s mission strategy had been to locate himself in the wilderness and invite folks to come to him, repenting and confessing their “sins” — their inability to measure up to God’s commandments. John baptized them with ordinary river water, and sent them home to live new and changed lives. Although Jesus allegedly “settles” in Capernaum, he is always on the move. He goes where he will find people sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. Jesus teaches and preaches God’s love and mercy, God’s presence with them even in the darkness and the shadow of death, God’s longing to heal all that is broken in their lives. Jesus makes it happen by healing hurting bodies and broken hearts, energizing their spirits to make God’s dream come true. Jesus’ goal is to change their minds about God and how God sees them — not as sinners but as blessed and beloved children of God.
As Jesus walks along the seashore, he comes upon two sets of brothers — the fishermen Simon Peter and Andrew, then James and John with their father Zebedee. Jesus invites them, “follow me and I will make you fish for people.” This does not mean what we think it means. As one New Testament scholar puts it:
"There is perhaps no expression more traditionally misunderstood than Jesus’ invitation to these workers to become ‘fishers of men’… This metaphor, despite the grand old tradition of missionary interpretation, does not refer to the ‘saving of souls’… Rather, the image is carefully chosen from Jeremiah 16:16, where it used as a symbol of Yahweh’s censure of Israel. Elsewhere the ‘hooking of fish’ is a euphemism for judgement upon the rich (Am 4:2) and powerful (Ez 29:4). Taking this mandate for his own, Jesus is inviting common folk to join in his struggle to overturn the existing order of power and privilege.”
The four fishermen immediately leave their nets. James and John even abandon their father to follow Jesus, as he goes from village to village, teaching, preaching, and healing people.
We often wonder how Peter, Andrew, James and John could just leave everything behind like that. Perhaps understanding what they left behind might help. The fishing industry in Galilee was controlled by Herod Antipas. He sold fishing rights to his agents — the tax collectors — who in turn contracted with fishers. The fishers received loans to purchase boats, equipment, and fishing licenses that specified how much they had to catch. In this system, the fishers started out in debt and stayed in debt while all the profits went to Antipas and his agents.
Then Jesus shows up, offering to make them fishers of people. Peter, Andrew, John and James would have understood that “fishing for men” meant sticking it to the rich and powerful. Jesus offering to liberate them from a system that was breaking their bodies, minds and spirits. How could they resist?
Maybe this interpretation of Matthew 4:12-23 makes you uncomfortable. It certainly made me uncomfortable as I worked through it. Yet, how do you and I respond to a traditional reading of “fishers of people” as a call to evangelism — to go out with bullhorns and pamphlets to “hook” people to save their souls?
Speaking for myself, I have never, ever enjoyed being on the receiving end of that kind of evangelism. In fact, the last time a stranger tried that approach, I closed the door in their face. The kind of evangelism that has made the deepest impact in my own life:
face-to-face caring conversations with persons of faith whom I know, trust, respect and even admire — these conversations go on for months and even years as my mentors, coaches and colleagues in the faith walk alongside me, encourage me, and when necessary redirect me.
in these conversations there is no manipulation, scare tactics, intellectual or spiritual violence, and no hidden agendas, just a genuine care for me and my spiritual well-being which includes my emotional, intellectual and physical well-being.
years of worship and Bible study in faith communities
All of us are broken in body, mind and spirit to some degree. Some of us are afflicted with culprit affluenza — a spiritual illness that afflicts the middle and upper classes in America. Some of us bear the scars of discrimination, prejudice, and poverty. All of us grieve the loss of loved ones. Christ’s still yearns to shines light into our darkness, bind up our wounds, free us from what hurts and harms, and empower us to live abundantly and joyfully. Christ invites us all to participate in that mission, and gives us gifts, talents, and resources to do so, most often in small, quiet ways, and occasionally in big, bold ways.
Draw your church together, O God, into one great company of disciples, together following our teacher Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving in Christ’s mission to the world, and together witnessing to your love wherever you will send us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.
