Homily: Matthew 4:18-22
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4: 18-22 (NIV)
This is a passage we have all heard a million times. We’ve seen the car decals, the bad puns, the T-shirt’s, key chains and all the other cliche capitalist reproductions of the living word of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Put that aside. Let us take all of our associations and preconceived notions and place them on the table Jesus flipped in the temple.
In this passage, the most shocking thing is not the fact these men just left their lives to follow a stranger, the most shocking thing is that the Son of God asked them to follow him. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were asked by their creator and savior to follow him. Not commanded. Not ordered. Asked, they could have said, “No.” and continued fishing.
Jesus asks us to follow him, it is our choice. Jesus exposes himself to rejection even here at the very beginning of his ministry. His phrasing reveals to us his vulnerability, a vulnerability we are also called to.
Rejection. What a word. We fear rejection as a species. Humans are created to crave love and acceptance. A craving that can only truly be fulfilled by Jesus but is often distorted. We want to feel like we belong and that people know and like us for who we are and we think that we if we can curate just the right image of ourselves they will. If we don’t step on any toes, if we are agreeable, if we go with the flow and don’t make a fuss, and have an artsy minimalist Instagram account then maybe, just maybe, our cravings will be fulfilled. But the people we are asking to fulfill them are the same people that nailed Jesus to a cross. The gospel doesn’t seek justification through acceptance. Their “no’s” or more often refusal to make eye contact, can not lessen the beauty or truthfulness of the gospel. So the question we have to ask ourselves is not what if they reject me? It’s what if they don’t?
