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Let us pray:
Your ‘Word’ O God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Light our path with your Word. Amen.
I started reading a book entitled “This Odd and Wondrous Calling.” I ‘d liked the title so much that I seem to take more time to put my own life story on the pages of that book, and less time reading it. In fact, I believe this title is a perfect theme for today’s Gospel passage; “This Odd and Wondrous Calling.” It is a good sermon title for all the Epiphany passages. To give a clearer picture of what led up to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I will need to draw your attention to last week’s Epiphany passage referring to John the Baptist.
John the Baptist had experienced this ‘Odd and Wondrous Calling.” God had called him from his mother’s womb to be a herald or an announcer for Jesus. John accepted the ‘call’ and his assignment was to proclaim to the people “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As a Herald [messenger, announcer] for Jesus, John is given a specific message for the people. He proclaims to them, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Last Sunday was the Third Sunday of Epiphany, when the Gospel revealed to us the profound ‘cost’ of laying hold of and carrying out the task of this odd and wondrous call of God. I believe John knew the cost. I believe he knew that calling people to repentance might cost him his very life, yet he was faithful and obedient to God. He did what he was called to do. I believe the people who followed him, did not fully understand the depth of what John was saying when he declared to them, “He, (Jesus) must increase, but I, (John), must decrease” (John 3:30).
We must also decrease and Christ must increase in our Christian lives. John’s truthful proclamation of the Gospel got him arrested and imprisoned. There is a cost for proclaiming truthfully, the Gospel of Christ. All of us as Christ’s body are called to proclaim the Good News. In doing so, it may cost us something, it may cost us everything. Thank God that we have the freedom in the United States to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. However, in some parts of the world people lose their lives every day for the sake of Christ Jesus.
Last week’s Epiphany Gospel passage continues to unfold as it tells us that when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He left his home town in Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum in Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles --the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." (Matt. 4:12-16).
The passage reveals to us John’s arrest and Jesus embarking on his ‘call’ to ministry - ‘This Odd and Wondrous Calling.’ John’ witness, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I (John) must decrease” is fulfilled. And the arrival of the light of the world has come to Galilee! The shalom of God is here! The reign of God is about to begin! God has invaded earth, in Jesus Christ! And Galilee is the place in Palestine, for the shalom of God to begin!
Let me draw a picture of the Galilee upon which Jesus embarked. Galilee in the time of Jesus was a district of Palestine situated fifty miles from north to south, twenty-five miles from east to west and densely populated. It was connected by the coastal strip and was a very busy place. At that time the Way of the Sea – the road to commerce/trade led from Damascus through Galilee to Egypt and Africa. The traffic of the world passed through Galilee. Galilee was invaded and conquered repeatedly, and was often overflowing with newcomers/immigrants. Galilee’geographical location made it a perfect place for foreign influence and new ideas.
The name Galilee comes from the Hebrew word ‘galil,’ which means circle. To the north and east, were the Syrians, and to the south were the Samaritans. All of which made Galilee open to new ideas in a way that no other part of Palestine was. Remember how in Matt. 28:19-20, Jesus gives the Great Commission to His disciples? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Well, Galilee in Jesus’ time represented the WORLD! And it was the one place in all of Palestine where a new teacher name, Jesus of Nazareth, with his message “repents for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” and his miracles would be heard and witnessed.
The people in Galilee were receptive to Jesus’ teachings! And like John, his message was a call for people to repentance - to turn from their own ways, and turn to God. Jesus’ message was a command for people to lift up their eyes from earthly things, earthly desires and earthly passions, and look to God. Jesus the light of the world has come to those who sat in the darkness of their sin and they would hear the Good News. The blind would receive their sight, the lame would walk, the lepers would be cleansed, the deaf would hear, the dead would be raised up, and the poor have good news brought to them. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel throughout Galilee. During His ministry He called His twelve disciples. To some He said follow me, to others he said follow me and I will teach you how to fish for people. He would teach them how to catch people with the net of the Gospel of Christ. They left everything behind – all that they ever knew and followed Jesus.
What have we left behind to follow Jesus? Let us think about it?
Today’s Gospel, Matthew 5, unfolds to us Jesus’ very profound Sermon on the Mount or The Beatitudes. Jesus went on a common mountain in Galilee, sat down; with his followers near and disciples came to Him, he began to teach them. It was time for Jesus to teach his disciples the real truth of the Word, and I imagine the blessing was that the crowd was listening. Jesus was already fishing for people. He was casting the net of the Gospel to the crowd. And he was bound to bring salvation to many people.
In Jesus’ day the law had been often misinterpreted, and Jesus was about to change that. He was going to send out his disciples to preach the Good News to the poor in spirit, to those who mourn, to the meek, to those who are hungry for righteousness, to the merciful, to the pure in heart, to the peacemakers, and to those who are insulted and persecuted every day. So, Jesus wanted them to have a clear and distinct knowledge of the Word of God if they were going to proclaim truthfully the Gospel of Christ.
The general opinion in those days was that, “Blessed are those who are rich and great, and honorable in the world; blessed are those who spend their days in fun, and pleasure; blessed are those who eat the fat of the land, and drink the sweet of the land, and rule over others with a heavy hand.” Those were the blessed. But our Lord Jesus came as the light of the world to correct this wrong, and to give a new understanding of ‘Blessedness’ and blessed people. The teachings of our Lord Jesus, would remove the discouragement from the weak, and the poor who receive the Gospel of Christ, and assure them that the gospel not only make happy those with wealth. But even the least in the kingdom of heaven, whose heart was upright with God, they too were happy in the kingdom, in the reign of God, in the shalom of God. Souls would come to Christ, and Jesus would teach them the truth about the law of God and the people would receive law into their hearts. They would know that the poor in spirit is blessed, the persecuted is blessed. The pronouncement of the blessing was not just at the end of Jesus’ sermon to dismiss the people, but at the beginning to prepare them for all that he had to say to them.
This ‘Odd and Wondrous Calling’ did not end with the call of the disciples. But like the Disciples, Jesus also calls us and gave us the Great Commission and sends us to “Go into all the World to all people – to the rich, the poor, the hungry, the sick and make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey the Word, and he promised that He is with us always to the end of the age.” Jesus is still calling us today. And he is also saying to us, ‘Follow me,’ [and I will teach you how to fish for people with the net of the Gospel. I will teach you how to impact the lives of those who are brokenhearted, downtrodden, oppressed, alienated, naked, hungry and discouraged. I will teach you how to impact their lives with the love of Christ Jesus].
Proclaiming the truth of the gospel is costly! It costs John the Baptist his life in prison. It costs Jesus his life on the cross at Calvary. It was there at the cross He laid it down for the sins of the whole world. Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the world, for our sins, but His resurrection brought us life, eternal life with Christ forever. And as we continue to lay hold of this ‘Odd and Wondrous Calling, as we continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ as we are all called to do; we must not give up, we must not be discouraged, because he promised to be with us always even to the end of the age.
You are loved. God loves you with an everlasting love. You are God’s Royal Priests empowered with the Great Commission to go into the World and fish for people with the net of the Gospel. You are God’s beloved sons and daughters in whom God is well pleased. And in your baptism, you and I are marked with the cross of Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit forever.
Amen
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