A Different Kind of Fishing; A Different Kind of Mending
(Free Version), The Third Sunday After Epiphany, Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23
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As we continue in this season of Epiphany, all of our readings carry a sense of mission and of God revealing himself in Christ in profound ways. There are at least three major themes which stand out to me from our readings: Jesus breaks oppression; Jesus mends factions; and Jesus plucks out of chaos.
In light of today’s readings, it is important to invite our congregations to take inventory of their lives and their surroundings. What are the burdens they currently bear: whether self-imposed or otherwise? As we zoom out and take a larger view, we might ask: Where do we see oppression the strongest in the world? In the lives and family systems of the kids at school or in our work? In broken systems, bureaucracies, the news? In our families?
What do we do with that? Sometimes, the temptation is throw up our hands in cynicism, to think that there isn’t anything to be done about the oppression we see. Alternatively, we often try to carry that burden ourselves. A pointed question for our congregations: do you think the “fix” is up to you? Or at least partially up to you?
In our Isaiah reading (Isaiah 9:1-4), the prophet declares that the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Because of this, there is rejoicing because their burdens and their oppression has been shattered.
The prayer for us today is that we may know the one who breaks the rod of the oppressor, and that we may know that the rod-breaker is not you. This reality is so liberating and transforms us in such a way that we are compelled to participate in the work of liberation.
In our epistle reading (1 Corinthians 1:10-18), Paul addresses the factions which have emerged in the Corinthian church. These factions are based on the person they follow, the one who baptized them. This is particularly tempting as the Corinthians seem to value dynamic preaching. They find that some places in the church, but not in other places. Paul says that the ways of the cross are different from the ways of the world. The cross will always look like foolishness to those who are perishing, but for those who are being saved, it is the power of God.
As we reflect on oppression, it is also appropriate to reflect on the factions in our lives and in the world. Where have our relationships, particularly those with other Christians, been unnecessarily damaged? In what ways might the apparent foolishness of the cross be the very thing that draws us together? In Christ, we do not have to trust in our ability to go along and get along, but in the reality that he is our Lord, our Savior, and our king.
In our gospel reading (Matthew 4:12-23) and in fulfillment of Isaiah 9, Jesus begins to preach repentance. He calls a few unsuspecting fishermen, two of whom are mending their nets, to follow him so that they can be sent out to “fish for people.” Jesus calls them into a whole new way of being in the world. The waters in the ancient world often represented chaos and disorder. Fish were often metaphorically linked with pagans. As the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation, Jesus is calling his people through the waters of new creation. As God parted the Red Sea so that the people might cross to the other side, Jesus calling of his disciples is their rescue.
We might ask our congregations to reflect on the chaos of their own lives as well as the chaos of the world. May we hear today that God is calling us into something new. He is rescuing us.
In what ways might we think about the Church, simply as those who follow Jesus as he plucks the world out of it’s chaos? In what ways might we think of our calling as fishers of people as those who call people out of the world’s chaos and into God’s rest?