Epiphany 3A-2020
1 Corinthians 1: 10-18 and Matthew 4: 12-23
Rev. Dr. Kimberlynn McNabb
January 26th is the date on the Christian calander that commemerates Timothy, Titus, and Silas; as missionaries in the early church. All were at one time companions of Paul, who accompanied him on missionary journeys. Timothy and Titus ended up as Bishops, Silas was imprisoned and later freed by earthquake. One needed to watch what one declared. Saying, “I belong to Paul,” could have had you either thrown in prison or elected Bishop.
Paul tells the people of the church in Corinth to only declare that one belongs to Christ.
This declaration will change one’s life, more than being elected Bishop or thrown in prison.
Let us consider what it means to belong to Christ; to be a Jesus follower.
Social media is full of platforms, like Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook; each is used by people to gather followers. One can follow groups and people who interest them. Sites have follow buttons, and once clicked, you are a follower. The more followers, the more famous you are.
In a world where follow buttons are common place, how do we hear Jesus’ words, “Follow me?”
My guess is that Jesus would have had millions of social media followers. Some would be watching for words of wisdom or challenge; others would follow his whereabouts so they could join him to learn, debate, or be healed. Others would be followers to see what crazy things this man Jesus was going to do; Jesus actions would be their entertainment. He would be as popular on Twitter as Donald Trump.
To be a follower today only takes the clicking of a button. That’s all. There are no requirements to actually read the posts or content created by the person they are following. One need not comment or scroll through all posts. One doesn’t even have to like the person or their beliefs. There is no commitment to being a follower. You are a follower forever, unless you click the unfollow button.
Jesus, social media free, calls to Andrew and Peter, “Follow me,” and immediately they leave their boats and nets.
Jesus calls to James and John, “Follow me,” and immediately they leave their boats, nets, and father.
Andrew, Peter, James, and John did more than simply click a button, and let life carry on as it was. Everything changed, there was commitment, from the moment they chose to follow Jesus.
In the early 90s, Wilfrid Laurier University had a Hebrew professor named Dr. Fischer. Dr. Fischer was a gentleman in his 70s who wore thickly knit Scandinavian type sweaters and a poor-boy cap. He was a quiet teacher, methodical in method, and more or less succeeded in getting all his students to pass. He was a favourite teacher for many because if you followed his lesson one learned about his passions. He loved talking about his passions. Students could get him to regale stories or points of astute academia, or tidbits of new texts being found. Dr. Fischer would get all excited, worked up he would bounce through the class, and talk with his hands.
A favourite topic was verse 6 of Psalm 23: “Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” Excitedly he explained to students that the word “follow” was a poor English translation of the Hebrew text. The English “follow,” makes the words of the Psalm comforting and reassuring. In Hebrew, the word in the text is better translated as “pursue.” Meaning, God’s goodness and mercy will pursue you, stalk you. You can’t, no matter how much you try, get away from God’s grace and mercy. Grace and mercy will chase you, even harass you.
What happens, then, if we were to hear Jesus’ invitation to the disciples as, “Pursue me,””Chase after me?” The invitation is not a simple click of a button. Pursue and chase is dangerous. Consider Hollywood movies that contain car chases, police in pursuit; they are full scale drama, speed, aggression, high energy. There is collateral damage, and the possibility of prison, or life, or death. The chase is not for the weak of heart, or the stomach as may be the case for some.
Thesaurus.com suggests these words as alternatives for follow:
go after, seek, pursue; accompany, attend; badger, bate, but; hound, hunt; persevere, persist, plague; shadow, stalk.
After reading the synonyms, knowing that “pursue” is the best translation for the word in Psalm 23, the best translation for the original word in Matthew is worth investigating. The Greek word that we hear as “follow” literally means, “to be in the same way with;” as in two people were walking along the same road, or travelling a similar journey. The appropriate English translation is, to accompany.
Jesus calls Andrew and Peter, “Accompany me,” and immediately they leave their boats and nets.
Jesus calls James and John, “Accompany me,” and immediately they leave their boats, nets, and father.
Andrew, Peter, James, and John, did more than simply click a button, and let life carry on as it was. Everything changed, there was commitment, from the moment they chose to follow Jesus.
This morning Jesus invites you, calls to you, “Accompany me,” and immediately...
Do you click a follow button? Do you leave your car, and job, and family?
I suspect that some of us dropped what we were doing when we heard the Gospel. Jesus’ invitation was a recognition that we needed to, wanted to, change our lives and the way we were living. For many more of us, immediately following, has been a growth process that has been a journey of relationship with God and others over years.
Unfortunately, we have read a weak translation of what Jesus was asking, and calling the disciples to. We now have to shift our understanding from “Follow me,” to something far more difficult. Jesus invites us to accompany him.
Rachel Svenson, who works with young adults on ELCA Global Mission projects, begins her “Living Lutheran” blog with a quote from Linda Crockett’s book, “The Deepest Wound:”
Accompaniment goes beyond solidarity in that anyone who enters into its risks suffering the pain of those we would accompany ... accompaniment may include all of these acions (protest marches, pressing for change in law, civil disobedience) but it does not necessarily share the assumption that we can fix, save, or change a stiuation or person by what we do. It calls for us to walk with those we accompany, forming relationship and sharing risks, joys, and lives. We enter into the world of the one who suffers with no assurance that we can change or fix anything ... accompaniment is based on hope despite evidence that there is little reason for optimism.
Accompanying Jesus -Belonging to Christ – is not for the faint of heart or stomach.
Jesus called Andrew, Peter, James, and John into a life of accompaniment. The passage we read this morning has John the Baptist in prison for his speaking truth to the powers of the day. Jesus and his followers – people accompanying him – were often protesting and breaking laws (Jesus healing on the Sabbath, Jesus touching untouchables); the group as a whole gathered in large numbers for sit-ins to listen to Jesus (an illegal action in the Roman Empire); Jesus and those accompanying him bated the religious leaders with near heretical blasphemies, and insighted angst by taunting the authority of the Roman Empirer. Every moment was a risk, as Jesus entered into relationship, with the powers of the day. Every moment was a risk for those who would accompany him. Every moment was a risk as Jesus gave hope to the poor, the widow, the children; justice to the oppressed and imprisoned; and healing for the lame, the leperous, and demon possesed.
Jesus’ call, “accompany me,” was a loaded statement. Jesus did not invite people for a walk in the park, or stroll around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ call was for followers to risk being in relationship, knowing that God’s grace and mercy would be in pursuit to assist those who say “yes” to accompany others with all their hearts and souls and minds.
God, this morning we declare, “I belong to Christ.” We immediately drop our excuses, our fears, and all present preoccupations, to accompany you. Give us the courage “to belong to Christ” in a time when we are taught that to follow requires no commitment.
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