God At Work In Your Work - A Sermon for Sunday January 22 2023

GOSPEL: Matthew 4:12-23

The holy gospel according to Matthew.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus begins his public ministry shortly after John the Baptist is imprisoned by Herod. He proclaims the nearness of God’s reign and calls four fishermen to be his first disciples.

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

 15“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

  on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

 16the 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.”

17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

No miracles,

No teaching,

Just the words “Come, follow me.”

Andrew, Simon, James, John,

fishing,

mending nets,

simply hear these words,

“Come, follow me.”

and they follow.

The details are fuzzy.

We don’t know if they had a prior relationship

with Jesus, or John the Baptist.

They were raised in the Jewish religion and traditions.

They would have all taken their Jewish roots seriously.

They would have begun their education early,

much like children today,

beginning around age six.

In ancient times,

the local rabbi in the local synagogue

was a likely teacher for Jewish children.

Children would learn the scriptures -

First the Pentateuch:

The first 5 books of the bible,

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers and Deuteronomy.

But it wasn’t enough to just learn them -

many would memorize the scriptures.

They would memorize the scriptures because

they couldn’t just find a bible on their bookshelf.

People couldn't afford to buy a scroll,

let alone easily find one to buy.

Students would study into their early teenage years.

Only the best and brightest students

would continue on their studies,

becoming a disciple of the Rabbi.

Only the best of the best of the best

would become a scribe or Rabbi.

It was a big deal to be a disciple of a Rabbi.

We are talking recognition,

belonging,

meaning,

purpose,

honour.

Students would ask the rabbi “Can I follow you?”

The rabbi would examine them critically,

and only the best of the best

would hear the rabbi say

“Come and follow me”

Ordinary students,

the ones who were not the best of the best,

would leave the synagogue

and learn the family business or trade.

When Jesus happened upon the first disciples,

Simon, Andrew, James and John,

they were casting their nets into the sea,

for they were fishermen.

They were not disciples of another rabbi,

they were not the elite,

they were not the best of the best.

Simon Peter and Andrew,

were ordinary young men,

James and John were still young enough

to be fishing with their father,

learning the family business.

They didn’t ask Jesus.

Jesus invited them “Come and follow me.”

No prerequisite.

No test.

Just “Come and follow me.”

In those words were meaning and purpose,

recognition,

belonging,

honour.

Jesus changed the rules:

the gifts of meaning and purpose

and recognition and belonging and honour

aren’t only for the best of the best.

The first disciples heard that call

“Come and follow me”

and they dropped their fishing nets and followed.

Whether you are the best of the best

or just think you are;

whether you are the most unworthy scum of the earth

or you just think you are;

if you’ve experienced rejection,

if you don’t think you make the cut -

trust and believe this,

Jesus says you are accepted,

Jesus says you do make the cut,

Jesus offers you meaning and purpose,

recognition and belonging and honour.

Jesus invites you:

come and follow me.

To follow Jesus,

we might need to leave some things behind.

Simon and Andrew left torn nets.

James and John left their father.

Perhaps we too need to leave something behind.

But maybe we don’t need to

leave behind our fishing nets...

Jesus’ ministry

is perhaps best described as a resumption

of John the baptist’s ministry.

John is arrested,

and then Jesus picks up John’s message.

There is continuity in Word of God.

Jesus’ ministry is John’s ministry.

John’s ministry is the prophet’s ministry,

the prophet’s ministry is Moses’ ministry.

The focus is on what God is doing.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.

Says Jesus,

and John,

and the prophets.

Also significant here is the place

where Jesus continues John’s ministry:

Zebulun and Naphtali.

This is the promised land.

This is the land that the Israelites were

wandering towards for 40 years.

This is the land that was promised to God’s people.

Centuries earlier,

when the Isaiah prophet wrote,

this land was conquered by the Assyrians.

When Jesus moved there,

it was under the Roman Empire’s control.

These tribes have been

repeatedly victimized and occupied.

Now Jesus is here.

It is in this kind of place

- a place of darkness and suffering -

that Jesus brings about the kingdom of heaven.

It is a simple message:

a message that we need to hear today,

God is sovereign,

God brings the good news,

the Gospel,

not the conqueror.

God’s Kingdom is not about borders.

Life is not better or worse because we’re Canadian

or Albertan.

We do not find our wellbeing

in political leaders or monarchs

because our God reigns,

and God’s reign happens in our midst.

God’s reign is not limited to the big cities;

It happens not merely in Jerusalem,

not only in New York or London or Dubai.

It happens out in the wilderness,

in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali,

in Nazareth.

God’s reign happens in Calgary and Cochrane,

in an acreage in Rocky-view county,

or in the coffee shop,

God’s kingdom happens right here and right now.

Jesus finds value with people

who seemed to have little value.

Jesus sees value in these fishermen;

young workers

who were likely rabbinical rejects.

They were likely not strong enough candidates

to follow the Rabbi’s.

They were not going to be scribes.

They were not going to be elites.

By race, they’re not Romans.

But Jesus says they have worth

and ability and calling.

Not everyone is called like these fishermen.

Not everyone is invited to drop their fishing nets

and follow.

I don’t know how many boats there were at that lake side,

but Jesus only stopped at two boats that day.

I’m guessing that there were dozens

of other people mending their fishing nets,

preparing for their day of work ahead.

The good news that we can hear

reading in between the lines is that

God isn’t just at work

in these first few former fishermen.

God is at work in all the other fisher-people

that Jesus didn’t call that day.

God is at work in their work too.

Expect God to be at work in your work.

Expect to find God at work in the canola field

and the hospital.

Expect God to be at work in that poorly lit office building

and at the mega-mart.

God is at work in the schools -

yes, public and private schools,

whether they pray the Lord’s Prayer or not.

God is at work in the oil field.

God is at work in the nursing home,

and God is at work in the living room.

I know many of you are retired,

so perhaps replace work with where you volunteer,

where you find community,

or where you spend your time,

because God is there too.

God is at work in your work.

In one way or another,

we all have the opportunity in our work

to continue this ministry of Jesus,

and John,

and the Prophets,

to point to the kingdom of Heaven in our midst.

I’m not saying that we should all be

popping our heads over our cubicles

for some forced workplace evangelism.

But I believe God’s call to faithfulness and discipleship

is not merely for an hour or two on Sundays.

I’d like to tell you about a person we will call Fred.

Fred worked for a company

doing mostly data entry type of work.

The company had different systems

that didn’t always talk to each other,

so Fred’s job was to make sure

that information moved properly

from system to system.

Fred would fit in very well in the TV show The Office

the movie Office Space.

No one really knows what he does there.

But he is there.

Anyhow, Fred is a good Christian,

if there is such a thing.

He is a regular at worship services,

serves as an usher and lesson reader,

takes his turn shovelling snow in the winter.

Fred isn’t really one to talk about his faith.

It takes Fred a pint or two to really open up,

especially if the topic is religion.

One day, the company hired some new employees,

Fred became friends with some of them.

They would eat lunch together,

visit at the water cooler,

even spend the odd evening together after work socially.

One day, one of these new friends,

we’ll call him Paul, said

“You really seem to have it all together, Fred.

You remain composed

no matter what’s happening here,

you’ve got wise things to say.

What is it about you?”

God gave Fred the opportunity to talk about his faith,

so Fred took a chance,

a leap of faith,

and he shared his faith with Paul.

It deepened their relationship,

and allowed for them to support each other

down the road when difficult times

hit Paul and his family.

Fred didn’t have to leave his fishing nets behind

in order to follow.

God was and is at work in Fred’s work.

And God is at work in your work,

and not just for earning money

to put in the offering plate.

Tithes and offerings

help keep the ministry of the church alive.

It’s true.

But even more is Christ’s ministry continued

by living our faith.

Not everyone will have opportunities like Fred

to witness for a co-worker.

But God will use your work,

one way or another.

Our work does not earn us favour in God’s Kingdom,

but God’s reign may be manifest in our work.

Any form of work is an opportunity for us

to love and to serve our God

and our neighbours

If God can be at work

in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali,

in the promised land conquered.

If Jesus can usher in the Kingdom of Heaven

with fishermen who didn’t quite make the cut,

and change the world

in backwoods places like Nazareth

and Capernaum,

and in the big city,

trust and believe that God is at work in your work,

in your workplace,

in your living room,

in your community.

May we hear anew Jesus’ invitation:

“come and follow me.”

May we find our worth,

not in the ways of this world

but in Jesus’ call.

And May we follow Jesus with our work

trusting that God is at work in our work.

Thanks be to God. Amen.