3 Epiphany Year A/Jan 22 2023
Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27: 1, 5-13; Matthew 4:12-23
Following the Light of Christ…
We are journeying through the season of Epiphany…the season that sheds light on Jesus and who he is…and the season that sheds light on the experiences of his first followers, who chose to leave the darkness, and step unto the path of light…
This third Sunday in Epiphany…extends an invitation to all of us…once again…to join in that long procession of those who left all they knew and loved…to follow Jesus…to follow that great light that was leading the way…towards the kingdom of heaven…
IN our first reading today, we hear these words of hope from Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.” The words of Isaiah shed light on our gospel reading today as we hear how Jesus made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken by 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.”
.We believe that Jesus is the great light that has come to scatter the darkness.
It would appear by the actions of Peter, Andrew, James and John…that they must have seen a great light shining forth through Jesus….a light that was so spectacular…that they got up, and followed him immediately…They must have seen or experienced something so mesmerizing and inspiring, that would cause them to leave all they knew and loved.
One of the questions that so often comes up when discussing this text with others, is “why did Peter, Andrew, James and John seem to go so willingly?”
All we hear in the scriptures today is the simple invitation Jesus extended to Peter and Andrew… “Follow me, I will make you fish for people”….and the simple call out to James and John, when he was passing by them, while they were at work, mending their nets. They didn’t hesitate… they just dropped everything…accepted the invitation to follow Jesus…to see where he would lead them…and as they followed Jesus throughout Galilee, they listened to Jesus teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and watching him as he was curing every disease and sickness among the people.
Imagine…how this must have touched them….they got a glimpse of what the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven looked like….they not only heard the good news proclaimed, but they also saw, with their own eyes, by the light of Jesus, that the good news of the kingdom of heaven, was indeed, very near to them.
They must have seen how the light overcame the deep darkness….the darkness of fear, uncertainty, grief, the darkness of pain and suffering; the darkness of those being oppressed by fear, the darkness of those without any hope…they must have seen the power in this new light …this light of joy, this light of peace, and this light of perfect love, to bring healing and hope to God’s people…
A simple invitation…a yes, without hesitating….and look what they found?
Signs of Hope….hope for an end to suffering, hope for an end to pain, hope for healing and renewal, hope for a new life, with the Lord…who is our light and our salvation…who is the strength of our lives…
Hope that the world and its people will once again be reunited together in love for God and for one another….working together to build up God’s Kingdom here on earth…where lives will be transformed by the love and light of Jesus, our Lord… our light and our salvation… the strength of our lives…
I believe that Peter, Andrew, James and John…were blessed beyond measure, by accepting Jesus’ invitation to follow him…..What a different story, it would have been if they said no…and did not choose to follow Jesus…just think what would have been lost…
Just think, for a moment, how many times we have closed our eyes and ears to this invitation…and said no…we closed our eyes tight…because we were afraid…we closed our eyes tight so we didn’t have to see the pain and suffering in our neighbors, or our loved ones…we closed our eyes tight, because we couldn’t see how we could be of help at all because there is too much darkness in the world in which we live…
Think about this though….if we close our eyes to the darkness in our world, we are also closing our eyes to the light that is out there…the light of love that others are trying to share with us; the light of joy that others want to celebrate with us; the light of peace, that others want to extend to us; and the light of Jesus who walked through the dark to scatter new light, to bring healing and restore hope once again, in each one of us, and in the world around us…
We have to be willing to say yes to Jesus’ invitation….to welcome this new light into our hearts and minds, to allow it to transform us and use us to scatter this new light all around us…
Our world would be a much brighter place, if we allowed the light of Jesus to shine through each one of us….
Imagine…if we passed on the light of love and hope to others that we have experienced ourselves…imagine if we invited others to come and see and follow Jesus too….Instead of just one light out there…there would be millions and millions and millions of lights shining…that’s a lot of light and a lot of hope….
I think our world could use it…
Today…and every day, throughout the rest of this Epiphany season…
I will begin my day by praying the words of this hymn: Today I awake…I hope you will join me in this morning prayer…
Hymn: Today I Awake (Words and Music: John Bell)
Recording the hymn: Today I Awake - Heather Jordan
Today I awake and God is before me. At night, as I dreamt, God summoned the day; For God never sleeps but patterns the morning with slithers of gold or glory in grey.
Today I arise and Christ is beside me. He walked through the dark to scatter new light, Yes, Christ is alive, and beckons his people to hope and to heal, resist and invite.
Today I affirm the Spirit within me at worship and work, in struggle and rest. The Spirit inspires all life which is changing from fearing to faith, from broken to blest.
Today I enjoy the Trinity round me, above and beneath, before and behind; The Maker, the Son, the Spirit together they called me to life and call me their friend.
Rev. Julie Platson, St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK