Leaving Everything to Follow Jesus
Psalm 27: 1-7 read responsively and Matthew 4:12-23
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ January 23, 2011
INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 27
Many displaced people of our day can relate to the suffering of the Israelites as one powerful neighbor after another invades their lands. There is no help to be found except in the grace of God. This is a song of praise of God’s saving activity.
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
Matthew 4: 12-23
Thomas H. Troeger is an author and professor of Christian Communication. In his commentary on this passage, he writes:
The evangelist is writing for a congregation that knows how precarious their own situation is. There have been arrests, some have been thrown out of synagogues, their beliefs have been attacked and mocked. Surely the temptation is great, especially since Christ has not returned as expected, to give up their faith or at least to collapse into some weaker, less public form of religious life. But now Matthew reminds them that Jesus (and his disciples) faced their own temptations and Jesus began his public ministry amidst a dangerous situation. Matthew’s church is the beneficiary of Jesus’ courage to proclaim the kingdom of heaven has come near.
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.
SERMON
Have you ever left everything behind to answer a call? Those who go into the Mission field or serve in the military often leave everything they own and value behind. Most expect there will be a day when they can come home and reclaim that was left behind. Some take on a new job or retire and move to another part of the world. Usually they are expecting what they leave behind will follow them into their new life. But to leave everything to answer the call of Jesus that is radical behavior. It is on the order of going to prison or dying. Even loosing one’s home to flood or fire, leaves the land and hopefully family and friends, but these two sets of brothers are leaving everything. Their work, their families and friends, even their identity based in what they did for a living is lost. They will now become fishers of people. Whatever does that mean to these men?
Jesus is asking them to give up there old lives and follow him. It is about attachments. Why would Jesus want his disciples to detach from things and even people?
Shannon Carney is a small business woman. She was working with a life coach that asked her, “Who would you be if you took all those things away?” She didn't know where to start because in her mind, her “stuff” was who she is, but it is also gave her the inspiration to live with purpose. She writes:
I started detaching from "stuff" around me because that is what I could handle. Day 10 really helped me dig deeper in finding out more about myself than I ever thought I could. I got my boyfriend involved in the detachment process and we started clearing out old clothes to give to Purple Heart and (we were) amazed at how much more space was created! I was thrilled and so was my boyfriend. I couldn't believe how much crowded space really drains your energy. We did this with the kitchen, vitamins, bathrooms, cars, basement, garage, and I really looked forward to it. It became our time away from noise. Getting rid of "stuff" allowed us to focus less on "stuff" and more on each other, our families, and traveling - which allowed us to live with joy and peace and spread that to other people we interact with.
So why would Jesus want his disciples to detach from things and even people?
We can see that things get in our way of relishing life and serving God with joy. But detaching from people is a lot harder isn’t it?
From the Lance Armstrong foundation they suggest that to detach from people is the:
• Ability to allow people, places or things the freedom to be themselves.
• Holding back from the need to rescue, save or fix another person from being sick, dysfunctional or irrational.
• Giving another others "the space" to be themselves.
• Disengaging from an over-enmeshed or dependent relationship with people.
• Willingness to accept that you cannot change or control a person, place or thing.
So why would Jesus want his disciples to detach from things and even people?
It is simply because following Jesus is hard work. If we insist on carrying all that baggage with us, we may never get where he needs us to be. So leave everything behind and follow the one who promises you, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) Amen.
Resources:
Dig Deeper And Detach From Your Stuff - Extreme Thought Makeover by: Dr Rick Schaefer see: www.articlecity.com/articles/self_improvement_and_motivation/article_8606.shtml
http://www.livestrong.com/article/14712-developing-detachment/
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