This is the text of the sermon I was to give today. Like many churches in the path of this weekend’s severe winter storm, we cancelled our in-person services to keep each other safe. 

The text for these thoughts is Matthew 4:12-23, and, in particular, these verses: 

As 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 fishers. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As 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. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

The video at the end is meant to be played as an integral part of the sermon. 

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“Follow me”

When Jesus spoke these words roughly 2000 years ago, he didn’t say them in English. I know that’s obvious, but it bears repeating. Jesus spoke Aramaic with his family and friends. He was able to read Hebrew, which was the language of the temple, and he spoke Greek, which was the common language of the Roman Empire (which is why the gospels were written in Greek). When the gospel according to Matthew was written, “akoloutheō” (ah-ko-loo-THEH-oh) was the word used for “follow”.

Akoloutheo is also the root of the English word “acolyte”. That association may help us understand what Jesus actually meant when he said “Follow me” because an acolyte is “a person who attends or assists a leader”. Its modern use is mostly related to the church; Acolytes are the people you see every Sunday preparing the communion table, lighting the candles, and carrying the cross. 

In other words, when Jesus said “follow me” to his first disciples, it wasn’t a metaphor. It meant “walk with me, assist me, attend to me”.  This sense of “hands-on” following is also present in the English word “follow”. In Old English the meaning of the word “follow” was to “accompany”. The word most likely evolved from the proto-Germanic word *full-gan, or “full-going”.

Understanding this etymology helps us with today’s reading. Because if “following” Jesus means to accompany him, to be “full-going”, to be completely invested, it’s asking for something more than most of us learned growing up in church. Because following Jesus is not just about “giving your life to Christ”, it’s about walking into the world led by a radical way of being that completely upends powers and principalities. It’s about full-on, hands-on, joy-filled discipleship to bring the kindom of God to earth as it is in heaven.

Of course they dropped their nets and left everything behind. 

When Jesus said “follow me”, he was clearly instructing Simon, Andrew, James, and John to travel with him towards the kindom of God… But it also meant they could walk away from oppression. 

Fishermen in the first century Rome weren’t what we think of today. They didn’t own their boats – and they didn’t own the fish they caught. Both their boats and the fish they caught belonged to the Emperor of Rome. When they hauled in their nets, the biggest fish went to high ranking Romans. Any remaining fish that could be sold were sold to make money for Rome. As a result, fishermen in first century Rome were as low in the social order as tax collectors. They were just collecting fish for Rome instead of coins. 

Of course they dropped their nets and left everything behind. 

They assisted him, attended to him, learned from him as he “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” 

Word spread quickly. Crowds began to gather.

People then, like now, were hungry for good news, sick of being oppressed and frightened, desperate to be healed. They lined roads to welcome him and sat in crowds gathered to hear his teaching. They offered places for Jesus and his disciples to stay and provided them food.

James Tissot (1836-1902), “The Multiplication of the Loaves”

Can you imagine what that would look like? 

It’s actually not that hard to imagine…because right now, in our country, there are crowds gathering to hear similar good news, crowds lining streets and gathering in schools and in churches to hear profound teaching on how to bring peace into our lives and the world.

For those who might not be aware, a group of Buddhist monks who live in Fort Worth left their home in October on a Walk for Peace. They are walking 2300 miles from Fort Worth to Washington DC… not to protest but to carry a simple message, one that resonates with the teachings of Christ – Peace is within each of us, a peace that passes all understanding… a peace that can heal the world. 

Amen (May it be so.)