“God’s auspicious beginnings”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, January 22, 2023
Matthew 4:12-23 (Forward, p. 85) CEV p. 984
It is interesting, and rather noteworthy, to examine just how, when and where God began His earthly ministry in the person of Jesus Christ.
First of all, the when: it was after Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison. In other words, there was no chance of His interfering with or jeopardizing John’s work and ministry. It would seem that Jesus was almost deliberate in this, and not just in timing, but also in location.
Location: Jesus began His earthly ministry in Galilee, referred to in the quote as ‘Galilee, land of the Gentiles.’ This can refer to two things. One is that many Gentiles had chosen to settle there, perhaps, in some cases by the direct instigation of foreign conquerors. The other is that, Galilee, the traditional territories of the tribes Zebulun and Naphtali, stuck out, like the proverbial sore thumb, into alien territory. And because of that, and because it was the northern-most part of Israel, it was often subject to invasions and to being ‘traded off’, surrendered, to a conquering oppressor as part of a peace settlement.
However, with these seemingly negative factors, there were also some pluses. Being surrounded by outside influences, its people were probably more open and accepting of new ideas, and more familiar with them. And being far to the north of the centre of power in Jerusalem, they were probably insulated a bit from its control, a bit freer, and, as often happens with outlying areas a bit more independent, and possibly somewhat rebellious, and somewhat reluctant to submit to its edicts. And, so it was an ideal place for a new movement to begin!
The how: However, Jesus didn’t start just anywhere in Galilee, but in Capernaum, rather than His hometown, Nazareth. Here it was possible to get a head start, a new start, a fresh start, free from any associations or misconceptions the hometown crowd might have. (And, as we will later see, those associations and misconceptions did cause a real problem there when He did return to His hometown.)
And, what does He do? He immediately begins to spread out His work, to delegate it to others. And who does He recruit? Only a bunch of
fishermen, two sets of brothers in fact. Common folk to be sure, but hardy, physically fit, resourceful, resilient, and able to take initiative and carry out work responsibly. These men were certainly no wimps but men of action and passion.
And just throws them out a challenge, an intriguing one at that: from henceforth they would no longer catch fish but people. And He would personally teach them how to bring in people rather than fish. He would teach them: this, I would say, is most important.
And all this, Jesus backs up, not just with words, but with actions as well. As He went about teaching and preaching, He also healing every kind of disease and sickness. Yes, indeed, by His very works, it would seem as if the kingdom of heaven was indeed present, or at least, very near. Jesus had ‘put His money where His mouth was’, backed it up with His actions.
So, what can this say to us today? Firstly, I would suggest that the Good News of the kingdom ‘should’ be something attractive and appealing to people, but especially people who are marginalized, distinct or excluded from the centres of power, people who are independent thinkers, open to new ideas and even a bit resistant to the ‘same old, same old.’ And here I think especially of people who have historically or personally experienced hardship and great difficulties because of who they are or where they have lived. (Here, I cannot help but think of all the ‘overrun’ peoples and territories of our world.)
And in this work of evangelism and invitation, God calls all sorts of eager, able, intrepid folks, ordinary folks to say the least, and then equips and trains them for the task. Indeed, should this not be a primary task of the church of today: to teach and train people how to bring people into God’s fold? But perhaps this is something that we need to learn afresh just how to do this.
And, to conclude: should this work, this verbal witness, not be backed up by costly and self-evident action? Miracles, most certainly, but also our love and care for others—both within the church and without—as well. Jesus’ proclamation about the advent of the Kingdom was not ‘just’ a bunch of empty words, but also showed itself acutely in what He did. And so should it be with us as well. And, with God’s help, certainly we can do this. Amen.
Forward notes: “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (verse 17).
“Many of us know the words of the Lord’s Prayer by heart. We may even pray daily for God’s kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of heaven has already come near. God’s kingdom just may not be what we’re used to.
“Peter and Andrew were fishermen by trade, but Jesus tells them they’ll now be fishers of people. We all need the good news of a world turned upside down. The world and its status quo do not work for the least among us, the most marginalized, and the oppressed. God says that the last will inherit this coming kingdom. A new day is coming, and we are all invited to be a part of it. We are invited to turn from where we might expect to find God in the world and find that God is already among the people.”
Moving Forward: “When has God done something unexpected in your life?”