Epiphany
January 26, 2020
Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:12-23
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 lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for 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 Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. –Matthew 4:18-23
I believe that each person on this earth is a child of God gifted with talents and skills that, when melded together in positive integration will result in the actualization of the vision of God’s kingdom ruled by the love that Jesus proclaimed. Further, I believe that Jesus came to prepare us for the work necessary to enable each of God’s children to fulfill their potential as workers charge with building that kingdom ruled by love. I also believe that God granted us free will to chose whether we accept that calling or not. That gift of freedom, of necessity, opens the door to self-centered or group-centered ambitions that are not in keeping with God’s vision. The ultimate end of selfism is greed or lust for power or other evils that contribute to negative outcomes for all of God’s children, including those who turned away from God’s abiding love.
Jesus valued diversity among his disciples. He chose fishermen and tax collectors, old and young, and while we have to read around a bit in the writings of a male-dominated culture to find it, even both women and men. The most well-known 12 were probably all Jews, but in their ministries, they fanned out throughout the world. The disciples’ writings and reports of their work tell us just how hard and messy it is to bring all together in a shared vision. Recently, in a discussion at a meeting of well-seasoned participants, we got into a discussion of the things we experienced regarding disagreements in churches and just shook our heads about things of little consequence that resulted in hurt feelings and even church breakups. We agreed that the issue of discussion was not the primary cause of the problem. The main problem was power plays that left others feeling left out or not respected.
Seeking wholeness through our relationship with God is the only way we can successfully be the Body of Christ in the world today. It is a constant activity in our lives asking God to filter out the diversions of the world and open our lives to the wonders of the power of God’s love.
Prayer:
We are many textures,
we are many colors,
Each one different from the other.
But we are entwined with one another
in one great tapestry.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
weave us together, together in love*. Amen.
First verse and chorus from Weave us Together by Rosemary Crow see at http://ehymnbook.org/CMMS/hymnSong.php?id=pd16696
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.