Ep

January 25, 2026

“The peace of God, it is no peace, but strife closed in the sod. But let us pray for but one thing—the marvelous peace of God.”

The third verse of our Gospel Hymn today (Hymnal 661 “They cast their nets in Galilee”) seem especially appropriate as we gather today.

Our hearts are breaking; our nation is breaking; our world is breaking. Sadness, despair, fear overwhelm us. We may feel impotent as we watch the scenes unfold on social media or the news. We may worry that there is no way forward; that the nation, the world we knew are being destroyed as we watch.  

Today, as I reflect on this gospel reading, I am overwhelmed by its aptness for our situation. In the first place, the very context of it. It begins on an ominous note, with a reference to the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Remember, Herod arrested John the Baptist because he preached against Herod’s rule, criticizing him for his evil deeds. Ultimately, John would be executed, a victim of state violence.

When John is arrested, we’re told that Jesus withdrew to Galilee. Presumably up until that point he had been in Judea, but his withdrawal suggests that he feared for his life as well. 

In essence, Jesus is going back home; but he’s going there because Herod arrested John the Baptist. It’s likely that Jesus felt himself under threat and suspicion because of the action taken against John; after all, the two were closely associated. 

So one might imagine that Jesus was feeling very much like many of us do today, fearful, concerned about the future, concerned about his future. But he did not hide. He may have gone to Galilee, but in the midst of whatever fear he might have had, he chose at that very moment, in all of the uncertainty, to begin his public ministry. More than that, Jesus emphatically chose to continue John the Baptist’s ministry. Matthew reports as a summary of Jesus’ proclamation: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” In other words, he may have withdrawn, but he didn’t go underground. Instead, he chose to speak out, bravely and loudly, and to do so with the very same language that John had used.

Let me pause and make two observations because to twenty-first century ears, this language sounds overly pious and a bit old-fashioned. When we hear the word “repent” our minds go to the overt rituals and drama of repentance—feeling shame and guilt over sins and seeking God’s forgiveness, whether we do this individually and privately, or in the context of the sacrament of Confession. Similarly, “kingdom of heaven” sends our minds to pearly gates, angels with harps, and streets paved with gold. Both of those sets of images are misleading.

The word translated here as “repent” is the Greek “metanoiete” which literally means “change your mind.” So it’s not so much feeling remorse for one’s actions and seeking forgiveness, but a complete transformation in one’s point of view; the way one looks at the world, perhaps even, a transformation of who we are at our very core. 

Similarly, while Matthew almost exclusively uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven,” it’s his wording for what in the gospels of Mark and Luke is called the kingdom of God and kingdom should be thought of not as a place, a territory or nation, but a qualitative existence—we could say “reign of God.” We will have a great deal more to say about the reign of God as we work through the Gospel of Matthew this coming year. Especially now, we might even translate it as “empire” and interpret Jesus’ proclamation of the “empire of God” as a direct challenge to Rome. God’s power and justice is present around us and in this very world, confronting and overturning the power and oppression of Rome.

From that brief summary of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, Matthew turns to the story of Jesus calling the first disciples. In its brevity and simplicity, it invites all sorts of questions. Why did Peter and Andrew, James and John, respond in such a way to Jesus’ call? Did they know Jesus? Had they heard about him? Was it something in his demeanor that motivated them? Were they so ground down and dispirited by lives caught up in the grinding poverty and oppression of Roman occupation that they jumped at the opportunity to break free? 

What might have been holding them back? What might be holding you back? Were they caught up in the nets that they were mending? Were they tied down to old ways of thinking? Stuck in the system of oppression that overwhelmed them? How did they find the strength and courage to cast aside those nets and follow Jesus? 

How can we know? Jesus called them, and they followed him. They had no idea what would happen along the way. They had no idea where they were headed. They had no inkling how things would turn out. Of course family, work, all those connections and obligations tugged at them, held them back, but they answered the call and followed Jesus.

Jesus calls us as well, as individuals and as a congregation. Jesus calls us to journey with him, to learn from him, to share the good news of God’s coming reign, and to do our part to give others glimpses of that coming reign—of God’s healing power, of the justice and righteousness that it brings. Jesus calls us to join him alongside the vulnerable, the oppressed: widows, orphans, immigrants, refugees, victims of violence and hatred.

The road is hard, the journey long. Like Peter and Andrew, James and John, we don’t know how it will turn out. For Jesus, it ended on the cross; for those disciples, it ended in martyrdom. 

As we look around our community and world; as we watch events unfold in Minnesota and other places in our nation, as we witness the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, and feel the fear of our fellow humans as we watch old norms collapse and familiar structures dissolve, we may feel despair and fear ourselves. We may wonder what we should do. We may ask ourselves, what next?

The answer is simple. Let’s follow Jesus. Let us hear and share the Good news of God’s reign. God’s reign does not depend on who occupies the White House or controls Congress. God’s reign depends on us and the way we witness to God’s love in this broken and hurting world.

Jesus went about the towns of Galilee proclaiming the good news that God’s reign is near. He healed the sick, restored people to their communities. Jesus calls us to follow him, to share in the proclamation of that good news. Jesus challenges us to welcome the stranger and the foreigner, to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to visit the sick and prisoners. Jesus challenges us to love our enemies. In all of that, we are participating in the coming of God’s reign of justice and peace. In all of that, we are following Jesus. 

May you hear his call; may you follow him.