Called To Have Our Minds Blown

Gate Pa – 3rd Sunday in Epiphany - Year A - 2023

Readings:
Psalm -                        Psalm: 27:1,4-9
First Reading -             Isa 9:1-4
Second Reading -       1 Cor 1:10-18
Gospel -                       Matthew 4:12-25

What I want to say:
To explore epiphany as time of intentionally seeing the world differently (repentance) and living that out (call).
What I want to happen:
People to reflect on what has changed in how they see God, the world and themselves, and how they have responded to that.

The Sermon

1. Introduction:

Since January 6 we have been in the season of Epiphany
Begins with the story of the Magi – Astrologers or wise men from Persia
Who come to pay homage to Jesus.
It acts as a continuation of the Christmas season
- where we celebrate God’s love made known in the birth of the baby Jesus
Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
God’s gracious love breaking into the darkness of this world.
Since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement on Thursday it personally feels like the world is a little darker, a little less hopeful.
I feel like I need some of this Epiphany light.
God’s gracious love breaking into the darkness of this world.

2. Matthew

To help us into these themes we have been given Matthew 4: 12-25
-         Added couple verses
Tells the story of how hearing the news of John the Baptiser being arrested
-         spooks Jesus who has been in the wilderness being tested
So he returns to Galilee
Ends up small lakeside village of Capernaum
-         In what had been the lands Zebulun and Naphtali
-         Part of the world that had long suffered poverty from imperial brutality
-         Its people longing for another way
Begins preach John’s message of “repent, kingdom of heaven is near”
And he teaches and heals
And then one day he seemingly goes out and casts his net to see who he might catch
And invites two sets of brothers to come follow him –
"Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." (The Message)
Seemingly they didn't ask questions,
but simply dropped their nets
ð dropped their place in their families and in their communities
ð dropped all that shaped their identity
ð and gave away any kind of security
and followed into a very uncertain future
Leaving their father and brothers and families gobsmacked as they walked away from all they had been
Or at least that is how we often read this story.
But I am not so sure about that
But first I want to go back to repent.

3. Repent

One of the comments made about Matthew’s description of what Jesus preached
“repent, kingdom of heaven is near”
Is that he doesn’t talk about that again in the gospel.
And if our understanding of repent is some kind of moral action
-         Turning from immoral life to moral or righteous or God centred life
Then that is true.
Not the only way repent can be read – as I have said before
In the Biblical Greek - Metanoeō - (μετανοέω) literally means bigger mind
One commentator I quote on this says
-         “Be of a new mind!” Or, perhaps as “Change your way of thinking!” Or most simply, “Wrap your mind around this!”
Repent then becomes gaining a bigger understanding of God
-         a bigger understanding who we are
-         a bigger understanding of this world
-         a bigger understanding of all God desires for this world
-         and our place in that.
Jesus does talk about that
Then the rest of Matthew’s gospel is a description of what Jesus meant by
“repent, kingdom of heaven is near”
Or as it is translated in the Common English Bible that I read from
“Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”
Matthew starts that with the call of the first disciples.

4. Fishing and calling

Jesus randomly casting his net to see what happens.
I haven’t fished for a long time.
But when I was younger I did do a bit with my cousins and with some friends on Lake Taupo.
There was nothing random about that
-         Went out in the early morning – that was best time
-         Talked to others about what spinners to use
-         We went to places we had caught fish before, or knew others had caught fish.
Nothing random about fishing
-         A lot of preparation goes into it.
I don’t think anything random about what Jesus was doing
-         Living in Capernaum
-         Small place so he would have got to know people and they him
This invitation comes out of his interactions with Simon, Andrew, James and John.
It has taken time to get here
We are simply hearing the turning point which is built on so much not told in the story.

5. Call and repentance

And as I reflect on my own times of clear call
-         To be a priest
-         That I am Franciscan
-         To be the vicar of this parish
While I can tell the story of when I accepted that call
They all came after a much longer time of preparation and wrestling.
-         Call to be ordained
-         Call to this parish
Built on all that went before those moments.
Slow movement of repentance
Like those disciples
Where I gained a bigger mind
-         a bigger understanding of God
-         a bigger understanding who we are
-         a bigger understanding of this world
-         a bigger understanding of all God desires for this world
-         and our place in it.
Like those disciples who had no real idea what they were saying yes to
I have continued to grow in my understanding of what this is all about.
The call was based on all that came before
And was them saying yes to continuing that journey in a new way
That is what I think Matthew is inviting us into.

6. Epiphany

Epiphany is about revelation of the inbreaking of God in this world in Jesus
God with us
And the invitation to wrap our minds around that
- to repent
reimagine what life might be
- like those first disciples.
When have been those moments for you?
What is the invitation now?

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