Turn

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

January 22, 2017

3 Epiphany A

In the mountains, in the woods, where my grandparents lived, the nights were lit only by the stars.  There were no surrounding houses, no parking lots, not even any traffic to light up the night.  In the darkness of the night, we could not see our hands in front of our faces.  But our grandfather, being a great collector of gadgets, had a vast array of flashlights.  Some were tiny and had intense beams the gave off a brilliant light on a very small space.  Others were larger and managed to spread less light over more space.  Either way, the flashlights we took on our night time walks were really only good for one thing.  They lit up the path directly in front of our feet, and not much else.  While we could see where to take the next step; we could not see the creek 100 yards ahead.  The flashlights gave us exactly what we needed and nothing more.  They gave us the power to go out into the dark of the night, but not the power to conquer the dark.

          This morning we hear the prophet Isaiah say “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.”  The gospel writer quotes this very passage and understands Jesus to be the fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah had promised.  Later in the book of Isaiah, we hear the words “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” In John’s gospel, Jesus says “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  These are all passages of great hope and promise-hope and promise that the darkness of oppression, whether physical or political or spiritual-will be lifted, illuminating the darkness of night and making the whole day shine with the radiance of God’s glory.

          Since Matthew proclaims through the words of Isaiah that Jesus is the light of the world, the glory of God, I find it a little disconcerting that the next words out of Jesus’ mouth are “Repent. For the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Repent?  What about rejoice and be glad for the kingdom of heaven has come near?  Granted, Jesus does not call us, or anyone else, a brood of vipers like John the Baptist did.  But what does it mean about the light of the world if the first word of his ministry is “repent!”

          The word “repent” means to turn, or to redirect one’s life.  In both the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament, the call to “repent” is the call to reorient the way we live, and then act on it; to be reconciled with God, then live like it.  In the reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul does not actually use the word repent, but he is certainly calling the Christians there to turn away from their squabbling and reorient their lives so that they live in unity.  This morning, we hear Jesus issue an invitation-an invitation to change directions and be part of the kingdom of heaven as it draws near.

          When Jesus calls Simon Peter and Andrew, his brother, they have to literally change directions and follow Jesus.  They turn from their current direction, casting nets in the sea, and follow Jesus when he calls.  Likewise, when Jesus calls James and John, they have to turn from mending nets, to follow Jesus.  These four radically reorient their lives to follow Jesus, then they watch as Jesus teaches in the synagogues, proclaims the good news of the kingdom, and cures every disease and sickness among the people. 

          When the four fishermen turned from what they were doing, casting and mending nets, and followed Jesus, all they could see was Jesus.  They did not have a strategic plan, they had not thought carefully about how they would finance this new endeavor or how their families would survive without them.  On the one hand, that makes following Jesus seem downright reckless and irresponsible, and I am all for being careful and responsible.  On the other hand, their actions are a reminder that we are called to follow Jesus first, and our strategic plans, sound financial planning, or our carefully crafted plans for our families need to be part of how we follow Jesus.  When the strategic plan falls apart, or the economy goes bust, or our carefully made plans come completely unglued perhaps for a reason totally out of our control, we are stuck in the dark if those things are what we have followed.  We have nothing and no one to follow, no light to guide us, and we are powerless before the dark.

And so, Jesus says “Turn and follow me.”  Jesus calls us, not to abandon our responsibilities, but to turn from following them and follow him.  Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness so that we can see Jesus and follow him, not so that we can conquer the darkness and find our own way.  The gospel of John begins with the words “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things came into being through him...What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  The promise of the gospel is that no darkness can extinguish the light of Jesus so we will never have to find our way through the darkness alone.

Amen.