EPIPHANY III 2019

Duccio - The Calling of Andrew and Peter

• Isaiah 9:1-4  • 
• Psalm 27:1, 4-9  • 
• 1 Corinthians 1:10-18  • 
• Matthew 4:12-23​

​A little oddly, perhaps, the calling of the disciples Andrew and Peter, which John's Gospel recounted last week, is repeated this week in Matthew's version.  There are some important differences between the two, however. The fourth evangelist tells the story in connection with John the Baptist. Matthew makes only a brief mention of John, and links the story more directly with the prophet Isaiah. Jesus, he declares, is the light that Isaiah prophesied would eventually dawn on those who sit 'in the region and shadow of death'. 

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It is with this alternative context in mind that Matthew introduces Andrew and Peter. But there is a further subtle and important difference. In John’s version, Andrew and Peter take the initiative in seeking Jesus out. In Matthew’s version, it is Jesus who encounters them fishing and calls them , as he does James and John. What is more, he calls them to leave not only the work they are engaged in, but everything that they have. Their response is usually held up as exemplary: 'Immediately they left their nets and followed him'. But what are we think about Zebedee who is left sitting in the boat?  Has he no claim on the sons he has raised, and on whose labour he will depend in old age?

Matthew’s version of the call to the disciples is echoed in many other Gospel episodes. Following Jesus is repeatedly represented as being all consuming, even to the point of abandoning family responsibilities. Doesn’t this mean that true Christian discipleship is ruled out for ordinary people? How could we answer such a call, given our love for parents and children, our belief in the value of what we do, and our obligations to the wider community to which we belong?

Tissot - The Calling of James and John

Elsewhere, however, when ​confronted with questions like these, Jesus acknowledges that for many people wholesale commitment of an exclusive kind is not possible, and promises that God can work with less than this. It is enough to respond to his call with simple penitence, and then seek more and more ways in which we can put Christ first in the course of ordinary life. A key step is relinquishing the hold of rival claimants to our most fundamental allegiance. The Epistle for this Sunday illustrates just how easy it is to fall into alternative loyalties. The loyalties for which St Paul chastises the Corinthian Christians are early examples of sectarian divisions that all claim the name of Christian. But there are other less obvious rivals for Christ’s headship – nation, profession, ethnic group, sports team and so on. If few of us can respond as immediately as the twelve disciples did, we can at least resolve to take more steps in their direction. What matters, is where the heart is. This week's Psalm expresses the ideal towards which all true disciples strive: ‘One thing I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life’.

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