On the farm in Kansas where my family comes from, they would often call everyone in for a meal
using a bell. This bell to be exact. You can hear it quite a distance on the farm. As you can hear, it
was very effective. In a similar way, you might recall the TV show Cheers from the 80’s with Ted
Danson. When the regular patron walked into the bar, the entire room called out, “NORM!” Not
quite calling him to the bar but acknowledging his call to his bar stool and the drinking that was
sure to occur. Or growing up in my neighborhood, the kids were called home, not by a bell or by
names being shouted out, but when the streetlight came on. That’s when we all knew it was time to
go home for dinner. A bell, a name or streetlight, each one was a way to communicate a sense of
call.
Today we hear Jesus call two sets of brothers, four fishermen, to follow him. But Matthew tells this
story through a political lens. Zebulun and Naphtali are sons of Jacob and tribes of Israel who were
given land in the region of Galilee. But after the Assyrians conquered this region, Gentiles, non-
Jewish people, moved in. Then the land filled with Jews and Gentiles was occupied by the Roman
Empire which had created much darkness and death. In “Galilee of the Gentiles” Jesus proclaims,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” READ Matthew 4:12-23.
Do you ever wonder why Jesus healed so many people? I thought it was because Jesus was
compassionate and had the ability, the power, to help, to heal. But that disregards the cause, the
oppression of the Roman Empire, where 70-90 percent of folks experienced poverty and food
insecurity, where diseases were rampant. “Roman imperial structures and practices were bad for
people’s health. These kinds of diseases were death-bringing in a world that required physical labor
for survival.” (Working Preacher, Warren Carter). So when Jesus declares the kingdom of heaven
has come near, he is making a political statement and giving the people what they specifically need
most, healing. “Jesus’ healings are acts that repair imperial damage and enact God’s life-giving
empire in restoring people’s lives” (Working Preacher, Warren Carter).
Even Jesus calling the four fishermen was a political statement. As fishermen these sets of brothers
were likely under contract with the Roman Empire. This contract with Rome’s agents allowed them
to fish and required them to supply a certain quality of fish. So, leaving their nets and following
Jesus disrupts Rome’s economic interests. “Rome wanted the men to catch fish to advance their
imperialist expansion. Jesus wants them to catch people for God’s rule, a rule of mercy and justice
and plenty” (Working Preacher, Jillian Nelson).
Jesus calls this rule, the kingdom of heaven, which is the way Matthew describes the kingdom of
God. Kingdom could also be translated “reign, rule or empire,” so thinking of Jesus ushering in the
empire of heaven would be like a slap in the face to the Roman Empire. Jesus is asking the people
to repent because God’s reign, the kingdom of heaven, is near. Near in the person of Jesus being
the embodiment of God’s kingdom and near in that God is moving in the world to save the people.
Let’s remember that Jesus has just moved to Capernaum, has moved to Galilee of the Gentiles
which means that Jesus is starting his ministry in a place of God’s covenant, Zebulun and Naphtali,
that is also filled with non-Jewish people. This means God is extending God’s kingdom to
everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike! That’s the light dawning, that Jesus is bringing God’s light and
salvation into the world. That is the message of Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ to the
Gentiles as well as the Jews, the dawning of the light within the darkness. The psalm speaks of
peace in the land and God’s love bringing salvation. We are to turn to God in our hearts when we
see the light. We are to answer God’s call on our hearts and lives.
On Monday we commemorated Martin Luther King Day. We honored a man who answered the
call to follow God, no matter what the risks. In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, King inspired
us to answer the call to action, the call for racial equality, for the kingdom, the reign of God that is
the kingdom of heaven. That is God’s purpose for humanity; equality in race, economics, matters of
the heart and valuing those who immigrate for a better life. His closing image of black and white
children singing, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my
fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring. Let freedom
ring from the mighty mountains of New York to Stone Mountain in Georgia. Let freedom ring
from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado to the molehill of Mississippi. Let freedom ring from the
curvaceous slopes of California to Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.” Let freedom ring.
MLK spoke of the injustices of the day, oppression imposed by the American Empire, seeking to
transform the landscape of our nation. MLK protested the American Empire and its systematic
oppression of black people through red-lining, segregation and violence. King followed Jesus’
example of seeking to heal the sickness caused by empire and ushering in God’s vision for the
kingdom of heaven here on earth.
Watching the Jack Smith testimony this week I realized a parallel. Jesus spoke of the kingdom,
reign of heaven, as the operating system that is to come. One of God’s design and Jesus’ unveiling.
One that would replace the operating system of the Roman Empire. Calls are specific to the time
and place, addressing the geopolitical moment. So if Jesus came today, I think he would proclaim
exactly what we need in America right now. A reign, a rule, a kingdom that would replace the
vindictive, violent, expansive powers exerted by our Imperial president. More than the kingdom of
heaven, Jesus would proclaim the Rule of Law. Remember kingdom, rule and reign are all the same
Greek word. Until God’s kingdom comes on earth, let us in America work for, fight for, the rule of
law. Let freedom ring.
If we feel discouraged in this calling, let’s remember that hope is a willingness to act as if that hope
has already been realized. So let us hope, see, believe there will be a day when freedom rings, when
the oppressive empire is done and God’s kingdom of heaven is within reach. Because that is
exactly what the four fishermen did. They walked away from their nets and followed Jesus. They
stopped fishing for fish and started fishing for people. They stopped commerce to make a statement
much like people in Minneapolis did on Friday. People in Minneapolis and around the country
created an economic blackout, walking out of their jobs and schools in protest to ICE agents
invading their city and killing Renee Good. Let freedom ring.
I have been ready a book about Hope by MaryAnn McKibben Dana. In the chapter entitled “Hope
as Protest” she tells the story of a Trappist monk Paul Jones. That summer MaryAnn got all fired
up about the all the things that mattered- “immigration, LGBTQ+ justice, poverty and gender
equality and environmental justice.” She writes, “It was as if Jesus himself were giving me
marching orders into ministry and making clear what that ministry was to be about” (p. 146). Then
she tells the story of the monk hearing God’s call. Paul Jones heard his call “over coffee and
scripture, specifically the book of Revelation’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth. (Sounds
sort of like the kingdom of heaven) It’s a vision of a restored creation in which every tear has been
dried from every eye. Jones found that vision so beautiful, so compelling, that (he writes) ‘I made a
decision that day to gamble my life in commitment to that dream. And if there is a God- and I pray
to God that there is a God- then my life will be a co-creator of that vision. And if there is no God’-
and here his voice curled into a fist of defiance- ‘then my life will be an undying protest against the
non-existence of God’” (Hope a User’s Manual, p. 146).
It feels like we are sitting in darkness, but let us remember the LIGHT, Christ’s light has dawned.
Our job during Epiphany is to live in the hope of the kingdom of heaven. Yet we often think hope
is a striving toward a particular positive outcome. McKibben Dana asks us, “In what way is hope
also protest?” (p. 147). May we follow Jesus’ call as we seek to discern that answer. Let Freedom
ring. Amen.
