Sermon: February 9, 2025

Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Allowing ourselves to be open to Christ’s calling is challenging. Jesus was quite clear about it when he told the disciples, "Anyone who wants to follow me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.”

Following Christ may go against things we want and will most often go against what is popular in our culture and society. It did in Jesus’ time as he taught and showed love, compassion, and mercy to foreigners like Samaritans and other Gentiles. He even demonstrated love to those who were considered enemies like the Romans. He taught about feeding the hungry and clothing those who are in need. Jesus went to those who were marginalized and pushed aside by society and welcomed them.

      For us, the names have changed, but we still have those in our world who don’t have a voice and are in need or marginalized. We have migrants and immigrants who are hungry, thirsty, and seeking safety. We have those who are transgender, gay, and lesbian, whose fundamental human rights are threatened. There are women, children, and the elderly who are neglected and overlooked. In one of the most advanced nations on earth, there are those who are denied proper medical care. And there are people of color who are continually subjected to systematic racism.

These are the modern-day Samaritans, the foreigners, and those who society pushes aside, marginalizes, and tramples upon. These are the people Jesus goes to and demonstrates God’s love for them because they are at the heart of Jesus’ ministry.

As we see in today’s gospel, Jesus’ call to discipleship is a two-way process that involves invitation and response. Simon Peter, James, and John may not have fully understood their encounter with Jesus, but they responded with obedience and commitment. They left behind not only the amazing catch of fish but also their entire lives and everything they knew to follow Jesus on a mission that went beyond their imagination —a mission about God’s love for all creation and sharing God’s kingdom with others.

Jesus calls to us to be his disciples, just ordinary people going through our ordinary lives. How will you answer his call? Will you stay in the boat or along the shore, or will you abandon everything and obediently commit yourself to follow Jesus’ radical way of loving others? If we are to call ourselves followers of Christ, then our response to Jesus’ call to discipleship can be no less than “By your word, I will do as you say.”