Come Follow Me

Pastor Currie Burris

Matthew 4: 12-22

January 23, 2005

What does it mean to be a Christian?  If you were asked today, “What does it mean for you to be a Christian,” what would you say? That may seem like an obvious question for us gathered here. After all this is a Christian church. To be a member here by definition means that you are a Christian. But how would you define what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

After Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, he was immediately drawn out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And coming out of the wilderness, he returned to Galilee. But instead of going home to Nazareth, he moved his home to Capernaum. Capernaum was a different sort of place from Nazareth. Nazareth was a small village in the countryside. Capernaum was a city right on the Sea of Galilee. It was a cosmopolitan, international city, a place where international travelers from across the Middle East passed. Traders, Roman soldiers, people from all cultures across the world, many languages, cultures.  Galilee of the Gentiles, where Jewish world met the outside world.

Here Jesus began his ministry. Walking by the sea, he came upon fishermen, Andrew and Peter, drawing their nets out of the water.  And the first thing he said to them was “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”  What did this mean? Where was he going? Where was he going to take them? All a mystery.  Peter and Andrew had never seen this man before. They had never heard his sermons, never heard any of his teachings; they had never witnessed a miracle.  He simply looked at them, his eyes meeting theirs, and in the fullness of that moment called out to them, “Come follow me.”  And they dropped their nets, left every thing they had, everything they were, everything they had done — and followed Jesus.

Matthew says that when Jesus came into the world, the world received a great light, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. At the call of Jesus, a great light has dawned. And Peter and Andrew, James and John, followed.

So again I ask, what does it mean to follow Jesus? A few weeks ago, I heard a radio report on the state of religion in America, and as part of the piece, the reporter asked a church member what it meant for her to be a Christian. The woman said that she believed in the teachings of Jesus. She thought that being a Christian meant following the teachings of Jesus. Another person mentioned the great miracles of Jesus as a sign that he was the Son of God.

Over the past six weeks our congregation has been engaged in a dialogue with Synagogue Tikvat Israel. Through the years we have shared many things. We are partner congregation is many ways.  For the past 21 years, we have shared Yom Hashoah services, services of remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II. The dialogue we are having now is our opportunity to build understanding and community with our Jewish brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters in the covenant with God. I spoke at the synagogue. Rabbi Gorin preached at SSPC a few Sundays ago.

We have met in small groups four times now. Our final meeting will be tomorrow, and next Sunday you will hear from members of the dialogue group about how it has gone and what we have learned. Our meetings were not meant to try to defend our faith, or to try to proselytize or convert anyone.  The meetings were our opportunity to understand each other. We have talked about what gives us joy in our faith, why I like being a Christian, why I like being a Jew.

 Some of us had never really done that before. But here with folks who really wanted to know, but with whom we were not trying to argue or convince, we had the challenge to give an accounting of the faith within us. We were challenged to say how we felt about Jesus.  We were challenged to explain what this Jesus was all about anyway.

I heard some folk talk about the powerful teachings of Jesus. And certainly Jesus was a great teacher. Following teachings of Jesus are a central part of being a Christian.  Just a few verses beyond our passages today comes the Sermon of the Mount, the greatest summary of Jesus’ message: Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall see God ... Love your neighbor as yourself ... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ... Give to others in need ... Behold the lilies of the field, they neither sow nor reap, but nothing in all of creation is adorned as beautifully as these ... Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you ... Do not judge, lest you also be judged ... Love your enemies ... Turn the other cheek ...

But much of what Jesus taught is an echo of the teachings found in the Hebrew Bible, and most of our Jewish brothers and sisters find much resonance with the teachings of Jesus. To be a Christian involves following Jesus’ teachings, but it is more than that. It starts with something else. Peter and Andrew had never heard any of these teachings.  They heard his voice. They saw into his eyes. They heard him call them.  And they followed. Later, they learned his wisdom. Later, they witnessed his miracles and wonders. Later, they witnessed his suffering and death.  Later, they experienced his resurrection, his new life and light.

To be a Christian is not about what you believe in, it’s not about teachings, miracles or theology. It is not an ideology, not a set of beliefs. It is not about what you may admire about Jesus or even what you think happened to Jesus. To be a Christian is not about what you believe — it’s about who you follow. It’s about that moment by the lakeshore of our lives when we hear the voice calling our names, calling my name.  I put down my net and I start a brand new life. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, I still will follow.  The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back. No turning back.

To be a Christian is first about following Jesus. Walking down the road with him. Changing the orientation of our lives to be who he wants us to be, to go where he wants us to go. Know the living Christ who comes walking into our lives, who comes walking in our cities, who comes into our homes, into our hearts. Come follow the living Christ, who calls out to us, “Follow me and you’ll go where you never have been before; follow me and you’ll do what you never have done.”

A Great light has shown into our lives and we are changed forever.  The light of God is shining upon us in Christ — new life, a new way, new strength, new values, new direction.  The kingdom of God has come close by here. A new light has shown upon us. Let us follow.