Thomas J Parlette
“Disciples of the Light”
Matt. 4: 12-23
1/25/26
In 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote a seminal work that still has influence over writers and storytellers 75 years later. Campbell studied stories found in cultures around the world and noted similarities in structure and style. His book “Hero with a Thousand Faces” was the result of his research. With the rise of narrative theology in the 1970’s and 80’s, more and more biblical scholars started applying his work to the stories of the Bible.
One of the aspects of stories that Campbell identified was something he called the “Call to Adventure.” This was the opening of a story, when the main character is called to start something new, leave his life as he knows it behind, and to begin an adventure or a journey of some sort, with a noble cause to save the world or benefit humankind in some way. (1)
You can see examples of Campbell’s “Call to Adventure” in stories such as the original “Star Wars” movie – when Luke Skywalker accidently sees a hologram being carried by R2D2, from Princess Leia asking for help from Obi Wan Kenobi. Thus starts his great adventure fighting the Empire.
You can also see it in Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring”, when the Wizard Gandalf shows up at the door of the hobbit, Frodo Baggins, and calls him to leave the comfort of the shire and begin a great adventure.
That is what we see this morning in our Gospel passage from Matthew – Jesus’ call to begin a great adventure.
Last week, we took a look at the story of Jesus’ baptism and invitation from the Gospel of John – to “come and see” this one who is the Lamb of God.
This week, we look at Matthew’s version of the story of how Jesus went about calling his first disciples- two sets of brothers, all four fishermen – “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Matthew intentionally sets his story in the region of Galilee, in the little fishing village of Capernaum. Both of these locations are within the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, spoken of in the prophets and in the Psalms. These are regions that are well acquainted with the darkness that the prophets spoke of. First of all, there was the darkness of the Babylonian exile that still hung in the background of life. Then there was the current darkness of living in a heavily taxed region of the occupying Roman Empire. The people of this idyllic region knew what it was like to sit in darkness and wait for light to arrive. In the midst of this darkness, Jesus begins his ministry by calling his first disciples.
In John, we are left anticipating the Kingdom of God. John says – “The Kingdom of God is near,” implying that it is not here yet, we are still looking for the Kingdom to arrive.
But in Matthew we hear “the Kingdom has come near,” implying that the Kingdom is here, now – it has arrived. So the invitation, “Come and See,” changes to a command to “Follow Me.” This is Jesus’ call to adventure, to become disciples of the new light that has dawned.
The invitation “come and see” is a bit passive. It leaves the final decision open – “come, see what you think, decide for yourself.” The kingdom is near, but it’s not here yet. It’s something to look forward too, and then you can decide what you want to do.
But in Matthew, Jesus issues a command more than an invitation. Follow me. This doesn’t seem open to debate. Jesus doesn’t seem to be inviting questions. Follow me – let’s begin our journey of adventure, let’s hit the road to becoming disciples of the light.
Jesus is calling us to participate in the Kingdom. Jesus is gathering and healing as the embodiment of God’s empire as opposed to Ceasar’s empire. The New Testament scholar N.T. Wright notes that “Jesus’ teachings are not about our escape from this world into another one, but to God’s sovereign rule coming to earth as it is in heaven.” (2) God’s Kingdom is not something we escape to in the future – God’s Kingdom is something we participate in here, now, in the messiness and pain of the world as it is.
Discipleship, as it is portrayed in Matthew, is not presented as something chosen by the disciples. It is a decisive commanding act of Jesus, a command to participate in modeling what life in God’s kingdom is like, and how it is different from the empire that is all around us.
Think how different that is from how we usually think about discipleship. We typically think of disciples, or members, weighing their options and making a choice based on what kinds of programs a church offers. And then they pursue their calling largely on their own terms.
But, as the Gospels present Jesus’ call – the call comes from God, it is not up to the disciples. Matthew uses the same word that Mark often uses in his Gospel to describe the brother’s reactions to Jesus’ call – they respond “immediately.” They didn’t weigh their options. They didn’t do their own research. They simply responded.
This response requires what biblical scholar Douglas Hare calls “radical obedience.” (3) It’s a radical response for at least three reasons. First, the brother’s respond “immediately,” there is no debate, no hesitation. Second, they leave their profession, likely a fairly lucrative business at that. Anyone who has ever changed careers knows how radical that is. And third, they leave behind not only their livelihood, but their families as well. I’m sure such a radical decision did not go over well at home. The theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that the call to “follow me was a call to absolute discipleship,” and that only in surrendering ourselves to Jesus’ command could we, paradoxically, know our greatest joy. (4)
As disciples of the light, our greatest joy is being part of Christ’s body in this world, of pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. As members of Christ’s body, the church, we are called to model what life is like in the Kingdom of God, in the here and now.
In his book, The Power of Habit: Why Do We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg talks about “keystone habits.” Some habits are more strategic than others because they connect with and lead to other habits. For example – if you develop the habit of going to the gym four times a week, it will have all kinds of beneficial effects in your life. (5) That is a keystone habit – develop one habit that grows into many other good habits.
When Peter and Andrew, James and John responded to Jesus’ call to follow him, they made a “keystone decision”, a decision that made many other decisions easier to make. Once they decided to follow, everything else fell into place.
That’s what Jesus asks for this morning – to make a keystone decision. “Follow me – I will make you fish for people.” After that first decision, everything else will fall into place.
These two sets of brothers display radical obedience by laying everything else aside and choosing to strike out on an adventure, as disciples of the light, called to model what life is like in the Kingdom of God – right here, right now – right under the nose of the empire that surrounds them.
May God be praised that we receive the same invitation this morning. Amen.
1. Rodger Nishioka, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1, Westminster Knox Press, 2010, p 287.
2. Ibid… p 285.
3. Troy A. Miller, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 289.
4. Greg Garrett, Feasting on the Word , Year A, Vol. 1, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 289.
5. Mark Abbott, Connections, Year A, Vol. 1, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p 207.
