3 Epiphany, Yr A (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
3 Epiphany, Yr A (2026) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Isaiah 9:1-4 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Matthew 4:12-23
In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
“The people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
This morning we hear these words in both Isaiah and our Gospel reading.
Light has shined on those who live in deep darkness!
In today’s gospel reading,
Jesus learns that John the Baptist has been imprisoned
for speaking God’s truth to the powers-that-be.
Jesus carries on John’s mission of preaching repentance…
“for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As Jesus walks along,
he calls Andrew and Peter and James and John
to set aside their fishing for food
so that they may join Jesus in fishing for people.
They accept the call
and follow Jesus.
They then accompany Jesus as he walks among the people, across the land…
teaching, sharing the Good News of God’s love, and healing folks.
Two things strike me about Jesus’ calling of people to follow him:
The first thing is that Jesus calls people to be in community.
The second thing is that Jesus walks with them.
This morning I want to share two stories that resonated for me with this gospel.
For the first time last weekend,
I heard about a group of 19 monks traveling, by foot,
from a Vietnamese Temple in Fort Worth, TX,
to Washington, DC….that’s 2300 miles!
It is called the “Walk for Peace.”
As the monks walk for these 120 days,
they depend upon community support…the support of complete strangers…
for medical care and food along the journey.
As they are handed flowers along the way,
they then pass the flowers along to passers-by.
This past Thursday they made their way in North Carolina from Siler City to Pittsboro.
WRAL news reported:
“The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment.
“It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering.
“When given flowers by the bystanders watching their journey, the monks regift them to others.
“They posted to Instagram, ‘the flowers remained the same— but the peace and happiness multiplied with each giving.’
“The post continued, ‘This is the beautiful truth about peace: when you give it away, it doesn’t diminish — it multiplies. When you share joy, you don’t lose it — you create more of it.’
“In Siler City, hundreds filled the football stadium at Jordan-Matthews High School to greet them.
“Zack Roberson said, ‘They’re spreading peace, light, harmony. Look at all these beautiful people... We need that in this world!’”
The goal of the monks is to promote Peace and to connect with people.
Sounds a bit like Jesus’ purpose:
“the kindom of God has come near.”
This past Monday, January 19th, we celebrated the life and witness of Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Thursday, the meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation was entitled:
“Called by God. Stand and I will be with you.”
“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recounts the violent threats that grew in response to his work for justice:
“Almost immediately after the protest [in Montgomery, Alabama] started, we had begun to receive threatening telephone calls and letters.
“They increased as time went on.
“By the middle of January, they had risen to thirty and forty a day….
“As the weeks passed, I began to see that many of the threats were in earnest.
“Soon I felt myself faltering and growing in fear….
“One night at a mass meeting, I found myself saying, ‘If one day you find me sprawled out dead, I do not want you to retaliate with a single act of violence. I urge you to continue protesting with the same dignity and discipline you have shown so far.’
“After receiving a threatening late-night phone call, King’s resolve was renewed through prayer and an experience of God’s presence and call:
[King said…]
“It seemed that all of my fears had come down on me at once.
“I had reached the saturation point…. I was ready to give up…. I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward…. And I got to the point that I couldn’t take it any longer….
“With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud.
“The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory: ‘Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now, I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage.
‘Now, I am afraid. And I can’t let the people see me like this because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak.
‘The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.’
“It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: ‘Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you. Even until the end of the world.’
“I tell you I’ve seen the lightning flash. I’ve heard the thunder roar. I’ve felt sin breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul.
“But I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me alone.
“At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.” The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., ed. Clayborne Carson (Grand Central Publishing, 2001), 76, 77–78.
As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers…and said to them,
“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers,… and he called them.
Immediately they left…and followed him.
My friends, we have been called to follow Jesus.
The fact that we gather together every week means that we have accepted that call,
even when sometimes we wonder what in the world we’re doing
or simply don’t feel up to the task.
We are called to follow Jesus every day…
not just upon occasion when something big happens.
It is easy to get discouraged or disheartened when all the struggles of life appear.
And they appear every day.
The Good News is that we are called in community…
we have each other as support along the way.
We have each other when we feel weary or afraid,
or lonely or hurt,
or confused or filled with doubt.
We also have each other to share moments of joy, hope, and delight!
And we have God’s promise that God is with us on our journeys all the time…
until the end of the ages.
God’s Spirit sustains us…all the time.
I am grateful to be sharing this life’s journey with you.
May God grant us the courage to persevere in God’s call to each of us…
all day, every day…
for the kindom of God has come near and we are called to share the Good News!
Amen.
