Epiphany 3A (RCL) – A Preacher’s Ponderings

Answering the call

Third Sunday after Epiphany; 22 January 2023; Epiphany 3A (RCL); Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 5-13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23.

Last week, we heard the call of the first disciples as reported in John’s Gospel. There, John the Baptist identifies Jesus, and disciples begin to follow, and themselves call others. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus calls his disciples directly, and the stories are a bit hard for us to comprehend. What was so compelling about Jesus’ call, that these people would leave everything behind and follow?

Mending nets

26 January 2020; Third Sunday after Epiphany; Epiphany 3A (RCL); Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 5-13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23.

I know it is an accident of the lectionary, but I am always struck by the juxtaposition of the passage from 1 Corinthians and the passage from Matthew’s Gospel. In Corinthians, Paul says, “I appeal to you . . . that there be no tears (schisms) among you, but that you be mended into the same mind and same purpose.” In Matthew, when Jesus encounters James and John, they are in their father’s boat, mending their nets. The verb for ‘to mend’ (katartizein) is the same in both instances. According to Liddell and Scott, it only means ‘to mend’ in the New Testament. It usually means ‘to restore, to adjust, to put in order.’