Sermon for Epiphany 3A - Matthew 4:12-23

In today’s gospel, Jesus calls the people to repent because the “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” I talk about the phrase “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven” quite a bit. In the past, I defined Kingdom of God/Heaven in this way. The kingdom of heaven is what the world will look like when God’s values reign, rather than the world’s values. And, honestly, that’s not a bad working definition. God’s values do rule in the kingdom of heaven. 

But since the last time I’ve talked about the kingdom of heaven in a sermon, I’ve had a new insight. The word we translate as kingdom is the Greek word basilea. Basilea is most often translated as empire. Basilea is the word used when describing the Romans’ reign. So, what Jesus is doing here is setting up a stark contrast for the people living in the midst of the oppressive Roman basileia. He’s showing them something very different. He’s calling them to live, not in the basilea of Rome, but in the basilea of heaven. 

And how does Jesus set up this contrast? First, look at who he calls. In status conscious Roman culture, Jesus calls a bunch of dudes on a fishing boat. Fishermen might have a little more status than shepherds, but not MUCH more status. It’s very possible that Simon, Peter, and Andrew were illiterate. They were certainly barely educated, certainly poor. They are unlikely disciples - and they are the ones Jesus calls.

Next, look at location. Jesus doesn’t hang in the center of power. He’s in the region of the Sea of Galilee. Nazareth didn’t have a great reputation. He’s hanging out where people are poor, and hungry. He’s in a place where people were experiencing the oppression of the Roman basilea,  and he proceeds to show them how God’s basilea is different.

How? Matthew tells us that Jesus:
- Traveled throughout Galilee.
- Taught in the synagogues.
​- Proclaimed the good news of the basilea of heaven.
​- Cured every disease and sickness among the people.  


​What do these four things tell us? Jesus stayed where people were poor and struggling. He taught them where they were (and he was recognized as a teacher). He continued to point beyond the Roman basileia to the basileia of of heaven. He cured people of what ailed them.

All of these actions directly contrast with the values of Rome. And on this annual meeting Sunday, they serve as helpful reminders about who we are and what we are called to do as those who follow in Jesus’ footsteps. 

Like Jesus, we are called to travel out beyond St. Thomas. For some of us that literally means going - whether it’s to a garage in Vienna to pack diapers for Fairfax diapers, to the grocery store to buy items for SHARE, to a Tysons Interfaith meeting, or to a rally in support of our immigrant neighbors, we are called to travel. 

This morning I read an account of what this looks like in real time. Lindsay Hardin Freeman is an Episcopal priest who lives in Minneapolis. She wrote the book Bible Women: All Their Words and Why The Matter that our Women Gathering group used for more than a year to learn the stories of biblical women. 

There’s an Episcopal Church in Minneapolis St. Nick’s/Casa Maria. They are organizing food deliveries to their immigrant neighbors who are afraid to leave their homes due to ICE. Lindsay and her husband signed up and arrived yesterday - and there were more than 100 cars waiting to do the same. These are Lindsay’s words:

"We were assigned a family of three on the outskirts of Minneapolis. That’s all we knew. And that they wanted fruit. We went down the list and added items suggested by the food shelf. Milk. Vegetables: green peppers, onions, garlic. In-bone  chicken, rice, beans and more.     Because we’d called ahead, the recipient was waiting for us at the door of his apartment building. Shivering — in the -10 below cold. Standing by him was a little girl in a pink jacket and pink hat and black tights and a white tutu. No gloves. She smiled at me. I stayed with her as the car was unloaded. I could see the fear in the man’s eyes, letting his child stay with a stranger. She was about the same age as the children deported this week, flown to a concentration camp, excuse me, detention center, in Texas. And the man’s name? The shivering, hungry man’s name? Jesus.” 
We are called to teach. I know that makes some of you nervous - you think you don’t know enough. But, trust me. You know who God is. You know Jesus and his teaching. You know that our faith teaches us, among other things, to respect the dignity of every human being. You know what our common values are. You know what it means to be a Christian. These days, many people are teaching things that simply do not represent Jesus or what it means to be a Christian. When you hear that, teach. Speak up. Represent the basileia of heaven.  

We are called to proclaim. In the last few years, we’ve gotten good at evangelism at St. Thomas. Many of us have invited others to church. But proclamation is more than just inviting people to church. St. Francis is alleged to have said this, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” It’s a good word. An analogous saying can be found in the 1960s Catholic folk song, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” written by Fr. Peter Scholtes. So many Christians aren’t very loving these days. I’ve had many people outside the church tell me that they aren’t interested in Christianity or in Jesus because of how they’ve seen Christians behave. We can show the world a different face. How we treat the check out person at the grocery story, the person who cut us off in traffic, or even that one person here at church who gets on our last nerve matters. PROCLAIM, in word and in deed, the love of God through what you say or do..
We are called to cure. Jesus literally cured people who were sick. And some of us have a gift of prayer for those who are suffering in some way. (And if that’s you, and you’re not already a prayer buddy, talk to me!) But there are so many places where the world is hurting now. Take what you know and what you can do and make some small effort to CURE what is ill and broken. 
​
Preparing for our annual meeting is always a good opportunity to reflect on the past and to anticipate the future. I hope you have read the very impressive Annual Report for 2025. In it, you’ll see that there are so many places where we already TRAVEL, TEACH, PROCLAIM and CURE. There are so many places where we exemplify the values of the Basileia of Heaven. 

And as we move more solidly into 2026, those opportunities will continue. Part of the work our Vestry will do this year will be to help all of us discern how best to use the gifts God has given to each of us individually and as a congregation. There may be some things that we are doing that it’s time to set aside. And there may be new things we take on because of the gifts and interests here now. 

But, wherever that discernment leads, I know this. There are so many places in the world where it can be hard to find hope. Our hope rests in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we can bear hope into the world as his followers. 

Today, I want to close with the collect that we heard at the start of our service: Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.