Third Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 4:12-23
 
Location, location, location!

For nearly a century those three words have been the basis for successful real estate ventures. The idea, of course, is that the most important thing about a property is its location. We cannot underestimate its importance or its influence.

We don’t know who the four gospel authors were. At one time, it was believed that this gospel was written by the disciple Matthew who was a tax collector, but maybe, just maybe, the author was a realtor. Because in his gospel, place matters. Hes not just providing a travelogue when he references Nazareth and Capernaum, Zebulun and Naphtali and describes “the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” The places he names have meaning and are connected back through Jewish history to the prophecies about the Messiah.

We know that John was in Judea in the southern part of Israel when he was arrested, and Matthew tells us that Jesus then withdrew to Galilee, the region north of Samaria where “he made his home in Capernaum.”

He didn’t go to Jerusalem which was “the religious, political, cultural, and economic center of power.”[i]

He didn’t go home to his family’s village of Nazareth in southern Galilee where he might have found safety and security.

And he didn’t go to Sepphoris or Tiberias, the larger, wealthier cities sometimes called “the jewels of Galilee” where he could have met powerful or wealthy merchants.

Instead, Jesus went to Capernaum, a small fishing village on the northwestern edge of the Sea of Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.

And for Matthew’s predominantly Jewish audience that choice matters. Zebulun and Naphtali were two Northern tribes of Israel that had fallen to the Assyrians more than seven hundred years before the time of Jesus.

“Whenever anyone invaded, they were the first and last to bear the brunt of it. When the Assyrians overran Israel, they annexed these two tribes. [Zebulun and Naphtali] were cut off from the rest of Israel, separated from their country and family.”[ii]

As preacher Karoline Lewis said, “[Their names] have not been on the lips of God’s people for a very, very long time….just a mention of these two names and Matthew’s audience knows that in Jesus, God is up to what God does best – making good on God’s promises to God’s people.”[iii]

And it is in that place and among those people that Jesus begins to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (v. 17) He repeats the exact same message that John had been proclaiming in the wilderness in Chapter 3 and it is the same message he will send the twelve out with in Chapter 10. “Although the place [changes], the message is the same.”[iv]

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Christians often talk about why Jesus died but this is why Jesus lived: to announce the kingdom of God here on earth, and in his person to show us God enfleshed, who cares enough for God’s people to live among us.

This morning’s gospel reminds us that “God speaks in places [and in ways] that surprise us.” [v] Jesus defies all expectations about what a Jewish Messiah should look like, and he ushers in a kingdom that doesn’t have any of the trappings – the regalia, the money or the pageantry – of any kingdom that has been known. And he announces it, not to the priests in the temple or to the governors who served the Roman empire, but to fishermen and folks who live in the sticks.

So, perhaps we can believe that the kingdom of heaven is here in our corner of the world, too:

The kingdom of heaven is on the court square where a couple of weeks ago Eastside Baptist wrapped scarves on tree branches with tags that told people who needed them to take them.

The kingdom of heaven is in a house over here off Buffalo Street where a family has been living without electricity or running water even when the temperatures drop to 13˚ like they did this week. The Totally Free Clothes Store gave them some good heavy winter coats and we helped them get some food and kerosene.

The kingdom of heaven is at Pleasant City Church who is hosting a dental bus for neighbors in need of free dental care next Saturday. The bus, sponsored by the North Carolina Baptists on Mission, has been visiting communities for thirty years reaching uninsured people.

Jesus shows up in all of these places, and we meet him there, just as the disciples met Jesus in Capernaum and followed him.

Meeting Jesus, we cannot ignore his call to repentance.

Sometimes we want to skip over that part. It sounds hard. It makes us feel guilty. We know how often we fall short of God’s commandments for how we are to live with God and with each other.

But understanding repentance only as a moral choice between what is good and what is bad, or wrong or sinful, isn’t especially helpful, or accurate. Metanoia, the word translated as “repentance”, actually means “turning around”, so when we repent, we are changing direction, literally turning around and following God.

And of course, when we refuse to repent, we are actually choosing to continue to go in the direction we have already taken, away from God. We are choosing to separate ourselves from God in favor of our own desires and plans.

Repentance, especially in our Lutheran tradition of confessing our sins and receiving absolution or forgiveness, means drawing near to God. Martin Luther taught that the Law brings us to the cross where we receive forgiveness. Repentance means living in the light of God’s grace where we know God’s love for us. And when we know God’s love for us, we can share that love with others, just as we are commanded. (Matthew 22:39)

Place matters. Some forty years ago our congregation decided to stay inside the city and not sell this property. We decided we were going to be a visible sign of God’s presence in this neighborhood and community. Today’s gospel reminds us the Good News that the kingdom of heaven has come near to the corner of Lafayette and Marietta Streets, and Jesus is calling us to follow him.

Amen.

[i] Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
[ii] Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary . Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
[iii] Karoline Lewis. “Mapping God’s Promises.” Luther Seminary. https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=4796, accessed 1/25/2020.
[iv] Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
[v] Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.