In Matthew 4:12–22, Jesus calls ordinary fishermen with a simple command: “Follow Me.” Without delay, they leave their nets and respond. Their immediacy stands in sharp contrast to another call in Scripture—the moment in Genesis 19 when Lot is urged by the angels to flee Sodom, yet lingers.

This homily reflects on the danger of spiritual delay and the power of divine mercy. Why do we hesitate when God calls? How do sinful habits and attachments bind the heart and weaken the will? And what does it mean that Lot was not saved by his own strength, but was seized and led out by God’s mercy?

At the beginning of the year, this sermon invites us to honest self-examination, renewed repentance, and deeper trust in God’s grace. Drawing from Scripture, the prayers of the Church, and the witness of the Church Fathers, we are reminded that while God always acts first, we are called not to linger—but to follow.