“The Invitation”

Main point: The invitation from Jesus is to follow him.

Introduction

Our gospel begins with a geographical marker which is the setting of the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. To our modern ears the places we hear about in the New Testament might all run together to make it sound like the entire story happened in one place with all Jewish people. But that wasn’t the case.

The locations of Jesus’ ministry happen in three basic provinces along the far eastern border of the Mediterranean Sea. The northernmost province was Galilee; the southernmost province was Judea; and in the middle was Samaria. All three provinces were under Roman imperial rule and each had their unique mix of ethnic differences. 

The highest concentration of Jewish people were in the south, in Judea, where Jerusalem and the Temple were. This is where, at the end of his life, Jesus was arrested, crucified, and rose from the dead. A little north of that, in Samaria, the Samaritan people were at odds with the Jewish people over historical disputes which we wont get into today. You might remember the story of the woman at the well where Jesus offered her living water. Part of the drama of that scene is that Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman - and Jewish men simply did not talk to Samaritan women.

Then further in the north, in Galilee, where our story begins today, there was a strong mix of both Jewish people and non-Jewish people who were called, at least from the Jewish peoples’ perspective, Gentiles. It was there that Joseph and Mary settled, with the young child Jesus, after returning from their refugee flight to Egypt. And it was there, in Galilee, a land mixed with Jews and Gentiles that Jesus began his public ministry with this message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near.”

If only the people could see the light that had dawned on them. If only the people could understand what was standing in their midst. If only the people could perceive the invitation being extended to them. This was God in the flesh. God had come close and invited them to be changed so they could enter the domain where God dwells - the kingdom of heaven.

Three phrases stand out above the rest in our gospel…

Light in the Darkness

…the first phrase is this: Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali…Galilee of the gentiles– the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.

My first question for us is this: Do we need that light today? Do we need that light today or is the light that we read about just a special epiphany for those people in Jesus’ day? 

The land of Zebulun and Naphatali was an ethnically mixed territory occupied and terrorized by one of the largest and strongest empires the world had ever known. The light was shining in the darkness of that time and place. On the gentiles - the people who were not of Jewish descent.

Was the light that was cast on those people in that place meant only for them or do we need that light today in our dark time and place?

The condition of our world is not so unlike the land of Zebulun and Naphatali. There are wars and violence and power struggles raging in our world today. There are global empires and conflicts rooted in ethnic prejudices. Here in the United States - a land majoritarily composed of Gentiles - are we not an ethnically mixed place with violent power in the streets of our cities?

Are we in need of a light shined on us in this dark time in our history?

Most of us are non-jewish people. Most of us are gentiles who sit in darkness. If it’s not entirely self-evident, allow me to answer that question for you. Yes. Yes, those of us who sit here in the room today sit in the midst of darkness. But, friends, on you a great light has dawned. And that light has brought an invitation of such magnitude it is worthy to be spread across the whole world.