Jesus calls the first Disciples | Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.  Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee when he sees two brothers casting their nets, doing what they have always done, making a living, keeping life moving forward. He does not wait for a quiet moment or a spiritual opening. He speaks right into the middle of their ordinary day. “Follow me.” No explanation. No safety net. And they go. They release what is in their hands because something in his voice tells them that life can be more than survival. This is not recklessness. It is hope. Hope strong enough to loosen the grip of what is familiar and pull them toward what they cannot yet see.

That is how hope works in the gospel. It does not erase fear, but it outpaces it. The disciples do not follow because they understand, but because they trust that the one who calls them knows the way. They step into a future shaped not by scarcity, but by promise. From nets to lives, from the known to the unfolding mercy of God. Jesus still calls like this, quietly and persistently, inviting us to believe that love is stronger than what we cling to, and that the world can be changed because God has already stepped into it. Sometimes faith looks like hope taking the first step, confident that grace will meet us before we fall.

Prayer: 

God of living hope,you meet us on the shoreline of ordinary dayswith hands full and hearts divided.

You call us by name, not when we are ready,but when we are real.

Loosen what we clutch too tightly.Unknot the fears that keep us circling the familiar. 

Give us courage that does not wait for certainty,and hope that moves our feet before we have the map.

Send us from this prayer into lives of witness.Teach us to follow by showing up,to love by risking proximity,to serve by choosing people over comfort.

Let our faith take shape in what we do next,in who we stand beside,in the mercy we practice today.

Call us again, O Christ,

and when you do, make us bold enough to answer.

Amen.

The Rev. Matthew O’Rear (he/him)

Atlanta, Georgia I St. Luke Lutheran Church 

Pinecrest Faculty & Staff I 2009-2019