Follow Me: Called in the Midst of the Ordinary

Gospel

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

MATTHEW 4:12-23

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

He put on the name tag with the golden arches: Hi, my name is Andrew, it said. He knew exactly what the next eight hours would look like. Standing over the hot fryer, oil seeping into his hair and clothes. Flipping burger patties. Squirting mustard and ketchup onto buns. Endless, tiring hours spent in the heat, his uniform collecting stains—and always carrying the knowledge that no matter how hard he worked, someone would be angry if their burger wasn’t done just right.

But that day, something was different.

As he took his place behind the counter, Andrew looked up and saw a customer. And instead of ordering a Big Mac and fries, the customer said two words: “Follow me.”

If today’s Gospel were written for us—in 2026—this is what I think it might sound like.

Instead of fishermen—men whose physical work left them hot, filthy, sweaty, with fish guts clinging to their clothes—we might meet a grease-covered McDonald’s worker. Or a nurse, exhausted after a long shift, specks of vomit and blood on their shoes. Or a mechanic, back aching after a day spent under cars, grease packed under their nails. Or a teacher, completely wiped out after managing a classroom full of grumpy kids.

In our world, the fishermen could be anyone. They could even be someone retired—no longer in the workforce—but still carrying the weight of family, commitments, and responsibilities that don’t disappear just because paid work has ended.

The fishermen in the Gospel are there to represent people dealing with the realities and stress of life—trying to make ends meet, support others, do work that is hard and demanding, and live with the grime of the world clinging to them. And to people like this, Jesus comes and says two words: “Follow me.”

Notice what he does not say.

He doesn’t say, “You stink—go take a shower.”

He doesn’t say, “Clean yourself up. Get your life together. Fix things first.”

There are no conditions. No requirements.

Jesus simply calls.

Today’s Gospel touches our lives because it shows Jesus coming to people right in the middle of living—right in the middle of long hours, exhaustion, responsibility, and stress. Jesus comes to people who wake up already dreading the day ahead because they know what’s waiting for them.

It is to people like us—the fishermen of our world—that Jesus says, “Follow me.”

And this is an epiphany, a revelation, about who Jesus is. Jesus calls people exactly where they are, and exactly as they are—right in the thick of real life. He places no requirements on anyone. He does not ask them to change a single thing. All he does is call.

And it is up to those who are called—the fishermen in the Gospel, the McDonald’s worker, the nurse, the teacher, you and me—to respond.

Now, in the Gospel, the disciples respond quickly. Twice we’re told that after Jesus calls them, they immediately leave everything behind. “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” “Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” Immediately. No hesitation.

They leave their nets—their livelihood, their income, their security. They leave their boat—an expensive, essential tool for survival. And they leave their father—the head of the household, the one to whom they owed honour.

They leave it all. Everything. And they follow.

They have no idea what’s coming next. They don’t argue. They don’t negotiate. They don’t explain why now is a bad time. They simply get up and go.

Which raises an uncomfortable question for us: would we do the same?

Or would our response sound more like, ummm… not yet? I just need to deal with this first. Let me get cleaned up. I’m not ready. I’m not good enough. Just wait.

And this is where we need to be careful.

Because the truth is, there are not many people who can just walk away immediately. There are not many people who could ever be like the disciples. If we go back to Andrew—the McDonald’s worker—what if he’s barely paying his bills? What if he has a child? A family? Medications that he cannot afford? His job isn’t something he can casually abandon to follow a stranger to who-knows-where.

And neither can most of us.

We have children to feed. Parents to care for. Bills, mortgages, medications. Responsibilities that don’t pause just because Jesus calls.

Pretending otherwise—pretending that we would simply drop everything if Jesus asked, because we are such good Christians—doesn’t make us more faithful. It just makes us dishonest about our reality, about the truth of our lives.

So maybe the real question isn’t, Why aren’t we like the disciples, willing to give up everything?

Maybe the question is this: Where is Jesus already standing in the middle of our actual lives—our work, our exhaustion, our obligations, our limits—saying, “Follow me,” right here?

Because following Jesus may not mean walking away from everything. It may look very different in each of our lives. Maybe it means trusting that, despite everything, it will be okay because God is with us. Maybe it means placing our worries in God’s hands as we wrestle with a decision, a destructive habit, a broken relationship, or a deep fear. Maybe it means taking a step that feels small, ordinary, even unimpressive—but honest.

The disciples followed immediately, but most of us follow slowly. And the good news of the Gospel, the epiphany that is given to us today is this...Jesus does not abandon us because we need time. Instead, Jesus keeps standing there—calling to us as we fish, flip burgers, care for family, pay bills, and carry the grime of life—and saying, “Follow me.”