"On the Edge of the Sea of Galilee" | The Rev. Heidi Thorsen | January 25, 2026

Sermon Preached: Sunday, January 25, 2026 at Trinity on the Green

Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year A: Isaiah 9:1-4 | 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 | Matthew 4:12-23 | Psalm 27:1, 5-13

Between the words that I speak and the words that are heard, may God’s Spirit be presenr. Amen.

Our lectionary readings for today tell two different stories: one is the story of the beginning of a call to be in community, and the other is the story of a community broken apart.

Let’s start with the beginning.

The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of how Jesus called his first disciples. We heard a different version of this same story in the Gospel of John last week. These are hopeful narratives. Having just emerged from 40 days of isolation in the wilderness, Jesus embarks on his ministry– and the first thing he does is to recognize that he cannot walk this journey alone. So he walks by the Sea of Galilee, calling out to the fishermen: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Peter, Andrew, James, and John are quick to take Jesus up on this offer. They drop their nets and follow him.

These are hopeful stories because they are the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. They are the beginning of a call to be in right relationship with one another. The disciples haven’t yet encountered resistance from the Pharisees and the Sadducees. We are still years away from Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. There are yellow flags flying in the distance– for example, the news that John the Baptist has been arrested and silenced by the state. But that news seems almost like a passing cloud on the horizon. Instead, the focus is on Jesus’ invitation to a new way of being. The disciples are eager to follow Jesus, the bringer of Good News, as he proclaims the kingdom of God. On the shores of Galilee, it must have seemed so simple, so straightforward. Drop your nets, and follow me.

Fast forward about twenty years, and we have a glimpse into a different story in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. 

It’s amazing how much can change in twenty years. Jesus has died, an event that wasn’t the end of a movement but rather its defining moment. And Jesus’ disciples, some of them named in those first calling stories, like Peter, are no longer nobody-fishermen on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. Instead they are disciples traveling the Near East to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. No longer a unified group of twelve, they travel alone or in pairs.

Those early years of Christianity are often thought of as a time of persecution– and it’s true that Christians were not welcome or safe in the Roman Empire until Constantine in the 4th century. And yet the crisis for these early Christian communities that seemed to concern Paul the most wasn’t external— it was internal. In today’s portion from the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul laments the conflict that had risen up from within the Christian community. He writes: each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Paul implores the Christians in Corinth to resolve these divisions; to be of one mind and one purpose once again.

Our lectionary readings for today tell two different stories: one is the story of the beginning of a call to be in community, and the other is the story of a community breaking apart.

Which one of these stories resonates most with you today? For me, it is the story of the community in a state of fracture; the community in a state of crisis. I am not thinking about our church community here at Trinity. Rather, I am thinking about our country. Look at Minnesota. Consider the aggressive arrest of human beings without due process of law. Consider the detention of a five year old boy; a two year old girl. Consider the deaths of not one but now two concerned bystanders— Renee Good and Alex Pretti— who found themselves on the wrong side of a gun held by masked agents of ICE. These are snapshots of a country that is fracturing; a country with deep and widening cracks.

But my primary concern isn’t our country, strange as it is to say. My primary concern is our humanity. We are one human family. We are, each of us, children of God. And yet people are going to great lengths to treat one another as less than human because they are an immigrant, or undocumented, or gay, or liberal, or a so-called domestic terrorist. Our humanity is at stake— and humanity is the very thing that Jesus Christ came into this world to redeem.

We know that we are broken. The question is, what do we do about it? How do we return to the peace and hope of the disciples on the banks of the Sea of Galilee? And if we can’t go back to the beginning— at least, not in a literal sense— then how do we reconnect with the values that we started with; the values that are the foundation of our humanity and our faith?

The first words of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Matthew are these: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Now, for many of us “repentance” doesn’t sound like good news. Instead it sounds like the prelude to punishment; a call to shame. But in reality, repentance is the best kind of news in the world— because repentance means we can change. Repentance means we can steer this ship in a new direction. Each of us has made mistakes. Each of us has sinned, to use the language of our faith. Some of this sin doesn’t reside on our personal shoulders. Some of this sin lives in our communities, in the systems that separate us from one another. Our collective sin is a story of things done, and things left undone. Leaders left unchecked. And yet, no matter how far gone you feel, there is always the possibility of repentance. This is true for our personal lives, in big and small ways, and I believe this is true for our country too: it is never too late to repent; it is never too late to turn. 

And what are we turning towards? Christians will say that we are turning towards Jesus Christ— and it’s true that so much of our current situation would be different if people who called themselves Christian truly paid attention to the things that Jesus taught and lived in his ministry. And, there is also another way of thinking about what we are turning towards— when we think about what Jesus told his first disciples. Jesus’ call to the disciples was this: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

What do we turn towards? As Christians, we are invited to turn towards each other; to turn towards other human beings in solidarity and love. We are called to drop our nets, to take a step back from the indifference and minutia of everyday things, and reclaim our humanity. Turn towards people. This was a huge, priority-setting moment for the disciples. It was a shift away from the world of commerce, the world of transaction; and a shift towards community, a shift towards love. Turn towards people. God turned towards humanity when God sent Jesus to be born in this world as a human being, for the sake of our redemption. Are we ready to love others’ humanity, in the same way that God loves ours? Turn towards people.

Every time we treat another human being with the love, grace, and dignity they deserve, we proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of heaven. Every time we treat another human being with the love, grace, and dignity they deserve, we resist the powers of sin that are fracturing our country.

There are so many prayers in my heart today. Prayers for people in our community who are mourning, healing, hoping; prayers for friends and family; prayers for all those impacted by the approaching storm; and of course prayers for our country. We will continue in prayer throughout this service– and during communion we will reconnect with that community that we are called to be a part of, the Body of Christ.

For now, I’d like to conclude with a prayer that comes from our Book of Common Prayer. This is the Collect for the Human Family. Let us pray:

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.