The Second Sunday of Matthew
Scripture: Matthew 4:18-23
When things don’t go our way, it can lead to despair, especially when it concerns our health. In my case, my voice was failing, and I couldn’t speak without straining.
I didn’t know what to do or how to fix it, so I became increasingly withdrawn. During coffee hour, I would intentionally choose a table where I wouldn’t have to engage in much conversation, and I avoided phone calls, preferring to correspond through email.
However, these tactics didn’t resolve the problem. They may have provided temporary comfort, but ultimately, they only served to isolate me further.
Today, we hear Jesus calling out to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, urging them to follow him. According to Matthew, everyone had been dwelling in darkness, overshadowed by death and despair. Yet, when Jesus calls these disciples, he instills hope as he becomes the guiding light in the midst of darkness.
Due to my illness, I too found myself sitting in the darkness. However, the same Jesus who offers hope to the disciples by summoning them to follow him also extends that hope to us. He calls us to abandon our former lives and embark on a new path alongside him.
By instilling hope in me, Jesus opened up the possibility of pursuing a new path—one that eventually led me to the right doctors and the necessary steps for healing. None of this would have been possible if Christ had not granted me the hope to persevere and continue my search for the answers I needed.
So, as we hear Jesus calling out to the disciples to follow him, we also hear him calling out to us, “Come, follow me.” And as we turn to leave our old ways behind to follow him, we realize that he’s a beacon of hope in a world of despair. He’s the light that shows us a new path that leads to life.