“Follow Me”

Matthew 4: 12-22

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, January 25, 2026

Someone recently told me they were so discouraged from watching the news, that they had turned it off and decided to re-watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy instead. If you’ve seen it, you will recall that nine persons are sent on a quest: They must destroy a magical ring which is the key to the evil power of the dark Lord Sauron, who wishes to rule the world and enslave all free peoples. Some go along on the quest for the adventure and excitement. Some would like the ring for themselves, to wield its power for good, even though all who use the ring are eventually corrupted by it. Others, like Frodo Baggins, the hero of the story, wish they had never seen the ring, or been called to such a dangerous journey. He would much rather have stayed home working in his garden, drinking tea, or reading a good book, rather than fighting giant squids, orcs, and other assorted monsters. Midway through his journey, Frodo is granted a vision in a magical mirror of what life will be like if the evil ring is not destroyed.

Instead of the beautiful green gardens, fields, and forests of his beloved Shire, Frodo sees a devastated landscape of burnt trees and homes, with evil creatures haunting the ruins. He knows then that he must continue his quest; no matter the cost, he must complete what he has been called to do.

I wonder if Peter, Andrew, James and John thought about the cost when Jesus called them to leave everything and follow him. Why did they do it? Did they think Jesus was the Messiah, come to overthrow their Roman oppressors, and they wanted to be a part of that? Or were they excited at the prospect of doing something new, seeing new places, meeting new people? Did they follow reluctantly, wishing they could stay home and fish, but knowing they could not ignore Jesus’ call and live with themselves for the rest of their lives? Did they know then that he was the Son of God?

I wonder if Jesus might have called others to follow him who just looked at him and said, “Are you crazy - just drop everything and follow you? You’ve got the wrong person, Jesus. Ask someone else.”

We’ll never know exactly what went through the fishermen’s minds that day when Jesus called them by the Sea of Galilee. But one thing is certain: Jesus still calls people today. And, like the first disciples, we can still choose to follow him or to ignore him.

Usually when pastors preach on this scripture, the emphasis is on “leaving everything to follow Jesus.” As Matthew writes, “Immediately they left their nets… they left the boat and their father and followed him.” This is a radical response – dropping everything – work and family – to go off and “fish for people,” whatever that means. This passage has been used to recruit missionaries to go abroad and preach the good news of Christ to those who had never heard it. Maybe those brave people from Basel Switzerland who started the Presbyterian mission in Cameroon in 1880’s were inspired by these verses to leave their homeland, come to a place where no one had yet heard the name of Jesus and plant a church that now numbers some 2 million souls.

Nowadays there are plenty of churches in Cameroon, and indeed, throughout most of the world.

Christians still go to other countries to lend a hand – to teach, work in medical missions, help build schools and clinics, drill water wells, and sometimes, yes, to preach and start new churches in places where there are none. In 2006 Joe and I, and our daughter Christa, then 9 years old, set off to help with water projects in the Central African Republic. We lived in neighboring Cameroon for a while, where Christa ended up going to secondary school.

In our case, Joe and I had decided to follow Jesus long ago, when we were young. When I was old enough to think about marriage, I was looking for someone who shared my faith in Christ. I think Joe just thought I was cute. Regardless, it turned out well – we’ve been together nearly 50 years now.

Our move to Africa may have surprised our family and friends, but it was a natural outcome of our choice many years before to faithfully follow wherever Jesus led us. We were serving Christ before we became mission co-workers – we had both been active in church all our lives.

Joe had been on many mission trips to drill water wells, but he had the growing sense that God was calling him full-time to help people who needed clean water, not just going on a mission trip once or twice a year. So we prayed and struggled a bit about what God wanted us to do. We finally decided to sell our condo, put our things in storage, and head out, with three suitcases apiece, leaving everything else behind. We have never regretted that decision.

Now, Jesus doesn’t call most people to drop everything and go on an actual physical journey. What Jesus is actually asking us, as he asked the fishermen long ago, is to change our orientation. Let me explain.

Did you know that north hasn’t always been north and south hasn’t always been south? Some 780 million years ago, earth’s poles switched magnetic orientation: north became south and south became north. Scientists know this by looking at the residual magnetic patterns recorded in iron-containing rocks. If you had been navigating with a compass at that time, the north arrow would have switched to pointing south, and the south arrow would have suddenly pointed north.

It’s like that when we decide to follow Jesus. We were headed one way, then Jesus swings our compass around and says, “Follow me. I am now your magnetic north. You were going the wrong direction. I will show you the right one.” That’s what it means when he proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” As I told the kids, “repent” means that you are going one way and you decide to turn around and go the opposite way – toward Jesus, not away from him.

What Jesus is really asking – what he asked of Peter, Andrew, James and John, and what he asks of us today -  is a change in our orientation, a change that begins in the heart. Before they met Jesus, the fishermen were focused on fishing, making a living. After saying “yes” to Jesus, they were focused on Him. From then on, whether they were fishing, preaching, trekking the dusty roads of ancient Galilee – their main goal in life was to follow Jesus. Indeed, we could give up everything and set out for a foreign country to “serve Christ,” but if our orientation isn’t one of putting Jesus first in everything we do, we are not really following him at all. We are just fooling ourselves.  

Jesus calls us day by day, moment by moment, to ask, “Is this what God would have me do? Am I faithfully following Christ?” – in our work or school, how we interact with those around us – are we loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves? Are we treating others as we would like to be treated? Are we loving and praying for our enemies? These are all things that Jesus taught us to do. If we make our  small, daily decisions based on orienting ourselves toward Jesus, focusing on following him, the big decisions of life will come naturally.

Jesus calls us all. Bible scholar N.T. Wright wrote: “Sometimes his call comes slowly, starting like a faint murmur and growing until we can no longer ignore it. Sometimes he calls people as suddenly and dramatically as he called Peter and Andrew, James and John. When that happens to you, by whatever means and at whatever pace, you will know; Jesus has a way of getting through, and whatever we are engaged with – whatever nets we are mending, or fish we are catching –

somehow we will be sufficiently aware of his presence and call to know what it is we’re being asked to do…[even if we don’t] necessarily know where it’s all going to lead.” The good news is, no matter where the road leads, we know that we are going with Jesus.

I will conclude with a prayer that I read to Session this past week,

Eternal God, you call us to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Sermon ©Deborah Troester 2026