Third Sunday after the Epiphany 2024

Mark 1,14-20

Rev. Neli Miranda 

This Sunday the Epiphany arrives in Galilee, Jesus’ homeland.  Mark tells us today that Jesus has arrived in Galilee proclaiming the good news of God after John the Baptist was arrested. Jesus indeed has consecrated his life to God because in picking up John’s message, he is at risk of suffering the same fate of the one who is now imprisoned.  Thus, in the midst of persecution and in open defiance to the reign of Caesar and Herod, Jesus openly proclaims, “The kingdom of God has come near.” By this powerful announcement, Jesus calls the people to turn to God and believe in the good news. In short, Jesus is announcing that the reign of Caesar and Herod is over.

After telling us about the intense beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Mark immediately takes us to the shores of the Sea of Galilee where the Epiphany reaches a group of fishermen. Mark’s account is brief but speaks for itself:  Jesus first sees two brothers, Peter and Andrew, who are casting a net into the sea, “For they were fishermen,” Mark adds.  Addressing them, Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” (“I will make you fisher for people” in NRSVU).  The two fishermen immediately respond to Jesus’ call, and they quickly leave their nets and follow him. Farther, Jesus sees another two fishermen, James and his brother John, sons of Zebedee, who were in their boat mending the nets. Like with Peter and Andrew, Jesus calls them and they, leaving all behind, follow Jesus.  What a compelling call that makes these fishermen immediately follow Jesus!

This moving image has been romanticized and disembodied from the socio-political context in which Jesus calls the disciples. The beautiful scenery of the Sea of Galilee is not a coincidence. Moreover, Jesus’ statement “I Will make you fisher of people”, well-known to Christians, has been traditionally interpreted as “saving souls”.  However, according to the prophetic tradition, this is not a positive expression. For instance, in the Old Testament, Jeremiah speaks of many fishermen sent to catch the wayward people of Israel for judgment (16,16-18). It is used by Amos and Ezekiel in a similar sense.

Who are those people who the new disciples are sent by Jesus to fish?

This question leads us to the context of the oppressive Roman occupation that crushed the economy of the Israelites, particularly those whose livelihood depended on fishing in the Lake of Galilee. Around 20 C.E., wishing to curry favor with the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus Tiberius, Herod Antipas (the Roman client-king of Galilee who had imprisoned John the Baptist) built a new city on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and named it Tiberias in honor of the Roman Emperor. From this city, the Roman administration controlled and regulated fishing in the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus begins his ministry around 30 C.E., all fishing had been regulated by the Romans in several ways: the best fish was exported, local fishermen could not fish without paying a tax, and all the fish production including tolls on product transport was taxed. Certainly, being a fisherman at this time was not a great business.  Additionally, the people who lived around the lake ate miserably because the best fish was extracted for export. Guess what! The Romans had privatized the Lake of Galilee!

This desperate situation would explain Jesus’ urgency to begin his ministry in Galilee and to develop much of his ministry in many cities around the lake. His proclamation “The kingdom of God has come near” was indeed good news for those who lived under the oppression exercised by the Roman Emperor and his client king Herod.  On the other hand, the desperate situation of Galilean fishermen like Peter, Andrew, John, and James makes them immediately join Jesus’ movement which was proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

Dear sisters and brothers, like the first disciples, Jesus calls us today to follow him, to be fishers of people. His call is related to the struggle that we, as disciples, face with the “big fish” who oppress the people, who deny what rightly belongs to the people. In brief, we are called to participate in Jesus’ call for justice, in denouncing the perpetrators of injustice, and in overturning the oppressive system.  What are the injustices we should denounce today? Who are the “big fish” we are called to fish?

In this season of Epiphany, Jesus arrives in our Galilee proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is among us. He comes today seeking those disciples who are willing to commit themselves to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. His call implies living a new spirituality, which is not disembodied from our social life, rather it compels us to analyze our reality, to seek our liberation, and to recover the rights that the “big fish” deny us.  Can you see Jesus approaching your boat? How will you respond to his call?

May the glorious, transformative Epiphany on the shores of the Sea of Galilee reach us today; may we listen to Jesus’ call, “Follow me”; may we be willing to follow Jesus and proclaim in our Galilee, "The Kingdom of God has come near”.

Amen