1-25-26 “Follow Me: Sent to Serve, Sent in Love”
“Follow Me: Sent to Serve, Sent in Love”
I want to start with something funny that I found on the internet. Two guys are talking about fishing. One says to the other, “I am NEVER going to take my wife fishing with me ever again!” “Huh—was it that bad?” the other asks. “Yes!” the man replies. “She did everything wrong! She talked too much, made the boat rock constantly, tried to stand up in the boat, baited the hook wrong, used the wrong lures—and worst of all, she caught more fish than I did!”
As I often say, I am map-blind. Without GPS, I can’t drive long distances. Even with GPS, interesting things sometimes happen. A few years ago, I visited a friend’s house in Chicago. I had been there many times before, but I still depended on the GPS. As I followed the directions, the voice said, “Turn left.” Then, “Turn right.” Then suddenly, “Make a U-turn.”
At that moment, I thought, ‘Hmm, I remember this way. Why should I make a U-turn? I was going just fine!’ But I also know that I am map-blind, so I decided it was better to trust the GPS than myself. I trusted the voice and turned around—and only then did I realize I had been heading straight toward a dead end.
Sometimes, following means turning around. Sometimes it means trusting a voice we cannot fully see. And sometimes it means realizing that God calls us not after we get everything right, but right in the middle of where we already are.
That’s exactly what happens in today’s scripture. Jesus begins his public ministry after John the Baptist is arrested. John’s central message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” and he proclaimed that “One more powerful than I is coming.” When John could no longer continue his ministry, Jesus began his—starting by calling his disciples.
Jesus called people from among the poor and the powerless. He called fishermen and said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fisherman for people.” And immediately they followed him, leaving behind their fishing equipment, their families, and their coworkers. Jesus spent about three years with his disciples, training them as ministers. He taught them and showed them what his ministry was all about.
The central theme of Jesus’ ministry was the good news of the kingdom of God—revealed through healing, teaching, and preaching. This good news declared that the kingdom of God was open to everyone, including the poor, the blind, the deaf, the sick, children, widows, and all those pushed to the margins of society. Jesus healed the sick, restored the blind and the deaf, listened to widows, and joyfully welcomed children. Above all, he taught the great commandment: love God and love your neighbor—opening our minds and hearts to everyone with love. Before he ascended into heaven, he gave his disciples the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Through his ministry, we see that Jesus not only called his disciples and stayed with them, but also sent them into the world, saying, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21).
Through this, we see Jesus’ heart for his disciples. He called the poor and the powerless to show that the kingdom of God is open to everyone—at a time when religion was often reserved for the privileged and powerful. And just as fishermen know how to fish, Jesus used their skills to teach them how to “fish for people,” inviting others into the kingdom of God. In this way, Jesus showed them how to live as people who are sent in love in their everyday lives.
Jesus begins his ministry not in a palace or a synagogue, but along the shoreline of Galilee. He finds Simon, Andrew, James, and John—not praying or studying Scripture, but working. They are casting nets and mending them, doing what they do every day. And Jesus says just two words: “Follow me.”
Not, “Go home and think about it.”
Not, “Get your life together first.”
Not, “Wait until you’re qualified.”
Just—“Follow me.”
Jesus doesn’t call them away from life; he calls them into a new way of living. “Follow me,” Jesus says, “and I will make you fish for people.” Notice this: Jesus uses what they already know. They don’t stop being fishermen. Their purpose changes, but their skills are redeemed.
This is good news for us, because most of us don’t feel extraordinary—we feel ordinary. We go to work. We cook meals. We pay bills. We show up. And yet these are exactly the places Jesus walks into and says, “Follow me.”
This is where our ministry theme comes alive. To follow Jesus is not just to walk behind him—it is to be sent by him. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching, proclaiming the good news, and healing the sick. In other words, Jesus serves. Jesus loves. And then Jesus sends.
Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom of God and sent them out two by two to teach and heal, just as he did. When Jesus healed people, he sent them back to their homes, their communities, and their society. Those who follow become those who serve. Those who are called become those who are sent—not with power or prestige, but with love.
The disciples leave their nets immediately. Those nets weren’t bad. They were necessary. They were familiar. But sometimes even good things can keep us from following fully. Our nets today might be fear of change, comfort zones, the mindset of “we’ve always done it this way,” or the belief that we are not enough—that we are too small or too weak.
Jesus doesn’t scold the disciples for having nets. He simply invites them to trust him more.
Jesus is still walking along the shoreline of our lives. He calls teachers and retirees, parents and children, volunteers and even doubters. Jesus calls our small-town churches and those of us who think we have nothing special to offer. And he still says, “Follow me.” “Serve with love.” “Be part of what I am already doing.”
This week, Jesus may not call you to leave your job or your home. But you may hear him calling you to listen more closely, love more generously, and serve more faithfully. Following Jesus does not require being extraordinary. It requires being willing. Because when we follow Jesus, we discover that ordinary people—like us—are sent to serve and sent in love.
The Apostle Paul writes, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In other words, when we believe in the cross of Jesus Christ, we receive the power of the Gospel in our lives. So, believe in that power, and invite others with confidence—because you are sent by God in the love of Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God. Amen.