FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY “Do Not Be Afraid” February 9, 2025

As We Gather - During the season of Epiphany, the real, biblical Jesus is made manifest. So far this season we have seen how Jesus taught with an authority never heard before, and how He cast out demons and healed the sick. Now this week we hear that Jesus calls disciples to be “catching people.” God calls. He calls individual people such as Isaiah and Peter, and groups of people such as the Twelve and the Church today. As God called Isaiah in a spectacular vision to speak God’s Word in a world marred by sin, so He calls us, the Church, to do the same. As Jesus called Peter to go from catching fish to “catching men,” so He calls us, the Church, to do the same. What God has done for all of creation in the death and resurrection of Jesus will not be kept silent. God calls us to speak the Gospel in a sin-marred world and to live in ways that demonstrate the power of the Gospel.