In both the first and gospel readings we return to 'the land of Naphtali and Zebulun' which seems to be of great importance to Matthew. These were sons 2 and 6 of Jacob, 2 of the 12 tribes of Israel. Russell Rathbun in his blog, the hardest question, states the significance this way: they were the Thaddeus and Bartholomew of the disciples. Just as with his birth, it is not in the limelight but in obscurity that the Kingdom of God will be announced and, some 7 centuries later, will come to fruition.
Out of obscurity Jesus calls four of the best-known disciples: Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John. For all the excitement of personal transformation and entering into the adventure of a hundred lifetimes, what strikes me is the one who remains in obscurity: James and John's father, Zebedee.
I have this image in my mind ... a father in his boat, still holding one end of the net full of the day's catch, watching his strong sons, the apples of his eye, walk off into the sunrise of a new day, leaving him behind. (Yes, sunrise -- they fished at night on the Kinneret as has been the custom throughout the Mediterranean world.) When has a beloved child or friend's 'call' led them on a path away from you? Or a call laid upon you led you away from them?
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| Sunset at Indian River Outlet, Delaware July, 2007 |
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| father and son checking their crab pots |
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| a dragonfly along the pathn |
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