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Sermon for Evensong
- 16th June 2013
Mathew 4 : 12-22
In the business world of today we so often hear of people going
off on a 'Team Bonding Day' or planning meeting. These are good
for getting to know your colleagues better, and, if the time
is used carefully, it means that a lot of useful work can be
done and the time spent has been worthwhile.
The Bible tells us not very
much about Jesus's early life after the birth narratives until
the beginning of his ministry. And he did two very important
things at the beginning of his ministry; firstly, he took himself
away for a while into the wilderness where he had the space to
'charge his batteries' and get himself ready to start the work
God had called him to do; which started with his own Baptism.
But that period of preparation - 'his planning meeting' with
God enabled him to be fully prepared for the tasks ahead; including
recruiting those who would work with him.
He needed people to work with
him. This was not just a one-off project with a time-limited
piece of work with a grant from the Big Lottery or European Regional
Development Fund; this was work which he and those who joined
him in this work would undertake and leave in the hands of others
to carry on with.
So Jesus chose his team - he
proceeded to build up his staff. A leader must start somewhere.
Jesus needed to recruit a little band of kindred souls, who he
could work with and bond with. People with whom he could unburden
his own heart and on whose hearts he could write his message.
So, these 'appointments' were really laying the foundations of
his Kingdom.
The first to be 'called' were
fishermen. There were many fishermen in Galilee. A historian
of the time recorded that in his day 330 fishing boats sailed
the waters of the lake. Fish was the staple diet. The salt fish
industry was big business in Galilee.
So to the men who Jesus picked
out as his first followers; and four important things emerge
...
1) We must notice what they were. They were 'simple' folk. They
weren't your well-educated top academics. They weren't from the
aristocracy; they weren't wealthy - they were fishermen. That
is to say, they were 'ordinary' people. Jesus believed in 'ordinary'
people. We should never think so much of what we are, as of what
Jesus Christ can make us.
2) We must notice what they were doing when Jesus called them.
They were simply doing their day's work, catching the fish and
mending the nets. It was so with many a prophet. " I am
no prophet", said Amos, "nor a prophet's son; but I
am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took
me from following the flock", and the Lord said to me, "Go,
prophesy to my people Israel". So the call of God can come
to each one of us, in Church yes, or at home, but in the middle
of a day's work even.
3) We must notice how he called them. His summons to them was
clear, Follow me!" It is probably not the first time he
had stood before them. No doubt they had stood in the crowd before
and listened. They had no doubt felt the magic of his presence
and he magnetism of his eyes. He didn't say , "I have a
theological system which I would like to investigate".he
said, "Follow me!" It all began with a personal reaction
to Jesus. It all began with a tug on theIr heart which grew in
unshakable loyalty. This is not to say that there are none who
'think' their way into Christianity; but for most of us it is
like falling in love. It has been said that "we admire people
for reasons; we love them without reasons". The thing just
happens because they are they and we are we. In by far the greatest
number of cases a person follows Jesus Christ, not because of
anything Jesus said but because of everything that Jesus is.
4) Lastly, we must note what Jesus offered them. He offered them
a task. He called them not to any easy life but to service. So
Jesus called those first followers not to a comfortable ease
and not to a lethargic inactivity; he called them to a task in
which they would have to throw themselves into. He called them
to a task where they could win something for themselves only
by giving their all to him and to others.
Thanks to the work of early
Christians the message of God's love has been passed down the
generations. Here are we 2,000 or so years later. Jesus is still
calling people. He is calling you and me to serve him. And we
can do that by following his instructions, by sharing his love
with others both by our words and our actions. Those early followers
of Jesus said yes. The Gospel writers did not say that they checked
their diaries, held a committee meeting, or kept him waiting
for a decision, they immediately followed his call.
Now, is our time, in our generation,
to stand up and be counted; to be his arms, his legs, his eyes
and ears, his mouthpiece in the world of today. If we use the
opportunities that come to us day by day; we too, like those
early disciples, will be saying 'yes' to his call. They didn't
duck his call - neither should we.
Amen..
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