Image courtesy of Good News Productions International
Everyone is most welcome to join us for our Sunday Eucharist at St Thomas' Church at 11 am or at St Agnes' at 9.15 am. Reverend Lyn will be preaching and presiding on the Third Sunday before Advent at both churches. Some of our Covid precautions remain in place to keep everybody safe, but we'll be singing a couple of hymns and offering refreshments after the service, and Sunday School is now back at St Thomas'.
Also, at 4 pm at St Thomas' Church we have a service to commemorate All Souls, where we remember all those whom we love and see no more. All are welcome to join us as we light candles and pray for the souls of the dearly departed.
If you're not able to be with us in person, you can find the Gospel, reflection and prayers below.
Our first hymn today is "The Lord's My Shepherd"
Today's Gospel
Mark 1:14 - 20 Jesus Calls His First Disciples
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Reflection
It was an ordinary Saturday morning in the city. People were going about their business, shopping, meeting for coffee, chatting in the street. In the midst of it all a man sat down and started to play a ‘cello. A young girl put a few coins in his hat and stepped back to listen. As he plays a woman walks calmly out of the crowd, playing a violin. Then, one by one, every member of the orchestra appears, stepping out of doorways, shops, cafes, playing their own instrument. As the shoppers notice what is happening, they turn and watch and listen, their faces rapt with amazement. Smiles break out on tired faces. Parents dance with their children. Passers-by find themselves following the direction of a conductor who has appeared out of nowhere and start to sing. No-one can ignore the sheer and simple joy of unexpected harmony. Everyone is touched by it. As Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” reaches its crescendo, the crowd erupts into applause.
It had been an ordinary Saturday morning. It wasn’t ordinary anymore!
Today’s Gospel reading tells us of another “ordinary day” that changed people’s lives for ever. Two brothers, Simon and Andrew, were fishing. Mark emphasises the ordinariness of this – they were fishing because they were fishermen. As Jesus passed by, he saw them casting their nets. So far, so ordinary. But Jesus saw nothing “ordinary”. He saw two men who, with Him, would change the world. And when he spoke to them, his words must have had such authority and attraction, that Andrew and Peter didn’t think twice about leaving their nets and going with him.
Then the same thing happened again with two other brothers, James and John. They were engaged in similarly “ordinary activity” – not actually fishing, but mending their nets. When Jesus called them, they too, dropped everything and followed him.
Just as the music in that city centre stopped everyone in their tracks, so the presence of Jesus at the lakeside made everything else pale into insignificance. The brothers were captivated by this man whose voice perhaps they had heard, a little earlier, proclaiming that the “the Kingdom of God has come near: repent and believe in the good news”. To repent is to turn away from one way of life and towards another. This is exactly what Andrew, Simon, James and John did that day, taking their first steps into the Kingdom of God. It was not an ordinary day at all.
It was the beginning of Jesus’ life with the disciples. They had no idea of what lay ahead of them. He was calling them to a life of relationship and love and miracle. He was also calling them to sacrifice and pain and death. And there was an eternal aspect to this calling: Jesus was calling them to share not just in his earthly life and death – but also in His resurrection. This day of calling was a day that took their lives into a whole new dimension. They were ordinary people, just like us – you and me. The call was very simple for them, as indeed it is for us: Follow me!
Following Jesus is about stepping into the Kingdom of God. It is a call for each one of us to put our hand into his. We do this together, but we each ned to make our own choice. We are all called to live the ordinariness of our lives in the company of Jesus. Most of us are not called to anything extraordinary, but simply to be faithful to God in the ordinary things. That may mean looking carefully at our lives and leaving behind anything that distracts us from God. In 589 AD, St David said, “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things.”
And as we do, so we will find ourselves part of the extraordinary kingdom of God, drawing people into it by the genuineness of our love for Jesus and for one another. Jesus draws us by his love like the music being played in that town square, to share our lives with others, and to be part of something amazing.
David
Our Prayers
Holy God,
We ask you to open our ears,
that we may hear you calling us.
Give us the courage to examine our lives,
and put to one side those things that distract us from you.
Strengthen our faith day by day,
That we may grow closer to you
and follow you down the path
that will lead us to your glorious kingdom.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Will You Come And Follow Me"
