Fourth Sunday before Lent
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11 Luke 5: 1-11
As we travel around, churches dot the landscape. If we get the chance it is good to stop at some and look inside, assuming that the door isn’t locked. Some are quite splendid, giving a warm and spiritual feel, whilst others just seem cold and empty.
Looking around inside an idea of the worship being held there may be found. Posters displaying some of the children’s work hang down, flags of organisations are unfurled, some displays may be seen, fund-raising activities showing progress, all these give some indication of the life of the church and its congregation. Visiting a cathedral and even more can be seen of the life and history of the place of worship.
Jesus had been preaching in the synagogue. The people had listened to him amazed by his teaching. He will have spoken in the synagogue again but not for too long. The pharisees were building up a swell of ill-feeling towards him. His presence in the synagogue was becoming unwelcome. Where could he go now to worship God his Father?
The answer is in the cathedral of nature. The blue skies above stretch over the heads with sunshine bearing down, or at least on some days. Trees surround you as grand natural pillars holding up, as it were, the sky above. The rustle of the breeze through the trees and the sound of sheep and cattle replaces the rumble of traffic passing by. Nature provides its own church. It is this church that becomes Jesus’ church.
Some years ago, I took my congregation to an abbey on a visit. Whilst we were there, out in the grounds, I held a service of Holy Communion. The atmosphere was special. None of us had experienced a major act of worship in the open before. To experience nature all around us as we prayed to God, out in the open, without the fabric of a building between us was special.
This is just what Jesus was experiencing, only this time he was calling to him fishermen. The crowds were there waiting to hear him teach yet this time they witnessed him calling to him his disciples, close companions who were to play a special part in his ministry whilst developing a ministry of their own.
They came from the sea placing their trust in Jesus as they answered his call to them. Jesus calls us too. Are we ready to place our trust in him? We do not know how the call will be made or where we will be. Just what will the call to us ask us to do?
So many uncertainties, so many imponderables. We could be called to step forward to do almost anything. We need to be ready and to be listening for his call. As the fishermen stepped forward before the crowd of people so too must be ready to step forward.
Jesus will call us. It may be to read a lesson in church, or to arrange flowers. The call may be to play the organ or to help clean the church. The call may be more involved requiring us to serve as a missionary here or abroad. The call could be to offer oneself for ordination. Many and varied are the avenues open to Jesus.
Collect for the Fourth Sunday before Lent
O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.