Calling Out Disciples :-
Sunday 22nd January - Welshpool Methodist Church.
Our theme today is to do with service and discipleship. Let me begin with some words based on verses from chapter 12 of Paul’s first Letter to Corinth:
We have many gifts, but all are inspired and enabled by the one Spirit. There are many ways in which we can serve, but together we serve the one Lord. There is much that we set ourselves to do, but in all the variety of our tasks the one God is at work within us all. Let us praise him together.
Hymn 680 - “Come, host of heaven’s high dwelling place . . .”
God calls us day by day to bear witness to the good news of his love. Sometimes we live up to that calling, but often we fail to do so. Other things seem more important, other voices are more persuasive; we choose to go our own way, not his. So let us reflect on our own discipleship, asking God’s forgiveness for our failure and forgetfulness, seeking God’s strength and vision as today he calls us again - to follow and to serve. Please repeat after me “Lord have mercy” or “Christ have mercy”, as appropriate :-
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. You rescue us and save us, and your love for us is constant and sure. Lord, have mercy: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you call us to follow your voice, and not a stranger’s. Help us to heed your call and follow, and so find good pasture. Christ, have mercy: Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, when we are attacked and in danger you do not abandon us, for you are the Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Lord, have mercy: Lord, have mercy.
We have this promise: that we are assured in Jesus our Lord that the love of God for us is eternal, and that nothing can prevail against it. In him we find forgiveness, in him our life is renewed.
So let us pray together in the words our Lord has given us to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
A theme prayer for today:
Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us with your mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And so we praise him on whom we depend, and in whom we find peace and protection. Our hymns are 441 and 467, with a few spoken verses between them :-
(Hymn 441 - “As water to the thirsty”)
Words from Mother Julian of Norwich:
It is God’s will that I should see myself as bound to him in love as if all he has done he has done for me alone. And so should every soul think . . . He wills that our hearts be lifted high above the depths of earthly and vain sorrows, to rejoice in him. He loves us and enjoys us, and so he wills that we love him and enjoy him, and firmly trust him; and all shall be well.
(Hymn 467 - “I need thee every hour”)
Let us now hear God’s word to us:
Isaiah 9.1-4 - Formerly the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali were lightly regarded, but afterwards honour was bestowed on Galilee of the Nations on the road beyond Jordan to the sea.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a land as dark as death a light has dawned. You have increased their joy and given them great gladness; they rejoice in your presence as those who rejoice at harvest, as warriors exult when dividing spoil. For you have broken the yoke that burdened them, the rod laid on their shoulders, the driver’s goad, as on the day of Midian’s defeat.
Matthew 4.12-23 - When he heard that John had been arrested, Jesus withdrew to Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and settled at Capernaum on the sea of Galilee, in the district of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfil the words of the prophet Isaiah about ‘the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, the road to the sea, the land beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles’:
The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light; light has dawned on those who lived in the land of death’s dark shadow.
From that day Jesus began to proclaim the message: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is upon you.’
Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee when he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake; for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on farther, he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and at once they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
He travelled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of illness and infirmity among the people.
May the Lord bless to our use and to his purposes this reading of his holy word. Amen.
Let us now sing again, a hymn of commitment and service:
Hymn 449 - “Lord of creation, to you be all praise”
Address:
Not everyone likes individual seats in a church or chapel, as I recall when, years ago, I went to preach one Sunday at the ancient parish church of Pershore in Worcestershire. It’s a lovely old church, well filled with pews. The pews were not lovely and old, but Victorian and made of pitch pine - and, as I recall, the churchfolk wanted to remove some of them and rearrange others.
There was a fair measure of agreement within the church community, but beyond the church gates people were up in arms about the desecration being wreaked on their church. A court case ensued which must have cost thousands, and in the end the ruling went for the retention of the pews, which were there when I preached and I presume are still there to this day.
I can understand why it is that people want “their” holy buildings never to change. Tradition is important to many of us, and there are times when there seems precious else to hold on to in life. And sometimes change is done in an insensitive way, too, or negotiated badly. And change is scary. People find it hard to visualise what the new will be like, though often they’re quite happy with it once they’ve got used to things.
The very first church of which I had charge had chairs and not pews. They were old and uncomfortable chairs, I have to say. They weren’t padded in any way, and none of them had arm rests. They were proper church chairs, with a box on the back for the people behind to put their hymn books, and a hook so you could hang up your hassock. And there never had been any pews in that church, not from when it was first built. But that didn’t stop some of my folk wishing there were, so it could feel like a “proper church”.
Me, I’d rather have chairs. I like the flexibility, and, given the padding most church chairs have today, the comfort - even if a mite too much comfort could encourage people to sleep through the sermon. But I also worry that too much fixed furniture gives the wrong impression: churches and chapels aren’t supposed to be fixed and immovable places. Our Lord didn’t found an institution, he started a pilgrimage.
This morning we’re thinking about Jesus calling his first disciples. He didn’t say, “Have you thought of training for the ministry?” or even, “The church I’m founding could use a few chaps like you!” He said, “Follow me.” “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left all the fixed furniture of their lives, and went with him, out on the road.
Somewhere at home in my collection of religious cartoons, I’ve one which shows a bemused band of Sunday churchgoers standing outside the closed door of their church. On the door a notice has been posted that reads: “You’ve been coming here long enough. Get out there and do it.”
In reality, we do need to come to church, to hear the word, to break the bread, to sing God’s praise, to be still in his presence. But the point is that churchgoing can be an end in itself, and it shouldn’t be. It has to lead to something or else it’s wasted and we’re wasted too. Jesus says to Simon Peter and the others: I need you now, not just to listen to me but to walk with me, to be with me out on the road.
So what does it mean to walk with this man? We are in one of the weeks of the year that gets labelled as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. There is a need for us to be united in discipleship, united in knowing the mind of our Lord, in seeking his will, and in sharing his love. United as pilgrims, who are not all alike, but who are all walking the same road, following the same master.
Many years ago I joined my friends in ministry in my local Methodist circuit and Roman Catholic parish to set up some meetings where our folk could discover more about each other and learn to share more. As ministers we had developed a practice of meeting each week for prayer, and we wanted our folk to share something of the fellowship we had. What a disappointment it turned out to be! Too many of those who came seemed to feel they had to defend the fixtures and furniture of their church against all comers. Of course, as ministers we’d made the mistake of choosing topics to talk about where we knew our denominations said or thought different things. We thought that would make it an interesting journey of discovery, and a chance to widen our vision and our understanding. Pity it didn’t work out that way.
Like church buildings filled with pews, Christian denominations can seem very fixed and settled, in a way that doesn’t work for me. I’m an accidental Anglican, who went to church every Sunday as a boy, but also always went to the Methodist Sunday school. While I feel comfortable where I am, I’ve never felt I’d got to defend it against all comers. Or that my lot have all the truth, and I’ve nothing to receive or learn from other kinds of Christians.
I have to keep reminding myself that Jesus called his first disciples away from fixed points and furniture and out onto the road, where, as he told them, “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” We don’t want to have too much denominational baggage. We might even have too much scripture, or perhaps I should say we can be tempted into making too much of it.
St Paul, when he was Saul the Pharisee had more theological furniture than was good for him; but out on the road as Paul the Apostle he wrote that he was resolved to know “only Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” All the rest is secondary.
However well we know Jesus and understand him with our minds, it’s our hearts he really claims. Jesus did not say to Peter and the others, “Let’s all settle down here and build a church.” He said, “Follow me.” Leave everything you have and know, and come with me to who knows where on the open road. With only this promise - “I will make you fishers of men.”
I love the settled things about my faith: the buildings, the hymns, the liturgy, the prayers. But I hope never to love them too much. Jesus does not want me, or you, to stay where we are, or as we are: he doesn’t want his church to be a thing, certainly not a fossilised thing – a Church true to this man who says “Follow me” will be a pilgrimage, a movement, a process, and even a victory parade, people singing and praising out on the road. Not everyone likes the song or the notion of Jesus the Lord of the Dance, but I do: for me that’s where I find him and know him best: and that dancing road of faith, I believe, is what he calls Peter and Andrew and James and John, and me, and you, to share.
Our offering will be received and brought forward during the singing of our next hymn:
Hymn 566 - “Take my life . . .”
Let us pray to the Lord for the needs of his church and of the world, and for the good use of the gifts with which he blesses us. After each section of prayer, I shall say: Jesus, Lord of the Church. Please respond, “In your mercy hear us.”
God our Father, you give us gifts and talents, so that we may work together in the service of your Son. Bless those who lead, that they may be firm in faith, yet humble before you. And bless those who teach, that they may increase our understanding, and be open to your word for them. Jesus, Lord of the Church: In your mercy hear us.
Bless those who befriend and serve, and all who minister healing, that they may bring wholeness and encouragement to others, and also know your healing love within themselves. Jesus, Lord of the Church: In your mercy hear us.
Bless those who speak your word of prophecy, instruction and correction, that they may do so with power, while opening their own ears to your gentle whisper. And bless us all in our work in your world today, that in the complexity and uncertainty of our daily lives we may have clarity of vision, a sense of your love, and a readiness to seek your kingdom above all things. Jesus, Lord of the Church: In your mercy hear us.
Finally, we pray your blessing on all people everywhere, and especially on -----. Bring peace where there is conflict and bitterness, guide and direct those in places of power and authority, give light where your people dwell in darkness and doubt, and healing where your people are afflicted and bowed down by tragedy, oppression and rejection. And bless those who feel they have no gifts or value, those who are powerless in the world’s eyes, those who are exploited, belittled or abused by others. Jesus, Lord of the Church: In your mercy hear us.
Hear our prayers, Lord, and make us one in heart and mind to serve you with joy for ever. Amen.
At this time of the year we are particularly aware of the Church as divided, a broken body. Christ does not call us to be all the same - indeed, he rejoices in the variety of our response to him. But he does call us to live in union with him, and so to find in him our unity together. A prayer for unity:
Lord God, we thank you for calling us into the company of those who trust in Christ and seek to obey his will. May your Spirit guide and direct us as we prepare to go out from this hour of worship, and strengthen us in mission and service to your world; for we are strangers no longer, but pilgrims together on the way to your kingdom. Amen.
After our final hymn, and the blessing that follows, we shall sing the song from Iona, “Take, oh take me as I am” - I’ll sing it first, then please join me to sing it again twice through together.
First, we sing hymn 470 - “Lord, for the years . . .”
May the Lord stir up in us the gifts of his grace, and sustain each one of us in our own ministry, our own path of discipleship. And now please bless one another in the words of the grace: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .
Hymn 781 - “Take, oh take me as I am”
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