Mediterranean boats in Réthymnon’s charming Venetian harbour in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford 2010)Patrick Comerford
Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Ballsbridge, Dublin,
Wednesday 18 January 2012,
12.45 .a.m., Said Eucharist
Collect and Readings for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; Psalm 62: 5-12; I Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20.
May I speak to you in the name of + the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I know it is not customary to have a sermon at this mid-week Eucharist here in Saint Bartholomew’s. But I just thought I might share a few of the thoughts going through my mind as I work through my sermon for Sunday next.
I imagine our readings next Sunday may offer little comfort in the people in west Cork who are searching for or mourning the loss of the lives of those fishermen – at sea and yet so close to land.
The mere mention of Jonah, who everybody associates with a shipwreck and a big fish, or the story of fishermen being called away for an even-more demanding task, are hardly going to sound like good news to the ears of those who have lost loved ones so tragically in this past week.
Yet, Saint Mark begins his Gospel with the promise that this is “the good news of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.” And again in our Gospel reading, in verse 15, we hear repeated the promise of that Good News: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (verse 15).
I wonder whether those fishermen by the Sea of Galilee in our Gospel reading found the call of Christ good news, to abandon their jobs, their incomes, perhaps even their families, friends and work colleagues? Yet Peter, Andrew, James and John immediately leave their previous occupations, and follow Christ.
One of the first things Christ does is to recruit followers. We could say that proclaiming the Good News, and proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is near, is not a one-man show. Instead, it involves building up communities, and creating relationships that embody the Good News.
Becoming “fishers of men,” “fishing for people,” is going to bring these Galilean fishers into new relationships, with new demands, new risks and new expectations.
Discipleship is not passive following of Christ. As the Church, we cannot hang any sign outside on our office doors saying: “Gone Fishin’.”
And that call, and the expectations Christ has for us, the relationships he challenges us to build, are some of the things that are shaping what I hope to say here at the Eucharist on Sunday morning.
And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Collect:
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 by your mighty power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion Prayer:
Almighty Father,
your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
May your people,
illumined by your word and sacraments,
shine with the radiance of his glory,
that he may be known, worshipped,
and obeyed to the ends of the earth;
for he is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Canon Patrick Comerford is Lecturer in Anglicanism and Liturgy, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and a canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. This reflection was shared at the Eucharist in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Ballsbridge, Dublin, on 18 January 2012.
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