Patrick Comerford
The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February). This week began with the First Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany I, 11 January 2026), with readings that focus on the Baptism of Christ.
Today (12 January), the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx (1167) and Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar (689).
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Mark 1: 14-20 (NRSVA):
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake – for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Today’s Reflections:
In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist last Monday (John 1: 43-51, 5 January 2026), we read how immediately after his baptism by Saint John the Baptist in the River Jordan, Christ began calling his first disciples. First, he had called Andrew and Simon Peter. Andrew is called first, but before responding to the call to follow Christ, he goes back and fetches his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus (John 1: 35-42). This was followed in last Monday’s reading with the call of Philip and Nathanael.
Andrew and Peter are brothers, but their names indicate the early differences and divisions within the Church. Andrew’s name is Greek ('Ανδρέας, Andreas), meaning ‘manly’ or ‘valorous,’ while Peter’s original name, Simon (שמעון, Shimon) is so obviously Jewish, meaning ‘hearing’.
In a similar way, Philip is a strong Greek name: everyone in the region knew Philip of Macedon was the father of Alexander the Great, while Nathanael’s name is a Hebrew compound meaning ‘the Gift of God.’
It is as though we are being reminded from the very beginning, with the story of the call of the disciples, the diversity and divisions are part of the essential fabric of the Church. They are woven into that fabric, even in the names that show that the disciples represent both Jews and Greeks, the Hebrew-speakers and those who are culturally Hellenised.
In today’s Gospel reading (Mark 1: 14-20), Saint Mark follows a slightly different sequence in the call of the first disciples: first he calls the brothers Simon and Andrew, and then the brothers James and John, the sons of Zebedee (see Matthew 4: 21-22). Here it is as though we are reminded that ministry and discipleship is always collaborative: we are never called alone, but called as brothers and sisters to one another.
Andrew is often referred to as the ‘first called.’ But in some ways, the other three, Peter, James and John serve, as an inner circle or a ‘kitchen cabinet’ in the Gospels.
Zebedee, the father of James and John, was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, and probably lived in or near Bethsaida in present Galilee, perhaps in Capernaum. Their mother Salome was one of the pious women who followed Christ and ‘ministered unto him of their substance.’
Saint James and Saint John, or their mother, ask Christ to be seated on his right and left in his glory. They also want to call down fire on a Samaritan town, but they are rebuked for this (see Luke 9: 51-6).
Peter, James and John are at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1, Mark 9: 2; Luke 9: 28), but also at the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 9: 2; Luke 6: 51), at the top of the Mount of Olives when Christ is about to enter Jerusalem (Mark 13: 3), they help to prepare for the Passover (Luke 22: 8), and they are in Gethsemane (Matthew 26: 37).
They are the only disciples to have been given nickname by Jesus: Simon became the Rock, James and John are also known as ‘the Sons of Thunder’ (see Mark 3: 17; Luke 5: 10).
Jerome likes to refer to Peter as the rock on which the Church is built, James as the first of the apostles to die a martyr’s death, John as the beloved disciple. They are a trusted group who also serve to represent us at each moment in the story of salvation, and remind us that we are called not individually but alongside one another.
Today’s Prayers (Monday 12 January 2026):
The theme this week (11-17 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Gaza Crisis Response’ (pp 18-19). This theme was introduced yesterday with a Programme Update from the Diocese of Jerusalem.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 12 January 2026) invites us to pray in this way:
Take a moment to light a candle. Merciful God, we weep for the suffering, loss, and hardship in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. We lament the violence and uncertainty that weigh heavily on communities. Be near to all, we pray.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
who endowed Aelred the abbot
with the gift of Christian friendship
and the wisdom to lead others in the way of holiness:
grant to your people that same spirit of mutual affection,
so that, in loving one another,
we may know the love of Christ
and rejoice in the eternal possession
of your supreme goodness;
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.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Merciful God,
who gave such grace to your servant Aelred
that he served you with singleness of heart
and loved you above all things:
help us, whose communion with you
has been renewed in this sacrament,
to forsake all that holds us back from following Christ
and to grow into his likeness from glory to glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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