1.25.09 - 3 Epiphany, Cathedral, Bethlehem Year B The Rev. Canon Jane Teter

In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Give us grace, O lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, … (Collect for the day).

When I was a child, one of the more important pieces of family equipment was an old iron bell. My mother used this bell to call us home for dinner and other family activities. Its gong would sound throughout the neighborhood, and my brother and I would abandon games of hide-and-see, cowboys and Indians, and turn our skates and bicycles around and head home.
Because we knew the consequences of not immediately heeding its summons, we quickly responded to the bell. Even the neighbors knew what it meant. Our passage home was often accompanied by a neighbor calling out, “your Mother is calling.”
The calls in today’s Gospel demand a similar kind of obedience, even if they are profoundly different from my mother’s dinner bell. Jesus issues two calls, one universal and one particular. Though their scope is different, both insist on an immediate response.
The first call defines Jesus’ message in three simple phrases, “This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the good news!” Isn’t that the heart of the Christian vocation? - “this is the time of fulfillment, the reign of God is at hand, reform your lives and believe the good news.” To know that here and now God is completing the work of redemption in our lives? To hear in that good news the invitation to become more than we ever thought imaginable?
Only from the center of that first calling can we begin to understand the second, not as something that was given to the disciples there and then, but to us at this moment. For Jesus takes the universal call of his preaching and he calls Simon and Andrew, James and John, you and me, to follow him.
But notice how he does it – it is not simply a matter of call; but to call from; to call to. Unlike my mother’s bell, the call of Jesus doesn’t demand that we abandon what we are doing but that we transform it. Simon and Andrew will no longer be simple fishermen. They will fish for people. James and John will leave their father not to abandon their family but to belong to a larger family: those who hear the word of God and keep it.
It is the same for us today. Each one of us is called to use our particular talents and limitations to further the fulfillment of the good news in everything we do.
We are called to model our lives on the example of Christ. Now, we know we can never be perfect, but surely we can try to do our very best.
We need to do what we can do as best we can and not worry about what we cannot do. Perhaps that is visiting a shut-in, volunteering at a soup kitchen or a food bank or a shelter, maybe reading a book to children or the elderly. Some may run errands or do some shopping or help with minor repairs, shovel snow or cut the grass. I know some of you helped in some way when our local churches (including Nativity) cam together to set up emergency shelters for the homeless when it was bitter cold outside. There are many opportunities – use your gifts to make a difference in someone’s life.
When I moved here from Lebanon many years ago, I left behind several residents of nursing homes that I visited regularly. I missed those visits and I began to send notes and cards to them on any and every holiday. I did that for several years and then began to wonder if I was doing this for myself. Then one day I met an old friend for lunch and she told me she had been to visit May and May had showed her a huge pile of cards she had received from me over the years. My friend told me she looked through them all the time.
So, you see, little things do mean a lot.
Today’s gospel tells us to “follow me and I will make you fish for people.” A retired priest who is a good friend is an avid fisherman. He says, “the lesson is about the calling of Simon and Andrew to be evangelists.
The point is that God through Jesus asked them to be followers of him, and that he would make – not force – but help them become “fishers of men.” He built on what they already knew and utilized what they were to help become evangelists, heralds, role models, mentors.
I think of the people who have influenced me, he continues: college professor, priest, mother, garbage man, sick and lonely, many parishioners and many friends. In this day and age with the decline of heroes and moral leadership, and the rise of cynicism, we must listen carefully and respond faithfully to the invitation of Jesus.
He continues, “I hope I am not stretching it too much when I say fishing can teach you a lot. There are three requisites about fishing. You have to go where the fish are. You have to offer what the fish want. Your have to present your offering in a way that is attractive and inviting, not scary or threatening. Doesn’t this say something about evangelism? He says that, even more basic, you have to have confidence, you have to have hope, you have to have a sense of expectancy that the fish are there, that you are offering them good stuff, and that you can catch them. Frequently, he says, I have seen evidence of fish. Often I see others catching fish. Sometimes I have caught a fish. Even so, the ratio of cast to fish is very low. There are other benefits to fishing. Perseverance is important. Keep trying. I have gotten to know a wonderful guide on the river. Jerry sometimes comes over to me and suggests I cast to a different location, try a different fly, or with a suggestion to improve my casting.
This friend has some wise learnings:
- be inviting but not scary or threatening
o no “brother are you saved”
o no “you better mend your ways or you will go to hell”
(who am I to make that decision?)
- we need to be caring and compassionate and have lots of patience in all we do. We need a good, positive attitude – remembering to
follow Jesus’ example in reaching out to people.
- we need to meet people where they are, not where we want them to
be. (not “why the heck is he homeless – the point is he is homeless and needs our help).
- Don’t go it alone – be open to support and suggestions from others.
Maybe my way isn’t the best way – my fisherman friend was open
to suggestions that made him a better fisherman.
And so, this Jesus, this guide, comes to Simon and Andrew, James and John, and to each of us, and says “come here with me, watch me, try this…I will make you fish for people.”
“Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation…”
Amen.