Prayers of Approach
Holy God, we gather to worship you in all of your glory. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and help us to see more of who you really are. Come, meet us and prepare us to do your will.
We stand before you, God, to worship you. We stand, not as fishermen on the shore, but as people who have felt you tugging at our hearts, who have heard you and sensed you calling us to love you and our neighbour as ourselves.
Blessings abound when you call us, Lord: when we encounter you in expected and unexpected places, when you speak to our need, are balm to our woes, are a guide in our confusion, an anchor in our uncertainty, a challenge in our complacency and love beyond measure. How can we not live in awe of all you are, have been and will be?
We thank you that you nurture our faith, helping us to believe and to live out our lives through your calling to us: We thank you for your constant love and faithfulness: We thank you that you hear us, answer us and strengthen us: We thank you for your promises and your care: We thank you that we cannot hide from you and for the assurance that you are always with us. Amen.
Hymn Sing praise to the Lord (R&S 49) or To God be the glory (R&S 289)
Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8
Luke 5:1-11
Introduction
Isaiah shares a vision of God revealed to him, albeit only a glimpse of something incomprehensibly great. We can’t possibly understand the immensity of God, but the Spirit reveals enough for us. The call of Isaiah reveals a little of the nature of God and we are called to share in the celebration of the angels.
In the gospel reading Jesus calls his first disciples, among them fishermen including Simon (later Peter). Simon and Jesus already knew each other, but, as a result of the miraculous catch of fish, Simon sees Jesus in a new light, and he is given a new task to do – to catch people. He is changed by an encounter with God’s power and glory. We too need to have a fresh glimpse of God’s majesty as he forgives us, renews us and equips us to go into the world for him. Both readings explore being called by God and how we respond. Like Isaiah and Peter, we might feel unworthy. We might have to jump in at the deep end. We might feel out of our depth. Do we have the courage to say ‘Yes’ anyway?
Hymn I the Lord of sea and sky (MP 859) or Jesus calls us, o’er the tumult (R&S 355)
Sermon
The setting for this weeks’ gospel story is simple and commonplace: fishermen beside their boats cleaning their nets after a failed catch. They feel defeated, out of their depth, yet Jesus sees differently and draws these fishermen to new depths of life. When they trust his advice to venture into deep waters, not only do they pull in a miraculous catch, they also become caught up in the story of Jesus.
It was not at all what they had expected their lives to be. Nor was mine. As a child I had always wanted to be a teacher, so I went to college and got a degree, and then did teacher training. Things didn’t work out how I had planned however but after a rather unsettled few years I ended up working for Social Services as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. It was a job I enjoyed (although it did have its moments!) and I thought I would be in it for many years to come, if not for life. Once more I was proved to be mistaken – God had other things in mind.
I was escorting a client on a visit to the cinema one evening to see ‘Joe versus the Volcano’, in which the title character is tricked into thinking he has a terminal illness. After being shipwrecked on a remote island, in response to the local tribe’s kindness to him, Joe offers himself as a sacrifice to propitiate the god of the volcano which is threatening to erupt. As Joe was climbing the volcano ready to throw himself into its mouth I suddenly had the overwhelming feeling that I was being asked to offer myself to become a minister. Whoah, what? My immediate response was a rather nervous ‘Well OK, but not yet.’ 15 months later I was at Westminster College in Cambridge beginning my training for ministry.
What did you want to be when you were a child? Did everything go to plan and did you actually end up doing the job you had always wanted to do? You may have heard the saying ‘man plans, God laughs!’ What plans have you made in your life that circumstances, or God, has disrupted? None of the characters in today’s readings would have expected God to single them out for a special task. Certainly not Isaiah who declared himself to be unworthy. Certainly not Peter who urged Jesus, ‘go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man’.
Do some of the things God seems to ask us to do feel foolish to us? Are we prepared to take the risk, even when it means leaving our comfort zone behind? Consider the changes the disciples saw as a result of following Jesus. They travelled away from home. They broke with families and traditions, and lived lives filled with experiences they never anticipated. Yet, faithfully, they carried on. Actually, it may not be as bad as we think. Many other Bible passages show us that Simon Peter didn’t have to abandon all his familiar people and things. He kept his house (John 20) and contact with his mother-in-law (Mark 1), and his wife – who appears also to have been a believer (1 Corinthians 9), and probably his boat too. Certainly, there are several times when Jesus and the disciples used a boat, and it must have belonged to one of them. And what did Peter do after the Resurrection? Preach in the Temple? Heal the sick? He went fishing, of course (John 21)!
So, it seems that God asks us to take the familiar things of our lives – our skills and experience – and to use them to good purpose. Ordinary folk, ordinary lives, doing extraordinary things. All because we let ourselves get caught up in God’s story. Are you feeling brave? Are you clear what your gifts are? Do you know what God wants for your life? Are you confident enough to say ‘Yes’ to God? This week’s Old Testament and Gospel readings both tell of first reactions to God’s call, and in both cases it is: ‘I’m not worthy.’ We understand that being humble is a virtue but can we also believe in ourselves? With God we can expect the unexpected! And although we cannot anticipate the challenges that we will face we can be sure that we are called wisely – and even if it may sometimes feel as if we are way out of our depth, God will see us through our part in God’s story. So, next time you hear God say, ‘Whom shall I send?’ will you say, ‘Here am I; send me’?
Hymn Will you come and follow me if I but call your name (R&S 558)
Prayers of Intercession
Father, we praise you for allowing your kingdom to break through into our lives; for the things that to you are ordinary, but to us are extraordinary; and we thank you that you have called us to be part of your story, ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary tale of your plan for salvation, you have the power to change any situation, and so we pray today…for all who are going through difficulties that make belief hard: for those who are suffering physical and mental illness, that they may feel the comfort of your healing touch; for the bereaved, that they may know your presence as they walk the valley of the shadow; for those who have been hurt, abused or betrayed by people they loved and trusted, that they will come to believe in the One who rose above all human fallibility and did not sin. Ease open all hurting eyes and hearts, Lord. Push aside all barriers to belief. Shine your light in our darkness, so that faith may flourish even in the midst of sorrow. Amen.
Hymn One more step along the world I go (R&S 549)
Blessing
Almighty God, you have given us a fresh glimpse of your glory and majesty. We are not worthy to walk with you, but you have made us clean. Send us out, in the power of your Holy Spirit, to speak your words and to show your love. Amen.
Prayers and other material (adapted) © Roots for Churches Ltd. Used by permission.
