On being part of the Christian catch
Ordinary Sunday 5: 4th February, 2001
Fr John Davis, Vicar of St Peter's Eastern Hill
For Peter and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken. Lk 5:9
Today's gospel is a familiar one relating to the call of the disciples Peter, James and John. We know the story; its setting on the lake, the fishing boat, the catch, the response of the three men. They dropped everything and went along with this Teacher who had made such an impact on them.
Catching fish is one thing; catching people is another. Yet the Lord told them that it would be people that they would be gathering in from then on. There the image needs to be let go because the idea of trapping or hooking is not altogether attractive, though it has to be acknowledged that there have been some claiming Christian pedigree who have been happy enough to use such techniques.
The gathering is to be by the attraction of the message, the teaching, the living; the quality and the integrity of what was lived and taught. The gathering is to be of those who were able to share that renewed sense of meaning and purpose in life that was common to the Christian community. Later, as the teachings of the Lord developed and the ministry and events unfolded, it would become clear that this was to involve more than the following of a wise and impressive teacher. It was to do with the fundamental questions of human living and the life of the world to come. It was to do with beginning to understand that God was powerfully present and at work in the person of this Jesus of Nazareth.
So what are some the implications? It is to do with the lifting of great burdens which have the power to weigh down, to separate and divide. Things too great to bear have the potential to be removed. Evil is placed in the wider context of absolute goodness. A God perceived to be so distant is brought wonderfully close in this Jesus of Nazareth - "God from God' says the creed, "Light from Light'. Fellow humans so distant are potentially brought close by the addressing of some of the hardest of issues in our interaction with each other, such as forgiveness. 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us' says the petition from the Lord's prayer, perhaps the most difficult. It is to do with thanksgiving; most grateful thanks flowing from growing awareness of God's love and care. 'We praise you oh God; we acknowledge you to be the Lord' says the office canticle.
It is truly to do with a sense and an awareness of being offered a lifeline and thus being saved. It is certainly rather more than being respectable and well behaved - many Christians are neither. It is an affair of the heart as well as the mind. It results in new priorities. It means gathering with others in groups large or small who share that core sense of God, who are striving to believe, to hope, to trust and to serve.
Through the centuries, Christians would gather in communities around that mystery of faith which says:
Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again!
And so do we.
But what a strange catch today's gospel describes. The fishermen were said to be completely overwhelmed. This was something very unusual. Furthermore, it had come at a time of disappointment and discouragement. They were washing their nets after a whole night of getting absolutely nowhere. It was suggested that they go out into deep water and try again. The results were beyond any reasonable expectation, and this was immediately recognised. The crowds are pressing around on the edge of the lake waiting to hear the Lord's teaching or to experience healing and the boats are filled with fish. There is something obvious that needs to be done. The three follow. And this is presented as a model for the Church.
The catch is amazing.
Fish in nets do not have that much choice in their placement and in any case do not have much of a future. Sheep in sheepfolds, while no doubt grateful for good shepherds, have not chosen their lot. Branches of vines have limited rational appeal. Even being the chickens underneath the spreading and protective wings of a mother hen is somewhat claustrophobic. All these images of community while initially helpful, can only take us so far. People, human beings do have choices that can be exercised. Being part of the human Christian catch can be very surprising, but these days there are very few involved who have not made some degree of choice in the matter. Even those born into it do themselves have the choice to stay or to go. Those who come to faith in later life may find themselves involved in a Christian community for many reasons, some clear, some not so clear.
Some can with all their hearts join in the baptismal responses:
I turn to Christ
I repent of my sins.
I reject selfish living and all that is false and unjust.
I renounce all that is evil.
A whole life can be lived alongside others who are prepared to make that commitment.
Others are not ready for that, but want to travel along the Way nonetheless. It could be a need for companionship, for beauty say in music or ceremony or a desire to come to a place where prayers are offered or good works done. Who is to know? But the catch is amazing.
A City church is very different to a country parish, a suburban congregation or that in a provincial city. Some of us have experienced them all. The potential in a city church is perhaps the most exciting, though also maybe the most difficult. When people come from all over there is no genuine sense of community able to be mirrored in the parish church. A high proportion of most welcome visitors is another fact.
More difficult to deal with is the larger than normal group who have divided loyalties with other parishes. It is a continuing and genuine challenge to get a larger number of people who may come to worship with some regularity if not frequency to make a commitment to this community here. In the specific case of St Peter's, there must be a very considerable number of people who would want and expect that this place would keep on doing what it does well and in a type of flagship manner, but are not here enough to share the load. A place like St Peter's Eastern Hill doesn't just happen. And it is not easy to keep it all happening. It requires a lot of people sharing a lot of hopes, a lot of prayers and a lot of tasks. It includes hospitality and welcome and challenge. Growth in faith and hope and love. Patience and forbearance too!
We are seeking to face these issues directly. Your vestry has decided on the first formal Planned Growth Mission for this parish since 1995. It is to be held this year. Preparations are underway for a program covering the first four Sundays in Lent, leading up to a Commitment Sunday on Lent 4, March 28th.Through March our Planned Growth Mission will be addressing some of these issues that are necessary for this and every Christian community to address. This will be a welcome time of stocktaking for our parish and a time, we hope, to renew and extend our own commitment as well as perhaps to expand our community.
The catch is amazing. Consider yourself, consider those around us. Consider those who from time to time have contact with this place. Very diverse and somewhat surprising. What are we to make of this? How can we do it better? How can we be better disciples? How can this Jesus whom seek to follow become and remain an ever more living force in our lives and hearts? What does it really mean to be a part of this congregation of people in this Anglo-Catholic city church? How can this tradition live and grow in us and be more effectively offered and shared in worship and service with others? For those who are older in this community, how can the hopes and the dreams be passed on and passed over to younger generations? For those who are younger, how can the best of what has been received from all the generations that have gone before be appropriated and made to live in yet another generation?
There is so much. It is easy enough to get discouraged. It is very easy to hope for more and sooner. It is easy to be aware of shortcomings. It is easy to bruise and to be bruised. It is all too easy to be so continually searching for that which really fits the bill and is complete and perfect, that a whole lifetime may be spent in moving slightly discontentedly from one not quite right place and community to another, forgetting that we never in this life actually arrive. It is not so easy sometimes to get on with it, to grapple and to try with this thing the Christian life. But it is worth it. And it is something we are called to try together here, in this place.
For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken. Lk 5:9
Amen.
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