Reflection Monday 30th November 2020. Matthew 4:18 22 with Bob Bailey

Monday 30th November 2020 Matthew 4:18-22 - Jesus Calls the First Disciples As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Happy St. Andrews Day and welcome to the beginning of a new year! Advent marks the start of our liturgical year. It is a time of waiting and expectation. It is also a time to reflect once again on what is important, on our spiritual lives. I love it that Jesus called people while out on his daily exercise. It seems likely to me that he had seen Simon and the others at work many times. Their immediate ‘yes’ to Jesus is most likely to have had some preparation. Maybe they had heard Jesus talk? It is all very much matter of fact and in the everyday. Isn’t that a wonderful thing, that God calls the rough fishermen while they work. He calls people in the everyday actions of life and from every walk of life. The spiritual life our souls desire is not an abstract idea or set of beliefs but revealed in the concrete actions and choices of our lives. The fishermen could have said no. They could have carried on fishing. You may remember that they did give up! On Jesus’ death their dreams of a Messiah seemed to have ended. They went back to what they knew, fishing! What happened to them? How did they go from giving up, to boldly telling people that Jesus was the Messiah? Maybe you KNOW the answer? Maybe you see and can feel it inside yourself when you are open to the ‘yes’ of God. It is nothing less than a new life - Holy Spirit driven, resurrected, a new reality altogether. I bet Simon felt the sudden bounding of his heart when Jesus said ‘follow me’. Do you feel it too? If you look back, can you see the points in life where God has called you? Sometimes it is slow, like Andy said yesterday, more like the fruit of a fig that takes time to develop. Sometimes we have giant jumps in our calling due to circumstances being thrust upon us. It took the death of their friend and teacher for the disciples to really get who Jesus was. It would be nice to think we are called in the sunshine while working by the side of a beautiful lake. But the reality is we are often called when we are at our weakest, and in very dark places. ‘The dark night of the soul’, often the place where our ego is stripped away, can be the place of calling and maturity. That’s not to say we should welcome suffering, or that tragedy is brought on by God or that we feel such growth while in the midst of darkness. More that when we are brought to a point of saying yes to God, when we have our usual defences removed and when we can see the fragility and beauty of life.. it is often then we are called and we grow. The disciples did not know what they were saying yes too. And nor do we! Who could have imagined the times we are in? But we can say yes to God, where we are, in our everyday lives, coming to Jesus just as we are. Who knows what will happen when we say yes. Father help us say yes to you each day. May we be called to serve others and live out our vocation wherever we find ourselves; and during this Advent tidehelp us to know your light in our lives. “We trust in God, living in the paradox of being purposely lost, deliberately uncertain and resolutely confused. Our hope is in God alone.” (Northumberland Community Daily Prayers) Amen.