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St. Charles Episcopal Church - Saint Charles, IL

The Third Sunday after Epiphany - Epiphany 3 RCL – Year A

Sunday, January 23, 2011 - Annual Meeting Sunday

Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 5-13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

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

In the Gospel today we hear the call of the first apostles, Simon, Andrew, James and John as it is recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. As you can see, it is radically different from the version we heard last week from the Gospel of John.

In Matthew’s version of the story it all seems so simple. Jesus calls and says, "Follow me," and they drop everything and follow. It is only by reading the whole Gospel that we begin to see the true picture, the whole picture of what it means to be a disciple. As we hear the Gospel of Matthew, bit by bit in the coming year, we will see how truly difficult it is to leave everything behind, even when we are called. We will see a call being lived out. We will see disciples that are afraid of where there next meal will come from, and who bicker over who is the most important disciple. In short we will see the whole of a life of faith.

Back when I was “only” a pharmacist and I announced that I was going to be leaving pharmacy for the priesthood, many people told me, "It must be nice to know that you are called; to know what you should be doing." It is a common belief that priests, like apostles, get a special call. A clear unambiguous call. Would that it were so. Oh! Would that it were so! The call to the priesthood is no different really, than the call to nursing, or secretarial work, or banking, or computers, or any other occupation you could name. It is a call to serve God in a particular way.

We are all called by God to serve in our own particular way if we would only listen. At different times throughout history, different jobs have had more or less honor in our society. All are honorable before God, though we have largely lost that understanding of work. In the Episcopal Church many confuse a desire to deepen their work relationship with God what is actually a call to vocation, as a call to ordination. When we do this we miss the fact that we were ordained for ministry at our Baptism and we renew and take on those vows for ourselves at our confirmation. In so doing we undervalue the intrinsic value of a job well done, at the same time that we overvalue the importance of ordination. We get confused or afraid or we forget, and we run to church to find God and we forget that God is waiting for us out in the world. The God we worship became incarnate in our world. Is incarnate in the people we meet and work with every day. These are the people that need us, even though we are not enough. And these are the people that we need. The people that will help us to live out our lives of faith. The people that will help us give meaning to the Gospel in our lives. The people that will put flesh on the bones of our faith.

Today is annual meeting Sunday, the day we gather and rededicate ourselves to the calling we have received to be the body of Christ, the hands and feet of the living God in this world – in this city – at this time. If we are to truly fish for people it will take all of us with all our gifts. What gifts do you bring? Where does your passion drive you? Where can your gifts be given to their best advantage? We have a message to share and healing to give. We have people to feed and demons to cast out.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.”

 Even though we have been casting our nets all night long, the true work is only just about to begin. Do you not hear the voice calling? Our Lord is bidding us, “Follow me.” How can we not get up? How can we not leave weariness behind? How can we not follow?