Will You Come And Follow Me? (3rd Sunday Before Advent - Year B)

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

As I sat thinking about our Gospel this morning, a film that I watched a number of years ago came to mind, a comedy called School of life, starring Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds was a school teacher whose job was to teach his students history, admittedly, not the most enthralling subject for many. But in his first lesson, he started by explained the origin of the word History, but also pointed out that it was wrong, and said that in his class it would be called his and her story to encompass everyone.

Through the rest of the film he raises the bar of teaching so that the students are so engrossed with his teaching style, that they become immersed in the subject in a way that they had never done before. There are a number of twists and turns along the way, which I won’t spoil, but sufficed to say, by the end of the film, the students aren’t the only ones who have been affected by his outgoing personality.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the gospel, and its down to the way that he grabbed his student’s attention, and kept it. In our Gospel, we hear ‘As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake’ he then said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’

Shortly after, he did the same with James and John, and the four of them immediately followed him.

There wasn’t a long conversation about the whys and wherefores, they simply stopped what they were doing and followed Him. It is possible that they may have heard him when he spoke in their hometown, but there is no indication that they had previously had conversations with him.

As fishermen, they would have put a considerable amount of time and effort into learning their craft, and it’s not as though they were poor needy men, a fisherman would have been someone who would have had a comfortable lifestyle, and so there must have been something to draw them away from their work.

Whatever it was, worked, and they stopped what they were doing, and immediately answered Jesus Call to follow him. They would have had no idea of what they were going to experience while they walked with Him in His earthly ministry, nor would they have conceived of how important the part they would play post Ascension would be in the course of human history.

There was never any mention of the lives that they left behind, their families, friends, livelihoods, in fact everything they had ever know. Their story became entwined with Christ’s, and each other’s, as they saw the birth of the early church.

Their story always focussed on looking forward, never did they look back to what had past. They faced each new day as it came, and dealt with whatever was presented to them, whether good or bad. Sometimes with Jesus, the other disciples or followers with them, but equally in the later years on their own.

Their journey began with a simple invitation ‘follow me’.

What they showed was faith in its most beautiful and simplest form, they trusted the invitation and they said ‘yes’. Its not the only place where we have seen this, and in a matter of weeks we will hear of how a young girl said her ‘yes’ and how it set off the course of events that changed the world.

These events remind us that there is a shape, a plan that was formed so long ago, and each day since has added to the beauty of it. From the day that Jesus called his disciples, the first threads were added to a tapestry as it were, and everyday since, that tapestry has been added to it, as each and every one of us has brought our own unique story to the faith.

This passage assigned to this Sunday in the church year at the beginning of a time which is called kingdom season, reminds us that each of us is part of the kingdom of God.

I wonder, as we look around at the people who are in our churches, how many of their ‘his or her stories’ do we know. Do we know how our friends came to faith, what was their moment of calling, when did they chose to follow Christ? I’m sure some will know lots of stories, but I would hazard a guess that amongst our brothers and sisters there are many stories that haven’t been told, yet deserve to be told.

You see in addition to taking time to study the scriptures, spending time with our Lord in prayer, gathering for worship and fellowship, there is also a huge amount of value in not only listening to others, but also telling our own story. What led us to faith, what inspires us, and what keeps the fires of faith burning in our hearts and souls.