Rector's Reflection: Called Into Relationship, January 13, 2024

Beloved Members of St. Martin’s,

Our readings this weekend speak of being called by God into deeper relationship.

In the gospel portion we hear, Jesus begins calling his disciples. “Follow me,” he says to Philip and then Philip goes and tells Nathanael, who himself is invited to “come and see” when he expresses skepticism that Jesus might be worth following.

One of the things important to note here is that Jesus doesn’t invite people to worship him. He asks people to follow him. That’s why the word “disciple” is used. A disciple is someone who “disciplines” or aligns their life with that of their teacher. A disciple seeks to learn and imitate. A disciple

How is that different from worship? Worship is part of our life as religious people, but it should never be our sole focus. Our main focus should be realizing that Jesus becomes incarnate as a part of God’s continuously calling us into deeper relationship. Worship places something on a pedestal—and creates distance. Worship is an event. It’s a great first step, but rituals can never take the place of genuine commitment. Discipleship is a commitment to lifelong learning and listening—a way of orienting our lives toward following Christ’s example of radical embodied love. Worship can create an imaginative chasm between ourselves and God. Our psalm insists that God knows us and loves us from our very beginnings.

The amazing thing about God’s love for each of us is that it is reciprocal, always starting from God’s own initiative. As the children’s hymn reminds us, “Oh, how I love Jesus—because he first loved me.” Real love breaks down all barriers. What an incredible power! And maybe that’s why oppressors everywhere seek to divide people from one another, and set people against each other. Jesus came into the world to remind us of our essential natures as beloved children of God, working together for the healing of the world.

Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, is not meant to be a mere label or identifier. Rather, being a Christian is to, by prayer, study, and listening, to attune ourselves for God’s call to us in our lives.

God calls us to action in every moment. God calls us to partnership, not passivity. God calls us to be fertile ground for God’s ongoing work in the world. Through God’s love, we are called to be healers, reconcilers, restorers, witnesses. In short: disciples. God knows us—and calls us to be partners in the restoration of creation. How is God calling you, right now?

In Christ,

Mother Leslie+

Adult Forum Shifting to a Monthly Subject Rotation

Join us this Sunday and then all of February as our Adult Forum topic will be Bible Study using Lectio Divina! Mother Leslie has a free journals for anyone who is interested in exploring this devotional method of studying scripture.

In March, we will have a Lenten Book Study. In April, we will discuss treasures of the Anglican Tradition.

In May, we will discuss Anglican social teaching and advocacy.

Join us! Sundays at noon in Park Hall!

Music Notes from Denise, January 20, 2024

This Sunday we follow Jesus as he calls common fisher folk to be his disciples in Mark 1:14-20. We begin with a hymn of praise to illustrate God’s changed mind when Jonah went to Ninevah. Sing praise to God who reigns above was written by Johann Jakob Schutz in German in 1675 and translated by Frances E. Cox in 1864. The hymn extols the greatness of God in giving all good things to God’s people, and calls on us to continue to give God the praise so richly deserved. (Tiffany Shomsky, Hymnary.org)

Our Sequence hymn is Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult. It was written by Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1865) in 1852 for St. Andrew’s feast day and describes Jesus’ calling of Simon Peter and Andrew. Cecil Frances lived in Ireland and wrote poetry in her school’s journal. In 1850 she married Rev. William Alexander, who later became the Anglican primate of Ireland. She showed her concern for disadvantaged people by traveling many miles each day to visit the sick and the poor, providing food, warm clothes, and medical supplies. The thread that binds this hymn together is the call of Christ. Just as Jesus called the fishermen to be his disciples, he still calls us today to be his followers and obedient servants. His call is for total commitment, a “follow me” that overrides all our earthly “cares and pleasures.” (Psalter Hymnal Handbook, Hymnary.org)

For the Offertory, we will have a special experience. The song, When Jesus saw the fishermen, was written for a children’s choir to sing along with Orff instruments, but we are expanding that to include both our Chapel choir, our St. Martin’s choir, and our Hand Bell choir. The simple words will be supported by repeated bells ringing in an ostinato pattern. The song was written by Edith Agnew in 1963 and the tune, St. Stephen was composed by Richard L. Van Oss in 1994. The song is a ballad, or a storytelling text, and surrounds the calling of the disciples with a simple tune. It asks, What would you do if Jesus said, “Come and follow me”? (Fiona Vidal-White, My Heart Sings Out hymnal supplement, 2006 Church Publishing Inc.)

Our Communion hymn also reflects our calling from Jesus, , was written in 1987 by John L. Bell and Graham Maule. I first encountered this song at a Presbyterian Women convention when the presenter, Carol Bechtel said, “I first heard this song on an album called God Never Sleeps by John Bell of the Iona Community in Scotland. The words are startlingly direct and the music simple and elegant…we feel like God is looking directly into our eyes and asking, “What are you going to say? What are you going to do?” (Horizons Jan/Feb 2001)

The final hymn, Spread, O spread, thou mighty word, describes our decision to answer the call of Jesus and to honor our God whose praise we have mightily sung. It was written by Jonathan F Bahnmaier (1774-1841). Another German hymn writer, Bahnmaier was distinguished as a preacher, and greatly interested in the causes of education, of missions, and of Bible societies. (John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology 1907)