Today is our annual meeting. This is
the day we do the business of the church – electing new Vestry
members, looking at various numbers and the budget, perusing the
reports, and talking about where we've been and where we might be
going. And, in case you were wondering, let me say now that things
are never as bleak or as rosy as we might imagine, but they are
oftentimes a mixture of the two.
I sometimes wonder if annual meetings,
like diocesan conventions, are times given over to the airing of
grievances. I have been to more than one annual meeting and/or
convention where those present attack the priest/bishop for failing
in some respect. Or the budget is nit-picked line item by line item,
pointing out its deficiencies and where it could be improved, all for
the sake of the good of the parish or diocese, dontcha know. Or
where vestry elections are seen as a popularity contest, or have been
stacked with the Rector's chosen ones.
Thankfully these things have not really
been an issue here at Saint John's. That's not to say we haven't had
our disagreements and differences of opinions, but we understand that
we are driven not by our differences but by our mission to Worship,
Welcome, Serve, and Encourage.
Around the Episcopal church many
congregations are holding annual meetings today. Some held them last
week, and some will hold them next week. But today is probably the
most popular date, especially out west, because (and I'm being honest
here) today falls between the conference championships and the Super
Bowl. But I wonder how many of those annual meetings will be
affected or informed by today's readings from Paul and Matthew?
As I said, annual meetings can be dicey
events, and today's readings are perfect for addressing things that
might be happening in those respective churches. In Corinthians,
Paul is addressing a split in the church.
“I appeal to you . . . that there be
no divisions among you . . . that you be united in the same mind and
purpose.”
That wasn't the case in Corinth at this
time. Paul was hearing reports that splits and factions were
developing. Various groups of people in the church were claiming
that they belonged to Paul. Some claimed to belong to Apollos.
Another group followed Cephas. And, like many divisions in the
Church, there were those who claimed that they were more special
because THEY followed Christ. This almost sounds like
annual meeting campaigning.
For whatever reason, the people of
Corinth weren't united, nor were they of the same mind. They had
fallen into factions based on who-knows-what. Maybe it was budgets.
Maybe it was preaching. Maybe it was education. Maybe it was
charisma. But whatever it was, it was beginning to fracture the
church.
Can you imagine what this would look
like here? I follow Todd. I follow Mark. I follow Betty. I follow
Lou. I follow Christ. These factions would tear us apart. This is
what Paul was fighting against. And I'm thankful that this is
something for which I don't have do deal with. For while we may have
an affinity for one person over another, or while we may tend to
avoid certain people over others (and this happens in large groups),
we all understand that we are united in a mission to Worship,
Welcome, Serve, and Encourage. Our strength lies in our ability to
boil everything down to one question: How is what I'm doing
reflected in, or supportive of, our mission?
So while Paul had to admonish his
people at Corinth to quit bickering and focus on a unified mission, I
am thankful I only have to encourage you to remember our mission and
strive to keep it in view.
This unity in mind and purpose can also
be seen in today's gospel passage. Today we hear the familiar story
of Jesus calling the first of his disciples – Peter & Andrew
and James & John. This is one of the Jesus stories that seems to
have grown to mythic proportions.
Jesus is walking alongside the Sea of
Galilee when he comes upon two brothers, Peter and Andrew. “Follow
me,” he says, “and I will make you fish for people.” And
immediately they leave their nets and follow him. A little farther
on he comes across two more fishing brothers, James and John. He
tells them to follow him and they also immediately leave their nets
to do so.
Who does this? Who drops everything
and leaves all they have behind to follow some itinerant preacher
they've never met? This would be like any of us asking someone to
come to church and they immediately ask to be baptized and confirmed.
For that reason alone, this story has mythical qualities. Part of
the reason that it has achieved this mythic quality, I think, is that
we project our own view of these men being so captivated by Jesus
that they laid down their nets to live a harmonious life in the
kingdom of God as presented by Jesus.
But let me throw a kink into that
assumption.
Luke refers to these four fishermen as
partners. But in Matthew, and Mark as well, this is not so. In
Matthew they are simply two sets of brothers who happen to be in the
same business.
Have you ever seen “Deadliest Catch”
on the Discovery Channel? It's a reality show about crab fishing in
the Bearing Sea. It has drama (whether real or made for TV) and
plenty of competition between the fishermen. And, if the internet
can be trusted, the behind-the-scenes shenanigans are also filled
with drama and competition. In short, these fishermen are in it for
themselves.
I have a feeling that, at least in
Matthew and Mark, today's four fishermen were a lot like those
commercial fishermen up in Alaska – independent, tough, and willing
to fight anyone who encroached on their territory. And then here
comes Jesus calling them to follow him, which they do.
And in the blink of an eye, these four
independent men who compete with each other for fish and fight for
their territory, have left everything behind to follow Jesus. These
four competitors are now partners in whatever mission Jesus has yet
to develop.
How many times did Jesus have to play
peacemaker? How many times did Jesus have to remind them of their
mission? How many times did Jesus have to remind them to be united
in mind and purpose? We will never know in this lifetime, but I'm
betting it happened more than a few times.
Part of Jesus' mission was to heal,
feed, and teach people. This was all done in the context of living
into the kingdom of God in the here and now. But another part of his
mission was to get a group of disparate, sometimes antagonistic men
together to become focused on the mission of God. Part of his
mission was to teach these men to live in unity despite their
difference. And competing fishermen certainly have their
differences.
So here we are on the Sunday of our
annual meeting. We are certainly not in competition with each other,
but we do have different thoughts and ideas about how certain things
should be done and or accomplished. We do have different interests
and energies. We do have our preferred group of people and those
whom we support. And all of that is fine and natural, it's simply
how people interact.
But let us never be so focused on those
differences that we begin to divide into factions. Let us never be
so focused on our divisions that they take priority over our mission
to restore all people to unity with God, our mission to live into our
baptismal covenant, and our mission to Worship, Welcome, Serve, and
Encourage.
Paul worked hard to end the conflicted
divisions in Corinth. I'm sure Jesus worked hard to keep his twelve
disciples focused and unified. I am thankful that we, despite our
differences, remain united.
As we move into our annual meeting and
beyond, let us remember to focus not on what divides us, nor on
trying to catch more fish than others that are in the fishing
business, but on staying focused on our mission to Worship, Welcome,
Serve, and Encourage. Because it will be our unity which will allow
us to represent the kingdom of God here on earth. And it will be our
unity that will be a beacon of hope to those living in a divided and
fractious world.
Amen.
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