Weekly Update – 25th January

And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4.19-20)

This line from Matthew’s Gospel marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as he gathers the disciples to join him on the journey ahead.  From this line of scripture, we get one of the meanings of discipleship – to follow.   Yet the Greek word that is translated as “to follow” has a slightly deeper meaning. It is not just “to follow” but equally means “to accompany” or “to travel with”.  From this we get a sense of joining and togetherness rather than just following.

Other articles I have read on this text have also mentioned “moving on”, “leaving something behind” or “starting something new”.  These were all things which those first disciples did when they left their nets and followed him.  Perhaps initially for the disciples it was simply a matter of changing what they were doing and following.  Then, as they learnt they grew in togetherness in their new life with Jesus.

Last Saturday, we were gifted with hearing Bishop Rose speak to us about discipleship at the confirmation service.    Bishop Rose told us that one of the key aspects of discipleship is about learning.   We are all on a journey of continuous discovery and growth.

I imagine many of you who are reading this have refresher training or CPD (continuing professional development) at work.  This is to make sure skills, knowledge and competence are maintained and developed as the workplace changes.  Just this week I spent a day on this activity.  There is always something new that we learn.

Bishop Rose reminded us that learning through regular reading, reflecting, discussion and prayer on scripture is essential for us.   It is our spiritual refresher training if you like.

With this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that in the coming weeks at St Nicholas we will be doing a sermon series which explores discipleship a bit more.  Also in the future, at the second Sunday of the month, the “Café” services will be exploring some of the resources used on the Alpha Courses.   We ran an Alpha Course at St Nicholas a few years back.  So this is a bit of a refresher.  More details will follow from Rev Claude soon.

Nigel

Churchwarden.