Weekly update – 22nd February

And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles (Luke 6.13)

An interesting question for a quiz might be “How many disciples were there?”  What would the answer be?  The passage above from Luke clearly shows there were twelve apostles but at the time potentially several more disciples from which Jesus selected the twelve.    Later in Luke’s Gospel (9.57-62) we see that on his travels Jesus was gathering more followers, although not all were able to meet the required commitment Jesus expected as disciples.

I am not sure we really know how many disciples there were. But the number must have been growing.  Later on in Luke 10.1 we read that Jesus selected 70 (or 72) other disciples to go out and preach and heal in his name.

The number was growing because Jesus was inviting people IN.  He was maintaining an IN-ward relationship with his disciples.  Whilst Jesus empowered and sent out the Twelve to preach and heal, when they returned, Jesus gathered them IN so together they could share their experiences.  Similarly, when the 70 returned, having been sent out in pairs to preach and heal, Jesus gathered them IN together and listened to their experiences.

Jesus understood the power of relationships to a fruitful and purposeful life.  Jesus and his disciples worked together and shared IN a common purpose.  They had a commitment to each other and to the purpose of their work together.

I have recently started to think ahead and begin preparations for the Annual Parish Meeting, when we review all that has been going on in our church.  It struck me that all the diverse activities we have in the parish such as: PCC and Finance, Prayer, Worship, Children and Youth Ministry, St Nicholas Fellowship, Tuesday Café, Fundraising and many others, are opportunities for doing church life and faith with others.  Whatever the task we are doing together, the conversation and sharing we have as a group creates an IN-ward relationship with each other that is purposeful and fruitful.

Nigel

Churchwarden.