1 Samuel 3:1-10
Revelation 5:1-10
John 1:43-end
One of the highlights of this week has been the arrival in the post of my new outdoor-shoe ice-grips, officially known as micro spikes. Of course, they arrived just as the ground was thawing but I did manage to find a patch of ice on one of our walks to prove how effective they were. Thursday’s snowfall provided a further opportunity to stomp around in the snow without slithering around at every step.
Tuesday was a beautiful day. We took the dogs up into the Kilpatrick hills for a good romp. After lunch as it was still light and sunny, I decided to do some gardening, lots of clearing of last year’s vegetation to allow the new roots underneath to flourish and grow. After a couple of hours of hard graft, I was ready for a cup of tea. Just as I took the first sip the phone went; it was Freda with an SOS. Robert was in the church hall surrounded by water; a pipe had burst in the kitchen! So off we went immediately, armed with buckets and mops. We were soon joined by Steve M and Robin P and between the five of us we soon had the flood under control, although it was surprising how much mopping was required! We made a jolly team, and it was fun to be able to see each other even in the unexpected circumstances! The next day when I went in to record the service, I was able to report that the floor had dried out well with no sign of water stains. Many thanks to Robert for going in to check the hall when he did!
On Monday we had a Zoom vestry meeting. A fruitful hour was spent discussing church matters, it was good to see friends’ faces again as we look forward to a time when we can meet properly.
Throughout the nation many people are awaiting a call to receive their vaccination. The vaccination which hopefully will return life to normality.
Today the readings in our scripture have a vocational theme.
In the OT the Lord calls Samuel. It says in the text that in those days the word of the Lord was rare and very few people were having visions as Israel had become so corrupt. But now Samuel, only 12 years of age, hears the word of God calling him, saying his name. Initially thinking that it is Eli who is calling, Samuel wakes the older man up. Realising that Samuel is being called by the Lord, Eli urges Samuel to return to the Lord and listen to what is said, he does this, and it is not long before Samuel is widely recognised as a prophet.
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Sam 3:10
The second reading comes from the book of Revelation – the account of Saint John the Divine’s vision of heaven. Heaven is the place we are ultimately called to be with our Lord. In this passage John becomes aware of the presence of a lamb. This lamb is none other than Jesus Christ. The lamb is an important symbol here: it echoes the story in the book of Exodus of the slaughtered passover lamb in the Israelites escape from Egypt, and lamb who represents the crucified Christ, who takes away the sins of the world.
The use of the number seven is also significant here: there are seven seals seven horns and seven eyes. The number is used as a symbol of the completeness of heaven. Other examples of its use include the seven churches, seven crowns, seven hills, seven kings, seven plagues and seven trumpets.
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Rev 7:6
In the gospel today we hear the story of the calling of Philip by Jesus. The dynamics of this calling are interesting: Philip didn’t find Christ, Christ found Philip. And once Jesus finds Philip, he issues a single command: “Follow me”.
These words follow a theme. When Jesus calls his disciples to “follow me” that is exactly what they do, they leave everything behind: work, family, possessions, ambitions – everything!
Here Philip feels compelled to follow Jesus and the first thing he did, according to John, was find his brother Nathanael and tell him about Jesus! He doesn’t do this with any great skill or knowledge and yet he was really effective in being an evangelist for Jesus.
We may think that we can’t tell other people about Jesus because we don’t know enough, or we don’t know our Bibles well enough…but none of that matters. We needn’t be theologians to be effective. We just need to be enthusiastic for Jesus and to share that with friends. It has long been known that more people are brought to Christianity through friendship than by any other means!
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. John 1:46
The Sunday Eucharist will be available at 11am online as it has been in recent months. You can access it on this link at that time. http://www.scotland.anglican.org/broadcast-sunday-worship/ Alternatively, you can access it by going straight onto the Scottish Episcopal Church website.
I will look forward to joining you all again via YouTube on Thursday for our morning Eucharist.
Sunday 24Th January 11.45 we plan a church Coffee Zoom – I will send you an invitation via email nearer the time.
Please feel free to telephone me at any time.
My love and prayers to you all as always
Andrea
Loving God, bless and receive all who are affected by Coronavirus:
Especially:
Those who are sick and afraid
Those who are especially vulnerable
Those for whom home is not safe or available
Those who have lost their livelihoods
Those who have lost their lives
Those mourning for loved ones.
Amen