Sermon 

Rev. Judith Perry  

We are all asked to do more than we can do. The Bible is full of folks who mess up and then go on to be heroes. Abraham went to Egypt and let the Pharoah take and use Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Oops.  

Jacob was a cheat and a liar, but the twelve tribes of Israel traced themselves to him. David was a murderer and adulterer.  

God doesn’t seem to call qualified people: Gideon, Esther, Mary, Paul and those disciples and us, you and me. 

Then there are Andrew, Simon Peter, John and James, the fishermen.  Jesus did not recruit in the rabbinical college. He did not enlist any scribes. He didn’t find any candidates in the synagogues. 

Perhaps the best educated was Matthew, who was a despised tax collector. He may have had an accountancy degree, or perhaps not. 

Jesus didn’t seek out the rich folks, the bureaucrats, the media moguls, the billionaires or politicians, or the television talk hosts. 

But hey, he has called out us, and we are a real mixed bunch. 

When the word of Jesus Christ heralded the Gospel on the shores of Galilee, and fisherman were called to be disciples, the nucleus of the church was being formed. 

One day, as he was walking along the beach at Lake Galilee, he came across two brothers: Simon, who is known as Peter, and Andrew his brother. They were setting nets in the water, because they made their living from fishing. Jesus called to them and said, “Come with me, and I’ll have you bringing in people, not fish.” 

Right then and there, they gave the fishing away and followed Jesus. 

As he moved on, he came across another pair of brothers: James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were on board their boat with their father, repairing their fishing tackle. Jesus called them, and straight away they left the boat and their old man and set off with Jesus. 

The new servant people of God had been launched: the boat of faith.  

Sometimes the church is still pictured as the boat of Christ sailing the unpredictable seas of life. The logo of The World Council of Churches gladly employs this image. 

If that is a good logo for the church, then let us face one unpalatable truth: it is a motley crew that operates this vessel under the command of the ship’s Master. 

Or perhaps try ill-matched, mangy, mongrel, flee-bitten, scabby … 

This is Christ’s church on earth. It’s not that we are qualified to be fishers for Christ. We are simply dependent on Christ’s grace. 

Do you think that the early church was a serene fellowship of like minds, where there was never any friction, then forget it!   

The disciples were not a group of clones. They were a rough bunch. They had many differences and often found themselves arguing and from the very beginning. 

And how about Paul’s first letter to the group in Corinth? It reads: 

 In Christ’s name I beg you, my sisters and brothers, that you get on together without rancorous bickering.  Find a common mind and make unanimous decisions. 

 Then comes the hard reality. 

 Cloe’s friends have reported to me that you quarrel a lot. It seems that some of you boast 

“I follow Paul,” some, “I follow Peter,” and others say, “I follow Apollos.” There are even some who claim, “I am Christ’s.” 

What’s got into you? Can Christ’s body be divided up into little bits? Was it Paul who was crucified for you, or were you in baptised in my name? 

You see, divisions had already emerged in the young church in the populous city of Corinth. They frustrated Paul. His letter is a stinging rebuke. 

But those Corinthians kept the letter, treasured it, and we have it today. 

However, could it be that Paul himself had unreal hopes? Perhaps he expected too much, too soon. 

I wonder what Paul would write to us, to you, as you attempt to merge three separate and distinct congregations with all your differences? 

Yet we sing – do you ever sing this? 

“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.  
The unity of heart and mind is like to that above.” 

I think it may be aspirational.  

It’s not that it can’t happen, this common peace or harmony, occasionally it does happen in a Christian gathering. 

Remember it reads that on the day of Pentecost that they were all together. 

But these blessed moments are not universal. Even those disciples argued with each other when Jesus was present. 

But unity in heart and mind is not a common experience 

As a rule, the church experiences, on a small or large scale, conflict of opinion, and on occasions, considerable tension. We are a motley community on a journey towards the final reconciliation of all things through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We haven’t got there yet. 

So even when Jesus had been bodily present, with the disciples sharing each day in his wonderful, visible presence, there were frictions and fractures. There were hassles between the brothers James and John and the others.  

Peter used to put his foot in it from time to time. There are some witnesses, outside of the New Testament canon, that suggest friction between Peter and Mary Magdalene.  

God forgive them, even at the last supper those disciples were in argument mode when Jesus arrived to eat his farewell meal with them.  

Friends, if the bodily presence of Jesus could not create a fellowship of identical minds, how could Paul expect to in respect to those Corinthians? And why should we expect to?  

Jesus picked a ragtag bunch of followers. And so today Jesus picks us, a ragtag bunch, a motley crew. 

Christ has called us, just as he called those fishermen by Lake Galilee. 

We are no more clones that were the first disciples. The boat of Christ is still manned by a motley crew. You are I are not the exceptions.  

We are a scabby lot. We need to hang in there together to the glory of Christ and for the service of the world.  

To seek a cheap unity of like minds, at the expense of the whole body of Christ, is an arrogant venture. In fact, it is a wilful attempt to make Christ in our own image. 

Better to live in sharp tension with the motley crew of fellow Christians, than to form religious cliques. Far better to sometimes feel you are all alone on some issue, than to sell out to the devil and encourage division. 

We are such a bunch. Irish rock star Bobo has said, Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff. 

Now we are going through a time of profound international tension and change. It will never be the same. Tension brings strife and strife brings conflict.  

It’s not new, but it is new to us after going through a long period of peace and prosperity.  

Cyprian from Carthage, North Africa, during the Roman empire, wrote: 

 “The world is going mad in mutual extermination, and murder, considered as a crime when committed individually, becomes a virtue when it is committed by large numbers. It is the multiplication of the frenzy that assures impunity to the assassins.” 

In the end the disciples’ faith was worth dying for. As we walk into new times and a new world order, our faith and our love for one another may be strained. Get over it. Hang together. Rely on Christ’s grace. That is all we have.  

Let us pray together: 

God of Blazing light, through the power of the cross You shattered our darkness, scattering the fears that bind us and setting us free to live as Your children. 

Give us courage and conviction that we may joyfully turn and follow You 
into new adventures of faithful service, led by the light that shines 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.