2026 01 25 Epiphany 3 plus Australia Day.
Deuteronomy 8:5-14 – AUS DAY
Isaiah 9:1-4 Psalm 27:1, 4-9 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Matthew 4:12-23
I have some questions to
ask; Do you know where you are going…? Do you know where you’ve been? Today we ponder the lives of some fishermen,
who, as Jewish men, were connected to a great history of faith, but whose lives
had an eternal destiny and an impact that would cause their names to be known
by most of the world for all generations to come. These men were called by Jesus and they could
have said, “No”, but instead there, “Yes” was so enthusiastic that they
immediately left their form life and followed Jesus.
These questions about
history and future are good things to think about at the start of a new
year. Do you see where you’ve been and
do you know where you are going? As we
gather on Australia Day weekend we can reflect on these questions for our
country. Our country has a history - a story, and our
country has a faith story. God, most
certainly, has a vision for our nation.
In 1606 Pedro Fernandez de
Quiros, a Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, claimed Australia as the
"Great Southland of the Holy Spirit".
He thought he was on Australia, but was actually on Vanuatu. Never the less, he claimed the surrounding
lands, stretching to the South Pole, as "Tierra Australis del Espíritu
Santo" (The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit). I guess if Pedro had stuck around we might
all be speaking Spanish. But he left and
others came. Obviously, this is just one
tiny part of our Country’s story.
We, as the children of God,
reflect on the past with an understanding that we have a responsibility and
call as God’s children, to be stewards in our country and to intercede – pray
and take action, so that it has a good future.
We always have the free will to answer that call or not. But learn from the Ancient Israelites who
chose not to answer that call – they were taken into exile and scattered so
that for many years there was no nation.
Last week we saw that St.
Peter received a new identity. Through
his call from God he became Peter, but he had been Simon. Through his interaction with Jesus, we
reflected on our own identity and how we might be Simon-ish – or Niki-ish, but
we are called to be something more.
Through our baptism, God’s hand is on us, just as it was on Simon, who
became Peter – Rock solid in his understanding of who he was in God.
Last week we pondered, “Who
am I?” This week, now that we know we
have an identity in God, we focus on the next part of our great adventure in
faith – “Where am I going”? - in other
words; our calling.
We are in the season of
Epiphany, the season where it is realized that Jesus came, not just for the
Jew, but also for the Non-Jew – or Gentile.
This is highlighted in our readings today, by the fact that Jesus left
where he was ministering and went to “Galilee of the Gentiles”. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which
says… ‘”… He will make glorious the
way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” - of the nations refers to the Gentiles.
In the time of Jesus, Galilee
was a place where there were Jewish towns, but also many Gentile towns. It was ethnically diverse. Both in the prophecy and in the actions of Jesus
ministering in Galilee, God revealed that He is concerned for everyone. Jesus showed that God’s gifts and calling
were not just for the chosen nation, but through that chosen nation, all
nations would be blessed.
All nations will be
blessed. That includes the nation of
Australia. The scripture verse from
Deuteronomy says; “For the Lord your
God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep
springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;”. The verse is speaking to the Israelites when
God was about to bring them into their land, promised to them by God. It was a good land, and it was a gift from
God. But there was an exhortation to
remember God; “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your
God for the good land he has given you.
Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe
his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.”
Every nation will be blessed
because the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is for everyone. His exhortation to love our neighbours as
ourselves and his call to live following his example of sacrificial love is the
way to a society that would be Heaven on earth – but we are still falling
short… very short. Thankfully God is
gracious to us still. St. Paul also
encourages all to “play nice”, when he tells the church, “I appeal to you,
brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be
in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit
together in the same mind and the same purpose.”
The same mind and the same purpose…. Sounds like pie in the sky. Yet it is to this we are called. Mother Theresa is famous for saying, “Today,
if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each
other–that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister. If everyone
could see the image of God in his neighbour, do you think we would still need
tanks and generals?”
The same mind and the same
purpose to which we are called is our calling in Christ. It is the mind and purpose of Christ with
which we need to become acquainted…. More than merely acquainted! Saint Paul talks about the divisions in the
church where some follow Peter and some Paul etc… much like the divisions within our
denominations, unfortunately not much has changed in 2000 years.
We will always have
differences, and those differences are actually good. The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit
teaches us. There will be differences
because WE are all different – but these things should not divide us. We all belong to God. We all need to seek the mind and the purpose
of God. To this purpose we are called.
Last week we read about the
first disciples who went to follow Jesus.
They sought Jesus out. The
interactions were personal and we were told of the interaction where Simon became
Peter. The interaction caused Peter to
understand something new – something of his identity in God. This week we have a later account that
emphasises that Jesus, who already knew them personally, sought out and called these
men to a specific purpose. These men
already knew Jesus. They already identified
with him. Now they were called by him to
be about his business. To do this, was
not like getting a job description and hopping to it. To do the work of Jesus they would need to
have his mind and purpose. We too are
called to know that we have an identity in God.
And we too are called to have the mind of Christ and be about His
purpose.
I am, you are… we are
Australian! But what is our purpose
here? No matter who we are and where we
come from, there is a much deeper connection between us all, when we know, as
Mother Theresa says, that we belong to each other. And of course, the reason that we belong to
each other is because we belong to God.
We are the children of God and as such, we are called by him to have his
mind and be about His purpose.
We are one, but we are
many. There is a music term called
harmony where two or more different notes are played at the same time, and it
makes a beautiful sound. This is the best
example of the freedom we have in Christ and yet the one-ness. God didn’t make us to be clones, but in all
our differences and uniqueness we ARE all called to have HIS mind and be about
HIS purpose.
It isn’t just the fishermen
who were given a calling. We too are
called, but we too have free will. What
of our country? There is a calling for
our country also. Whether it is for our
own personal life, our family, our town, state or country, Jesus calls us to
follow him. Not just on Sunday or in our
spare time. Come and follow me…. Leave
your nets – Those fishermen didn’t stop being fishermen, but they left them to
follow Jesus. Jesus is first and
foremost. We are all called to leave our
nets in the same way and follow Jesus. Through
him this world was made. Where are you
going? The message from Jesus this day
is to Leave your nets and, first and foremost, follow Him who is the life, the
truth and the way.
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