Extraordinary encounters (within quite ordinary situations)
“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 5
By Rev. Canon Val Kenyon
WHILE THE MAJORITY of our days can often feel uneventful, even unremarkable, there are other days that are forever burned into our memories. Generally, these days that remain distinct in our memories do so because of something that did or did not happen on them.
Sometimes the events of a day will be marked with joy and on others there will be sadness or loss. On occasion we will anticipate these events. At other times, they will come out of the blue and change all we have known or will know. I think it is safe to say that many of us are all of an age, to have had our fair share of both of those kinds of events and encounters.
During these early days of February, in Luke’s Gospel we read of an early encounter Jesus had with his soon-to-be disciples by the Sea of Gallilee.
Jesus walks right into the middle of the everyday work-a-day world of these fishermen with what will ultimately be quite an extraordinary offer and encounter. Very likely their morning had begun as had many other mornings for Simon Peter and his crew. An unproductive night behind them, a morning filled with empty nets, nothing to sell at the market, so making the most of the time, they got to some chores that needed doing, as they rested on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. But into this “sameness”, this “nothing special moment” stepped the teacher, inviting himself aboard Simon Peter’s boat and using it as something of a platform from which to preach.
When Jesus concludes his conversation with the crowds, the encounter continues as he invites these fishermen to venture into new depths, into an everyday place they thought they knew, but one in which there was more to discover. This encounter broadened and opened these new disciples to find something new, something hidden in plain sight.
In the EfM program, the materials and resources are prayerfully designed and strongly reliant upon God’s Spirit, to support encounters of all kinds – encounters with one another, with oneself and of course with the divine. We set ourselves to find that certain something hidden in plain sight. The expectation is that right in the middle of all the “ordinary” of everyday life, the extraordinary will reveal itself, surprising us that perhaps it had always been there. A real adventure of discovery.
In several months we will be hosting both online Open Houses and in-person Open Houses, so please watch for these dates, times and locations. In the meantime, be bold and cast out those nets. Who knows what wonders there are yet to be discovered? Need more information about Education for Ministry? Please reach out to Libi Clifford the Diocese of Huron EfM Coordinator or me, Val Kenyon at EFM@huron.anglican.ca to learn more.
Rev. Canon Dr. Val Kenyon is EFM Animator in Huron.
Illustration: Raphael, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1515)