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St. Andrew's Church
An Anglican Church • Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Preached by
Stuart Pike
Rector
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Sea Sunday
St. Andrew's Church, Grimsby
24 September 2006
Luke 5: 1-11
Today we join with the Anglican Church across Canada in celebrating Sea Sunday, which is a day to remember seafarers, to pray for them and to be grateful for their work. It is also a day to support the Missions to Seafarers which started 150 years ago in London, England and now has ministries in over 300 ports around the world, 100 of which have Missions to Seafarer's Centres including in our Diocese at the port of Hamilton. Seafarers around the world have come to recognize the symbol of the Missions to Seafarers, which is the image of a flying angel. The Centres are a place for seafarers in port to find companionship, a way to connect with family back home and to find support in trouble. They are also places for worship and the sharing of faith. Chaplains and volunteers who staff the centres often help with directions and information.
Seafarers are ordinary people, just like us, but they live what we would probably feel are extraordinary lives. Many of them are poor - about 80% are from 3rd world countries with 90% or their small salaries going to support their families at home.
In the Port of Quebec City we had a Missions to Seafarer's ministry. Often poor sailors, who joined up in the tropics ended up in northern climes, like ours, without adequate clothing. One of the things which we used to do in Quebec was to collect warm clothing to be given to them. Another thing we did was package shoe boxes full of small items and goodies to be wrapped and given at Christmas time to the seafarers who were in port.
I want to read to you from a report from the chaplain of Walvis Bay Missions to Seafarers which is in South West Africa, 700 miles north of Captetown. Walvis Bay is surrounded by desert and, with an important port, only has a community of 20,000 people. This story was written down by the chaplain, but was told to him by a Romanian sailor.
"I attended Chapel at the Mission this morning. I joined the chaplain and his little band at their morning prayers. I could not understand all the words, but I felt the peace of the place, and left feeling very good as I walked the short distance into town. It was a lovely day and all was well, at least on the face of things. I have many worries. The situation in my country worries me - being so far away from my family worries me. My wife isn't too well and medicine is difficult to get - so are many other things. Worst of all I'm thousands of miles from those I love and I can do nothing about it. But, for the moment I'm happy, I'm alive. I have 51 cents in my pocket - I shall spend the rest of the morning shopping. I can't buy very much but I can look at and touch many things - taken for granted here but pure luxury at home.
I looked at a young mother with her small son walking slowly along the sidewalk. I remembered my own little son and crossed the street. I patted his head with what I thought was a pleasant smile. The mother gave a gasp of alarm, picked up the child and hurried on - I felt the sun go down, I had meant no harm. I went into the supermarket - the floorwalker kept an eye on me - twice I caught her following me down the aisles. The 51 cents were not enough for a packet of cigarettes - not enough for a beer, not enough, it seems, for anything.
Anyway, I'm still a man - a man of the sea. I'll go back to my ship. I remember the smell of the fishing vessel - the cabbage soup for lunch - the lack of privacy - where a man can't even cry in private - not even in the toilet, there's only a strip of a door.
I pass the Missions to Seafarer's Centre - I'll go in there. The Padre welcomes me - "Well, did you have a good morning in town", he asks brightly. "Oh yes, thank you", I reply, looking down. Why is it that the Padre seems to know when things are not right? - "Come and have some tea." I sit down with the Padre and he asks me about my family and my life, my town. I speak and speak and speak - how he understands my halting English I don't know, but he seems to well enough. I know the Missions should close for lunch but the Padre keeps me, and the sun comes out again. "Some buscuits', he asks, "What about some magazines?"
I feel better. I'll be back this evening and that 51 cents is going into that little Flying Angel Collection box - every cent of it. I could not buy anything in town - here at the Mission I get for free what money can't buy - caring human love."
I wanted to say just a few words about our Gospel lesson for today. It is the story of Jesus calling some seafarers to ministry. They were fishermen - good simple, hard-working folk, who would not have been chosen by the Pharisees or Sadducees to be preachers and teachers. But Jesus chose them.
In today's Gospel reading he asks these fishermen to do an amazing thing. First, he asks them for their hospitality. There are so many people crowding in on him that he asks to be able to preach from their boat, so the beach was like a little auditorium, and the boat was like a floating podium. And he taught the people from that boat. Then, Jesus the carpenter - turned preacher as the nerve to tell these fishermen how to fish! "Put out into deep water, and let your nets down on the other side."
These fisherman had fished all their lives. They knew full well that the schools of fish kept to the shallow waters. There would be little chance of catching even a single fish with their small nets in the deep water. Besides, these men were Jews, and they were afraid of the water. Water was a place of danger in their society. Of course, deep water is still a dangerous place to work even today. The Hebrew scriptures were full of references about the negative symbolism of water. Yet, Peter says, if you say so, we will do it. And we all know the rest of story. There is a miraculous catch of fish and the story ends with the new disciples leaving this new-found wealth and everything else, in order to follow Jesus.
Jesus asks us to put out into deep water as well, at times in our lives. Even though it might feel dangerous to us. We are asked to go out from our comfortable familiar territory and into the unknown. Sometimes that means welcoming the unknown into our familiar place and taking the risks that this involves. Sometimes, it means, allowing a rough-looking man of the sea to pat our child's head, because we can see that he is ever so human as we are, and that he is far from home and missing his family.
Often the unfamiliar water is something that is inside of us: the depths of our unconscious or the depths of our soul. When we put down our nets in unfamiliar waters we don't know what we will draw up. Even the unexpected wealth can be seem dangerous to us. Just what kind of fish are those?
Jesus asks to do it anyway. Supporting the Missions to Seafarers is one simple way, among many others that we are engaged in Jesus' mission: to extend his welcome. Let us pray.
For seafarers and their families
Almighty God, we thank you for those on whose labour we depend for the necessities of life. We ask your blessing upon all seafarers in their daily work; for their safety as they face the dangers of their profession; and for their families and loved ones, especially during periods of separation, loneliness and anxiety. Grant them at all times the knowledge of your love and care, and the strength and encouragement of your mercy and protection. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
