A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at Trinity Church ,
Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Wednesday,
November 30, 2011, on the occasion of the ordination of
Chaplain David William Peters to the Sacred Order of Deacons.
“FOLLOW ME!”
(Homily text: Matthew 4: 18 - 22)(Introductory remarks: It is a great honor to be the preacher on this wonderful occasion, a day that many who are present here tonight have longed for and have waited for for a very long time now. Our paths to ministry, Chaplain David’s and mine, have involved very similar routes, for each of us began our journeys in the evangelical/fundamental part of the body of Christ, but we each found our way to the wonderful riches of the Episcopal Church and to the Anglican family. Each of us have served/are serving in the U.S. Army, and that service took us to Washington, D. C. and to Christ Church, Georgetown, whose Rector, Fr. Stuart Kenworthy (who is here tonight), was a guide along the way for us both. And then, those respective paths led to the Diocese of Springfield, and to ordained ministry within this Diocese.)
“Follow me,
and I will make you fish for people,” the Lord said to Andrew and to his better
known brother, Simon Peter.
Immediately,
they left their nets and followed him.
On that day
along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ recruiting station set up shop,
and that day He got four new recruits to join him in service to Him and to God.
It is
interesting to read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ call to these four, for there
were no advertising banners which read, “Join up today, learn a new skill,
travel to new and exciting places, meet new and interesting people.”
Maybe it’s
a good thing that none of that was passed before their eyes.
Maybe it’s
just as well that Jesus didn’t tell them about the rough road that would lie
ahead, for that road led to a cross for these two brothers….Tradition tells us
that Simon Peter was crucified upside down, while Andrew was crucified on an X
shaped cross (known as St. Andrew’s Cross to this day) in Greece.
Considering
the hardships that they would face once their three years of basic training
were over, perhaps it was best that they simply dropped their nets and walked
away from their family business to follow this compelling, charismatic person
called Jesus, no questions asked.
Anytime
someone steps forward to take the oath of enlistment, it’s probably best not to
think too much about the road ahead, and what difficulties, trials and dangers
might lie in the pathway.
Life as an
infantryman involves a lot of time outside, spent in the cold, the heat, the
mud, the insects, the creepy-crawlies, and that sort of thing. Of course, the manual which described the
qualifications for being an infantryman didn’t say a word about those things.
Life as a
disciple of Jesus involves self denial, the willingness to suffer the loss of
all things (Simon and Andrew – along with the other disciples – gave up
everything to follow the Lord), to be willing to suffer rejection, deprivation,
physical hardships, and yes, even death.
Of course,
new recruits in the army have to pass certain standards in order to get into
the service in the first place. I recall
vividly many years ago when I was an infantryman reading the standards that a
person had to meet in order to serve as an infantryman. The standards had the usual stuff in
them: the ability to carry so many
pounds, flexibility enough to surmount obstacles, 20/40 vision in one eye
(corrected)……20/40 vision in one eye, corrected? That was enough to
qualify? I remember asking myself,
“Who’d want to serve alongside a guy who could only see (sort of) out of one
eye?”
Maybe Jesus
knew all about the qualifications of these two brothers, Simon and Andrew, as
He asked them follow along. If He didn’t
perceive their strengths and weaknesses at the beginning, it probably didn’t
take long to find them out.
For one
thing, Simon Peter’s spiritual vision wasn’t too good, for he would seem to
really “get it” at one moment, only to turn around and be blind in the next.
And perhaps
the Lord noticed that Simon seemed to have a much more passionate disposition
than his brother, Andrew. At least
that’s the sense I get from the portrait we have in Holy Scripture of Andrew.
But we do
get the sense that Andrew had a gift for bringing people together, and a
special gift for bringing people to God….the Fourth Gospel, for example, tells
us that Andrew was the one who told his brother that “We have found the Messiah
(which means Christ).” (John 1: 41). It
was Andrew who brought the boy with the five loaves and two fish to the Lord at
the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6: 8).
And it was Andrew, along with Philip, who brought some Greeks to see
Jesus (John 12: 22).
Andrew and
the others made it through their basic training, sitting at the Lord’s feet,
hearing Him teach and preach, watching Him perform miracles, setting the
Pharisees and the keepers of the law right.
No one failed to make it through – except for Judas, that is.
And then
came the time for these disciples to be promoted to be apostles, and to be sent
out to the various places they were to serve, carrying the good news with
them. We know that they were sent out to
make disciples of all nations. St.
Andrew, tradition tells us, went as far as Kiev in the Ukraine….That’s a long
way from the Holy Land and the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
As we said
a moment ago, St. Andrew was crucified.
Tradition tells us that he lived for two days, tied to his X shaped
cross, using those last breaths to continue to preach the gospel, until his
last breath came. Andrew was faithful,
right to the end.
The saints
we honor on days of ordination carry unique meaning for us, for their pattern
of life inspires and shapes the ministries that we undertake at ordination.
St. Andrew
provides a rich example for you today, Chaplain Dave, on the occasion of your
ordination as a Deacon. Andrew’s gift
for bringing people together is an essential gift that all soldiers of Christ
must have, according to the gifts that we individually possess. Andrew’s gift for persevering through
dangers, difficulties and tribulations also inspires us to persevere, and to
conquer, as we follow Jesus and take up our cross to follow Him.
So, as you
are promoted this night, it’s important to also remember that you are being
demoted at the same time. As you advance
in rank within the body of Christ, the commitment to be the servant of God and
of God’s people also deepens correspondingly.
As a
Deacon, your concern will be for the helpless of the world, for making the
needs of the world known to the Church, and to serve all people, particularly
the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.
These added responsibilities will become a permanent part of the
ministry that is entrusted to you tonight, and these responsibilities will
continue – God willing - once you are ordained as Priest
This
servant/leader model is Jesus’ example, to be sure, and it is Andrew’s as well.
Many of
those who have served to bring you to this occasion have taken up the role that
Andrew filled, for they have had a part in bringing you to this point. Quite a few are present this night to witness
this event. Our prayer would be that the
Holy Spirit would enable and strengthen you to carry out these new duties as
you look to Jesus for your example and strength, inspired by the life, work and
witness of that faithful apostle, Andrew, as well.
AMEN.
