Hazelwell Weekly Contact 9th February 2025
7 Feb 2025 • Weekly Notices
Hazelwell Weekly Contact 9th February 2025
All Age Worship & Parade Service
Led by Revd. Dr. Matt Churchouse
5th Sunday of Epiphany
Please pray for
All who are recently bereaved or continue to mourn the loss of a loved one.
Residents of Linley Grove and Frome Way.
Give thanks for all who work towards the maintenance of our church building and its
improvement.
Parish Update
- The midweek discipleship group will not be meeting next Wednesday
Reflection on Luke 5:1-7,
A miraculous catch and Jesus calls his first disciples
In this passage, Jesus tells Simon to let down the nets for a catch, even though Simon and his partners have been fishing all night without success. When they follow His instructions, they catch so many fish that the nets begin to break.
Clearly a miraculous occurrence demonstrating the divine power of Jesus and His authority over nature. It's also a moment of faith: despite their professional expertise in fishing, Simon Peter and the others obey Jesus without questioning though at this point they did not know him personally.
Sometimes God asks us to trust Him, even when it doesn't make sense from a human perspective. In our own daily life, we may feel like we’ve been “fishing” without results—putting in effort and seeing little fruit. But Jesus often calls us to step out in faith, even when it’s hard to believe it will make a difference. However, when we trust His timing and instructions, things can turn around in unexpected ways.
After the miraculous catch, Simon Peter is overwhelmed by the realization of Jesus' holiness and power. He falls at Jesus' feet and says, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
It is a common human tendency to feel unworthy when confronted with God's holiness. But Jesus' response is not to reject Peter. Instead, He calls him to a greater purpose.
However flawed or imperfect we may feel, God’s grace and calling are not based on our worthiness but on His love and plan for us.
Jesus doesn’t dwell on Peter's feelings of inadequacy. Instead, He tells him, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." The disciples leave everything—boats, nets, their livelihood—to follow Jesus thus effecting a total transformation and redirection in their lives.
God often calls us to step out in faith, even when it feels illogical. But when we obey, we find that God can transform our situations and our hearts in ways we didn’t expect. It’s a call to trust Him beyond what we can see or understand.
Jesus meets with us in our everyday lives—in the things we are familiar with—and calls us to something greater. He asks us to trust Him even when we don’t see the full picture, and to follow Him, despite our fears or feelings of inadequacy.
The disciples' willingness to drop everything and follow is a radical act of faith, one that invites us to consider how we too, might be called to live with that same level of commitment and trust.
