Withered oak leaves, John Ruskin c. 1879

Sunday Readings

Exodus 18.13-23
Romans 12.1-2,9-21
Psalm 1
Mark 1:14-18

'Jesus said: "Follow me..."' Mark 1:17

John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, as well as an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent thinker and philanthropist. He exercised a huge influence in the latter half of the 19th century and thanks to his social criticism he can be considered in many respects the father of the Arts and Crafts Movement to which Holy Trinity, Sloane Street owes a huge debt. The celebrated designer William Morris quickly became one of Ruskin's disciples, adopting his rejection of the industrial manufacture of decorative arts and architecture in favour of a return to craftsmanship, raising artisans to the status of artists, creating art that should be affordable and hand-made. 

If Ruskin had a profound effect on Morris, how much more so did Jesus have on Simon and Andrew who we find him with on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in this Sunday's Gospel reading. The two fishermen left everything they knew to become disciples of Christ. Their apprenticeship of faith was so thorough in the course of the three years they spent learning from him that they would eventually lose their lives on account of their convictions. The Greek work for “disciple” in the New Testament means someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct. We can all think of people whose ideas and attitudes have impressed us but are we willing to go further and allow Jesus Christ to be our Master?