The Galilean fishers toil

The Galilean fishers toil. Christopher Wordsworth* (1807-1885). First published in The Holy Year (1862), where it was assigned to the fourth Sunday in Advent. It relates to the Collect for that day which asks God to ‘succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us’. It recalls the miraculous draught of fishes, the calming of the storm, Peter’s denial of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit, occasions when Christ’s disciples experienced a sense of failure, fear or sin, but were then sustained by God’s presence: The Galilean fishers toil  All...