Isaiah 6;1-8
Ps 138
1 Cor 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
GOING FISHING
Let’s go fishing! When I decide to go fishing, it is for one of two reasons, either I am exhausted – out of energy and interest for my paid work, ready for time apart, to be at or on the water, to stop and be. Going fishing for me is a way to relax, to enjoy nature, to engage in an activity that restores my inner strength. It is not a job, it is not necessary in order to have dinner, it is for fun!
My summer vacation is often scheduled and planned with an eye toward opportunities to fish. In Alaska, several years ago, I along with about 50 others, stood almost shoulder to shoulder fishing in a river where the salmon were running. The water was swift and the fish were large. Each angler had a rod and heavy line to battle the catch, sometimes successfully, other times the fish won and evaded the hook. At dinner that evening, at a restaurant on the water, we watched as families of Native Americans lined up in the water with fishing nets, netting salmon as they made their annual runs. Reading in the sports fishing handbook, I noted that the Native Americans had the privilege of fishing with nets because they depended on the fish for food. The fish they caught would be dried or smoked and stored for winter. The families were working to eat, not fishing to relax.
According to Luke, Jesus traveled along the fishing routes around the Sea of Galilee, teaching, healing, and one day he saw some men mending nets. Peter, James, John, and Andrew were fishermen who fished for a living. They fished to eat. Jesus asked Peter if he could use his boat to continue teaching and Peter agreed. Then Jesus told Peter to go further off shore to the deep water and put the nets into the water again. Peter was tired, and having fished all night and caught nothing, he was not really very hopeful that they would be more successful this time, but agreed to do as Jesus suggested. I wonder why Peter agreed. Was it because Jesus had recently healed his mother-in-law? What about Jesus might have persuaded Peter to let down the nets?
Whatever the reason, Peter did let down the nets and the fish all but jumped on top of one another to get caught. The nets were so full the other boat had to come and help haul the fish aboard. Peter has a strange response to this great catch. He is fearful, aware of his sinfulness, and basically tells Jesus to get away. Jesus responds in a very affirming way: “do not be afraid, from now on, you will catch people.”
Jesus does not tell Peter or any of the other fishermen to leave their jobs, to give up their income or means of providing for their families, but he makes a prophetic statement about what Peter will do. The story ends with the report that Peter, James, John, and Andrew left their fishing boats, and followed Jesus.
You may remember the account differently because Mark and Matthew tell us that Jesus called out to the fishermen from the shore saying, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” That is not what happened according to Luke. Here Jesus takes the fishermen on the fishing trip of their lives. They catch a miraculous amount of fish showing that Jesus is more than an ordinary person. Coupled with the prior healing of Peter’s mother in law, this catch of fish is an epiphany for Peter. The response Peter makes is voluntary. Jesus affirms the decision with the statement: from now on you will be catching people.
When we go fishing, whether for sport or as our occupation, we prepare for the trip. We gather the tackle, the bait, the rods and reels, inspect them to see that they are functioning properly, maybe replace the old line with new line to insure it is ready for the catch. When you go fishing for people, what do you do to prepare? What is the bait and equipment needed for catching people?
The Lukan narrative continues with several healing stories, one of a man with leprosy, a paralyzed man, and one with a withered hand. The later healing took place on the Sabbath and the religious leaders took Jesus to task for this infringement of the laws of religious observance. Restoring people to wholeness is more important to Jesus than the rules of the church in his day. He tho8ught it was more important to liberate persons from oppression, treat their sickness, and give them hospitality than to stick to rules that separated and marginalized folks. The subsequent healing stories are important in helping us interpret the call of Peter and his fishing companions. The Greek verb for catching people translates literally: “to restore to life and strength, to revive, or to catch alive.” Catching dead fish would not be very attractive or productive. We who would leave our homes, families, occupations, to follow Jesus should seek to catch living people and do all we can to help them be restored to wholeness.
Following Jesus means engaging in the ministry of the kingdom of God. Let me suggest a few lures that might help our fishing. We can use the lure of hospitality. All are welcome! If you believe this, there is not a human being who can come through the doors of St. Paul’s that is not welcome to be here and to join with us in seeking to follow Jesus faithfully. We may disagree about how we do things, when we bow, kneel, stand, sing, but we ought to be willing to see that God reaches out in love to all people. The hurting in mind, soul, or body is seeking wholeness. God is the one who can make all things well. We can pray for and with another, we can share our journey and our faith, and we can be present as companions while realizing that all the way to God is God. It is the grace of God that prepares the hearts of a seeker to find what they desire. We are agents of grace but God is the author and distributor of it. WE join Jesus in spreading the good news that God’s love is ubiquitous and free.
We can use the lure of presence. Jesus had a habit of being present when wonderful things happened. Jesus was in the boat when the nets were filled with fish. Jesus was there when the leper was healed. WE can be there with someone who is grieving, someone who is ill, someone who is depressed, oppressed, struggling with guilt. Don’t underestimate the power of God to work in agents of flesh. That is the whole point of the incarnation of the Word! Jesus was here in the flesh of a human being to show us that God works in human agents. I have said it before: the first priority in discipleship and evangelism is showing up. BE there for another and that act in itself will be a net of solidarity.
We can use the lure of prayer. God inhabits the prayers of his people, says the Psalmist. When we pray, we invite God to come among us, to work through us and to do what God does best, love us and those for whom we pray. There are times when I do not know what words to use and prayer in those cases may be nothing more than an admission of my despair and my need for God. Lift up those for whom you are praying. Don’t try to prescribe what God ought to do, let God act out of God’s grace and love. Just lift up the cause and place it before God.
Everyone can do this. You may give the same excuses that Peter and Isaiah offered – I am a sinner – and yes, we all are, but grace is the antidote for sin. Grace prepares our hearts to repent and to accept forgiveness. Grace prepares us to accept the love of God. Grace prompts us to volunteer for service. Isaiah was not “called” but when he saw the vision of the throne of God, he volunteered, HERE I AM Lord, Send ME! When Peter saw the catch of fish, he volunteered to be a disciple and followed Jesus. Grace provokes us to respond to the works of God in our day just as Isaiah and Peter did in their day.
Isaiah and Peter did not find the path easy or popular. Being faithful does not mean being popular. If we follow Jesus we too will find ourselves in difficult places. We will stand like Peter and tell our story of faith. We will see God working in the most unlikely places. The leper today may be a person with AIDS; the paralytic may be a veteran from Iraq who has lost one or more limbs in the war; the man with the withered hand may be a child born with a birth defect. When Jesus entered the picture, they were made whole.
Evangelism means bringing Jesus into the situation, whatever it is. We cannot control the outcome but we can certainly tell Jesus about the need. We can pray in faith trusting God to be generous to those who are hurting. We can be present in compassionate solidarity with others and we can offer the gift of hospitality. We are called to be a people who have experienced the transforming generosity and love of God and to share it in our daily lives.
Pack a few lures, test your rods and let us go fishing!