The Third Sunday after Epiphany
Year A

Fish Stories

Readings: Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23

Fishing is an image to which most of us can relate on some level.   Living in an urban setting as we do we probably relate to it as a recreational pastime.  The stories that we tell about fishing are most likely to be about the one that got away.  I have very little fishing experience, but I do have one good fish story.  I also have the picture to back up my claim.  My first teaching position was in Fort George, an Indian settlement on James Bay.  One fine day we went on a canoe trip up the Fort George River.  We paddled about two hours upriver as far as the first portage.  There we stopped for lunch and a bit of exploration.  The guide took a few people who wanted to fish a little further up the river.  They came back having caught nothing.  It was a warm day so I took off my shoes, rolled up my slacks and paddled in the still frigid water.  Trapped in a shallow pool was an Arctic Char, probably about five or six pounds.  To the amazement of the men I scooped it up in my bare hands and flipped it out to them.  It was the only fish caught that day. 

Fishing is not usually that easy a task.  Those who fish for a living lead a hard, even dangerous life.  They are at the mercy of the weather.  Every time they go out to sea they risk their lives. 

So on one level I don’t wonder that when Jesus invited Peter and Andrew to leave their nets and fish for people they dropped everything.  One might imagine that the possibility of dealing with people instead of with slippery, wriggling fish might have fascinated them.  On another level it is difficult to conceive of Jesus making the same demand of James and John.  Why would Jesus ask them to desert their father in the middle of their work?  Didn’t Jesus care about Zebedee, who no doubt depended on their help with the family fishing business? 

There is truly no answer to those questions, nor are they the point of the story.  That we can leave up to our imaginations.  What we have is a wonderful image of how fishers of fish become fishers of people.  We have four people whose lives are changed drastically because they met Jesus.  Not only did they meet him, they responded to him.  They followed him and their lives changed. 

Following Jesus, really following him, changes our lives.  Christian experience can so easily forget that.  Jesus invites us to follow.  When we follow our lives change radically.  The invitation to follow is about following Jesus into the world to serve him and other people.  When we make that commitment our priorities shift and we begin to make different kinds of decisions about our lives.  We begin to cast our nets to draw other people in.  The thing to remember about fishing for people is as someone on a sermon site put it, that it is about fishing, not about catching.  It is about issuing the same invitation to other people that you received yourself. 

It begins with responding to Jesus’ invitation.  If we are to do God’s will in our lives then we need to be followers of Jesus.  We need to make a conscious decision about what we will and will not do.  Only then can God use us to reach out to a society in need of transformation.  So what is our response to the invitation?  What will we do to bring light and healing into the lives of others?  What will work for us as Christians? 

I hate to begin with negatives, but my experience tells me that when it comes to evangelism some approaches simply don’t work.  We need to find an approach that suits us as Anglicans.  It needs to be based on our tripod of Scripture, tradition and reason.  Somehow or other it is that last one, reason, that makes our faith so accessible. 

Let’s begin with what is reasonable faith.  It doesn’t seem reasonable to me to simply argue.  To try to persuade people that there is a God is fruitless.  Most people will acknowledge that.  The problem is not lack of belief; it just doesn’t make any difference in their lives.  They see no need to come to church, to study the Christian faith, or to make themselves a part of the Christian community.  If they truly are atheists than no argument is ever going to convince them. 

It also doesn’t seem reasonable to me to preach about evil and hell.  Most people experience their own version of that anyway.  Enough bad things happen in our world, violence, war, poverty, that we don’t need to be convinced about the existence of evil.  Besides, while such preaching may scare us into being ‘good’ it will never convince us of a God of love that is worthy of our following. 

Reason tells me that collaring and pestering people until they cave is also a bad idea.  It might work for a while, but no real commitment comes about that way.  There needs to be good teaching to back up commitment. People need to understand what they are getting into.  They need to know the cost of discipleship. 

The kind of invitation that Jesus issued to the disciples hooked them.  It gave them a vision of what Jesus was trying to accomplish.  They became disciples.  Then Jesus taught them the faith.  By word and example he helped them to grow spiritually.  He showed them that they were part of God’s plan for the world.  He spurred them to action. 

For me there really is only one reasonable option.  I must be so committed myself that people will be drawn in.  I cannot be lukewarm about my faith and expect to encourage other people.  It only takes a spark, but the spark has to be there.  Bishop Victoria said that people are drawn to the faith because they smell God on you.  There is a wonderful truth in that.  The best way I know to bring people to faith is to live it out in my life.  That means constantly inquiring further into the spiritual, learning all I can about God.  It means setting aside time for reading the Scriptures and for prayer.  It means examining my life and realizing that I fall short of God’s glory.  It means asking God for forgiveness.  It means seeing things the way God sees them.  It means watching for the opportunities that God gives me to share the good news.  It means following where God leads me.  It means seeking out people in the way that Jesus sought out the disciples.  How can I engage others in the vision and agenda of the kingdom with light and compassion? 

Now let’s all go fishing!