Fishing

(Scriptures: Isaiah 9:1-4, I Corinthians 1:10-18,Matthew 4:12-23)

Today’s Gospel reading gives Matthew’s account of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The preceding Scriptures have built up to this point – Matthew’s birth narrative, the angels’ proclamation to Mary, the visit of the Magi, the flight to Egypt to escape Herod, the baptism by John, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, which we’ll read about a few weeks from now in Lent…all these are ways in which God the Father prepared Jesus for ministry. So much of God’s grace has poured into Jesus, and now Jesus begins to pour out that grace for humankind as he begins his earthly ministry.

For Matthew, apparently John’s arrest was the catalyst for Jesus beginning his own ministry. Matthew brushes past it so quickly – “now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested” – but we’re not only given a note about the news of the day, but also a foreshadowing of coming danger, a sense that the danger faced by John will later be faced by Jesus. Jesus responds to the news by moving from his childhood home of Nazareth, to move to Capernaum, along the sea of Galilee. The events of the day lead Jesus out of his comfort zone and into unfamiliar territory – but Matthew also tells us that God’s hand is in all this, as the areas formerly settled by the Hebrew tribes of Zebulon and Naphthali, which had centuries ago been overrun by the Assyrians and were considered “Galilee of the Gentiles” have seen the great light of Jesus. As so often happens, what the human powers that be intended for evil, God used for good. And as Matthew tells the story, Jesus’ preaching picks up where John the Baptist’s preaching left off – “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

And then Jesus, who by John’s arrest was led out of his comfort zone, proceeds to call others out of their comfort zones. He encounters the brothers Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea. There’s no mention of a boat, so perhaps we’re to understand that they have none. They’re just doing what they do every day for a living. That day was unfolding like the day before and the day before that….until along came Jesus, telling them, “follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” We’re told that immediately – no hesitation – they left their nets and followed Jesus. The three encounter the brothers James and John. We’re told that they’re in a boat with their father, Zebedee – Mark’s version of the story also mentions hired men – so perhaps we’re to understand that this family is a bit better off than Simon and Andrew’s family. Again the call from Jesus, and again they immediately leave everything – the hired men, the boat, their father – immediately, no hesitation - leave all that’s familiar to follow Jesus.

As I read this, I’m struck by the use of the word immediately. Just like that, they drop everything and follow Jesus. I try to imagine Jesus stopping by the accounting department and saying, “Follow me, and instead of counting beans you’ll be counting new believers.” Or imagine Jesus stopping by your workplaces – the lab, the tax office, the collection agency, the insurance company – with the call, “Follow me.” We’re risk-averse, cautious….likely before following Jesus, many of us would be tempted to start asking about life insurance and health insurance and a retirement plan. “Hey Jesus, do you offer a 401K?” But from Andrew and Simon and James and John, none of that – just willingness to drop everything and follow. Perhaps the call of Andrew and Simon and James and John is a sort of visual demonstration of the Isaiah text “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” They were just fishing, just doing what they did every day – and then Jesus came, the light dawned, they followed the light, and their lives were never the same.

Like Simon and Andrew and James and John, Jesus likewise calls for us here at Emanuel to fish for people. We’re called to gather disciples for Christ. It would be nice if people would just walk in the door – and truth to tell, a few do, now and then – but often expecting people to just find their way to us would be like Simon and Andrew standing on the shore with their net spread out on the sand, waiting for the fish to jump out of the water toward the beach and land in their nets. Fishing doesn’t work that way – the net has to be where the fish are. And if we are to attract people to Christ, we need to be where they are….which may mean leaving our comfort zones….leaving the beach, venturing out into deep water, and letting down our nets.

What does it look like, to leave everything behind and follow Jesus? I think of the young couple from Denver, Colorado, Patrick and Kim Bentrott, whom the UCC had sent as medical missionaries to Haiti, and who were there during last year’s earthquake. Their website address was in the bulletin for a month or so last year. Their lives in Haiti literally turned upside down as the tremors crumbled nearly all of facilities at the medical clinic they served, and they often felt completely overwhelmed at the magnitude of the need in front of them – but they were where God needed them, and they touched many lives. A year later, they’re back in the United States, with two adopted Haitian children, but keep in frequent contact with the land they served and loved intensely.

We read accounts like that of the Bentrott’s ministry in Haiti, and think that it’s so far outside our experience that we can’t hope to do anything like that. To which I’d respond, not necessarily so. Today we see the beginnings of Andrew’s and Simon’s and James’ and John’s walk with Jesus. We know that at the end of the path were the beginnings of the early church, and martyrs’ deaths for all but maybe John. But in between those first steps of obedience in today’s Gospel and the end of their path, were countless small steps of obedience, countless small acts of stepping out in faith, of taking small risks that led to taking greater risks. And there were many missteps and stumbles along the way – James and John trying to get the seats next to Christ in glory, Peter denying Christ. And after every stumble, they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and started out anew on their journey with Jesus. All of this came through the prompting of the Spirit – and yet these followers of Christ had hearts open to the Spirit’s leading.

A small personal testimony: my journey to serving here at Emanuel and to seminary has been a very gradual one – joining Old First church downtown – and I used to take the train in from the suburbs - slowly trusting the members there enough to become active, eventually taking on some roles leading worship and serving on their governing board, risking doing some hospital visitation even though I wasn’t sure I could handle standing next to someone on his deathbed, taking some licensed ministry courses, hanging out here at Emanuel, and eventually taking a big deep breath and enrolling in seminary. A long journey, over 20 years or more, with lots of self-doubt along the way – am I really called to be a pastor....I can’t go back to school, I’m almost the oldest person in my classes; my mind can’t pick up and retain all this new material like it could when I was in my 20’s. Back then I had a mind like a sponge; now it's like trying to soak up water with a brick. And yet trusting God that, if this is what God’s calling me to do, God will make a way for it to happen.

And so I’d challenge each of us, and challenge us as a congregation to take some risks, venture out of our comfort zones, and follow Jesus, and allow Jesus to teach us to fish for people. It doesn’t mean we all have to pick up and move to Haiti or Timbuktu or wherever. It may mean something as simple and as crucial as inviting a friend or family member to church – something as simple and beautiful as standing by someone going through a difficult time and offering a word of hope when all they feel is despair – as simple and as caring as visiting a sick friend and reminding them that Jesus loves them.

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” May we at Emanuel Church carry the light of Christ to our families, our friends, our neighbors, and especially to our beloved neighborhood of Bridesburg. Amen.
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Please join us at Emanuel United Church of Christ on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We're at 2628 Fillmore Street (off Thompson)