“Fishing With Jesus: The Call to
Fish”
February 6, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and
peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, Amen.
Thank God we survived the past couple
of days! Even though there’s still snow and ice around, and it’s still going to
be cold for most of today, we still made it through the winter storm. Actually,
it hasn’t been all bad: I happen to know a number of families were able to go
out sledding and have some fun, so winter can be fun. And, now that I’ve been
here a few years, I’ve finally learned to appreciate the good parts of winter. However,
as we’ve also been reminded over the last couple of days, winter can be
dangerous: police departments in most of our state were warning people not to drive
anywhere unless absolutely necessary because of the road conditions. The danger
in driving in the snow and ice comes in two ways: either sliding off the road,
or around the road, or getting stuck in the snow. Either way, winter is a
challenge because it can cause you to go off track. Sliding or getting stuck
can cause you to get knocked off course, and keep you from going where you need
to go. Even having to stay indoors because of the weather can cause you to get
knocked off course, and keep you from going where you need to go.
We could say that the past couple of
years have been like living in one long winter storm with freezing weather
afterwards. We’ve been knocked off track by the pandemic. We’ve been knocked off
course and kept from going where we need to go. It was around this time two
years ago that the news of the coronavirus first started to emerge: no one
could really say exactly what it was, only that it was dangerous and spreading rapidly.
We began to slide all over the road trying to figure out what direction to go
with the new threat, which caused us to lose control. After a while, we got
stuck. It became like having to stay inside during a winter storm: the situation
became so dangerous that we all had to stay home. Because it was dangerous and spreading
rapidly, churches began to close. We were even forced to close for a couple of
months. Then, as there was more clarity as to what the coronavirus was and how
to adapt to it, as businesses and society began to adapt to the pandemic, many
churches, like ours, began to try to find ways to open up again and adapt to
the new conditions. But in the process, we, and many other churches, began to
suffer. Attendance dropped, finances, dropped, activities dropped. Now we’ve
become comfortable with how we’ve adapted to the pandemic; in a way, it’s like
we’ve been in a vehicle stuck in the snow. But the problem with getting stuck
in the snow and trying to move is twofold: one, you either try to move, and end
up spinning your wheels, and burning out your engine; two, you either give up
entirely and refuse to even try to move. Once you get to either point, you
focus on how bad your situation is, and you start to lose hope. You become
passive, rather than actively trying to get yourself out, because you have no other
ideas. Then, you need someone to come and pull you out. But that involves
trusting the person who comes to pull you out, trusting that they will keep you,
and your vehicle safe as they do so. Keep that in mind for about a minute or so
from now.
All of these have been challenges
we’ve had to face the past couple of years. In the process, we’ve become
inwardly focused, especially as we’ve become more focused on survival, which
has caused us to become more inwardly focused. In the process, we’ve also been
afraid of change: the pandemic has caused a lot of fear because it’s disrupted
what we were used to before. We’ve been kept from going where we need to go. We’ve
gotten off track from what our true mission is.
And yet, today we are reminded, Jesus
reminds us Himself, about what we are really all about: we have a mission. We
are a people, a church, with a purpose, with a mission. Literally, we’re on a
mission from God. Our mission is all about Jesus: living for Jesus, telling
about Jesus, acting like Jesus. And Jesus is all about people. Jesus is
all about looking for people, caring for people, bringing people to Him. And
that’s what we’re about as well, that’s also our mission: looking for people,
caring for people, bringing people to Jesus. That is our real mission: it’s all
about Jesus, and Jesus is all about people. That’s why, in today’s Gospel
reading, He says clearly, “From now on you will catch men.” Our primary
concern, everything we do, everything we focus on, everything we plan, every
goal we work towards, especially from this point on, ought to be about how we believe
Jesus is calling us to look for and care for people. Our mission is to
be outwardly focused: focused on Jesus, focused on people. For the next
few weeks, the theme of our sermon series will be talking more about what this
looks like, as we talk about how Jesus calls us to fish for people where we
are, right here, right now.
The reality is, people need Jesus.
People may say they need all kinds of other things, but ultimately, people need
Jesus. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to be able to satisfy the
greatest need people have: to have their sins be forgiven, to have their lives
be changed, and be given the promise of eternal life after death. However, not
only is Jesus is the only way to be guaranteed eternal life, Jesus is the only
way to find true satisfaction, the answers to life’s questions, healing, and
everything else that is needed. In order to lives to be changed, restored, and
healed, people need Jesus.
Like the Prophet Isaiah, whom we
hear about in today’s First Reading, we are also asked, in Isaiah 6:8, “Who
will go for us?” Today, God is asking us – is asking you personally – the same thing:
“Who will go for us?” God wants you to answer. And how is God sending you? Where
is He sending you? Right now is actually a good time to ask: is there someone
you can think of at this moment, in your neighborhood, in your school, at your
workplace, maybe even a friend or family member, who needs to know and experience
Jesus in a special way? How can you help them be loved, supported, and
encouraged by Jesus? Perhaps this morning, God is speaking to you in a special
way, and asking, are you ready to go where I send you? Are you ready for the
mission I have for you? And, in response, like Isaiah, we are to say, “Here I
am, send me!” Wherever it is you need me to go, I’m ready to go. Whoever it is
you’re wanting to send me to, show me who they are, and send me to them. We are
to be asking, and especially asking Jesus to show us, what do the people
outside of our church, those next door to us, and in our communities, really
need? How can we bring Jesus, and who He is, to people outside of our church? Not
even thinking first about how can we bring people into church, but how can we
bring Jesus outside of our church building out to people? Perhaps this might
mean doing things, or going in directions, which we might not have thought of
to be able to find people who need Jesus, and who need us. As St. Paul
encourages us to think about in today’s Second Reading, we are to communicate
Jesus in ways people understand – not simply by telling with words, but showing
with meaningful actions.
Notice also, in Luke 5:4, that
Jesus encourages the fishermen to go into deeper water to be able to catch the
fish. This was actually considered risky, because deeper waters meant greater
danger – danger to the boats, danger of falling in and drowning, and danger of
not knowing what else might be in the water. The fishermen had probably been
stuck in a rut by fishing in familiar waters, by trying to stick with familiar
patterns. But these patterns clearly weren’t working: they had gotten stuck. So
they needed Jesus to pull them out of that rut. But that is exactly how they
are able to catch even more fish: by going into unfamiliar waters. It is even
time to go looking for people in places we never would have thought of before:
just as Jesus sent the fishermen into other, deeper waters, He sends us into
places and situations we never would have thought of, but where we are needed
to find and rescue people. The other reason He allows the fishermen to haul in
such a massive catch is because He is allowing them to be able to have their
families be provided for: their parents and other family members they leave
behind to follow Jesus will be able to sell the fish and live comfortably.
Jesus cares about people in every possible way, and He always makes sure everyone
is provided for in the best way possible. And, what He is ultimately doing is
allowing the fishermen He calls to follow Him to be able to do so: to leave
everything else behind, their jobs, their families, everything that is familiar
to them, and come follow Him. By giving them the massive haul of fish, He is
showing that He can be trusted and is dependable: they can trust Him to care
for them and their families, so they can depend on Him. This makes them able,
and eager, to drop everything and follow Him right at that moment. Are we able
to do the same? Are we able to trust Jesus, leave behind what is familiar, and follow
where He sends us?
Today Jesus also encourages us, “Don’t
be afraid.” Of course, following Jesus, and following where He’s going to lead
us, makes us afraid. We have already been living in fear and anxiety for the
past couple of years, as we have had to struggle because of the pandemic – to the
point where we’ve gotten used to it, even comfortable with being afraid and
anxious, stuck in a rut. But now we can trust Jesus again as we follow Him. He
has never once given us any reason not to trust Him. It is time to leave behind
what is familiar, what we have become accustomed to, and come follow Jesus. It
is time no longer to be sliding all over the road, being afraid because we
think we have lost control, and instead let Jesus take control and steer us
again. It is time to let Jesus pull us out of the rut we’ve been stuck in for
the past couple of years, so we can follow Him. It is time to start moving
again, and let Jesus move us again, because we have a mission. It is time to
start focusing outward again, focusing on Jesus, and focusing on people. It is
time to get back on track, and follow Jesus. It is time to get back to our real
mission, and follow Jesus. We can trust Jesus, because just as He caused a
massive fishing haul for the disciples to be able to provide for their families
to be able to leave their old life behind and follow Him, He is providing us
with everything we need to be able to follow Him in the true mission He has for
us. In just a few minutes, we will be receiving Communion, which is one of the
most important ways Jesus provides for us to be able to follow Him: by feeding
us with His true body and blood, with His very power, to motivate us to believe
in Him, follow Him, move forward, and look outward. Communion also reminds us
that even as Jesus feeds us, our mission is to feed other people. Does this
mean that we are perfect, that we are going to do everything exactly right, and
we will never struggle again? No. But even though we are not perfect, and we will
still continue to struggle, Jesus still calls us, makes us ready, and gives us
everything we need to carry out His mission, to go look for people, care for
people, and bring people to Him. It is time for us to stand up and reclaim our
true purpose. It is time to get back to what we are really all about, what our
real mission is: we follow Jesus, and Jesus is all about people.
Now may the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.
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