Sermons In Time

Going' Fishing?

January 21, 1990

Third Sunday After Epiphany

Matthew 4:12-23

I Corinthians 1:10-17

I once heard a story about a preacher which might just be a good way to begin this message this morning. It seems that this pastor was out walking one day with two lovely young ladies from his congregation. As they walked and talked along the way, they came upon a gentleman fishing on the edge of the river.

As a way to strike up a conversation, the pastor went up to the man and inquired about how the fishing was going. "Are the fish biting today? How many have you caught?" and other profound questions one asks when inquiring about the experience of someone just met. The fisherman was polite, but, as many a man is who is a great lover of being out alone by the creek bank, very quiet. He politely answered the questions, but really didn't let the conversation go anywhere.

So the pastor decided to change his approach a bit and said. "You may not know it, but I am a fisherman too. Except I am a fisher of men."

The quiet fisherman looked up from his pole, looked at the two young women who were with the pastor, and said, "Fisher for men, huh, well you certainly have the right kind of bait."

This totally apocryphal story helps us get into the gospel for this day. Our Lord had met Peter and Andrew, James and John, and wanted them to be his disciples. He came to Lake Galilee where they were fishing, and said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you to become fishers of men."

The story and the phrase have stayed with the Church throughout the years. It has always been associated with the evangel of the faith: those who are called to witness are known as "Fishers of Men." Along the way there have been "Fishermen's clubs" and other usages of the phrase, but it is interesting that it never quite has caught on as a model for ministry in the area of evangelism. This, in spite of the fact that the fish, as such has been a symbol used by the church to identify the Christian in times when it was dangerous to be associated with the faith.

The Fish, however, has meaning quite apart from the story of the calling of the disciples. In the Greek, the word for "Fish" is ICHTHUS, and this word was used as an anagram for: "I":Jesus (Iesus); "CH": Christ (Christos); "TH":God (theos); "U":Son (Uios) "S":Savior (Soter); thus was known as the symbol of the church which said, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the World."

But the Church has never really used the phrase, "Fishers of men" as the expression of witness. There is a good reason why. The task of the Church has never been to "Catch" People for the Kingdom of God. We do not see ourselves as using any kind of "bait" to bring people into the Church of Jesus Christ. There is no trickery, no rite of passage, nothing from the Church which is used to bring persons into the life of the community of faith except their own commitment to be a part of it.

In fact, the other day we were talking together as a group about models of the church, and the one which stood out was that of "Shepherd." Even though we do not live in an area where the vocation of shepherd is common, it still has about it an understanding which is descriptive of the invitation of the church for persons to come, and be a part of this life of this community.

The stories of the Scriptures abound. From the Old Testament, there still is perhaps no passage which is more loved than the 23rd Psalm:"The Lord is My Shepherd..I Shall not Want." And in the New Testament, the image of Jesus as "The Good Shepherd, who cares for his sheep" is an image of interest and caring which is totally unbounded. The good shepherd is one who, having one sheep that is lost, leaves the ninety and nine and goes and searches diligently until the lost sheep is found, cared for, and returned to the fold. Rather than "catching" those who are in the Church, the image is one of invitation for those who are loved and cared for by the good shepherd of the sheep.

I think it is a critical difference. There is no question in our minds that the church is here for all. Whether one thinks of the body of Christ as a family or as a community or as a fellowship of kindred minds, there certainly is an atmosphere of freedom, and of belonging because one wants to, and knows themselves to be welcome. It is this spirit of freedom which is so important, without any sense of coercion, or threat. Only welcome. It is good that you are here, and it is important for you to know that you are important to God, and to the life of the community. We are all richer, better off, more complete, more fully human because each one is here. We would all be impoverished, our life would be diminished for one to leave.

I was visiting with one lady last week who has not been in the Church for a long time. Because of what happened in her own life, it has not been possible for her to feel at ease in the life of the church for many years. All I could do was to bid her welcome. All that can be done is for her to know that whatever the circumstances of some former time, today we do not sit here as the Church with pole in hand trying to catch her. We can only be here on her behalf and bid her welcome.

Yet, how important it is to give that bidding. The good shepherd went out to search for that one which was lost, was cut off from the rest of the group, and did not give up until it was returned. There is no place for hooks or traps, nor is there place for blocks or barriers. When Jesus began his ministry after the baptism, one of the first things he said was that "The Kingdom is at hand." It is near to you; it is close by. It is here for you to have, and to experience and to be a part of its life. It is almost as if there is an aliveness in our midst and the invitation is given to us all: "Make it happen." Not only is the time at hand, but the place as well: Here is where the kingdom of God is for you.

When you go fishing, when the fish is caught, the sport is over. There is nothing left to do. Once again, the image of the fisher of men becomes inadequate. The truth is that when one becomes a part of the family of God, that is really only the beginning. It's a little like the newborn child in a household. If one thought of that birth as "All there is" to parenting, or "All there is" for the child, no child would live past its first month. No, instead, the members of the family nourish and care for the development of the child in order that it may grow and become the fullness of the person it was meant to be.

Another very similar analogy is marriage. If one thinks that by standing at the altar and "getting married" that is all there is, one misses completely the meaning of that relationship. It is out of that commitment to each other that the wedding becomes a life together in which both have the opportunity to grow, to mature, and even to grow old and experience the fullness of their individual lives as well as their life together.

As we think of the Church of Jesus Christ, being a part of it is like the life of the Child, or the life of the spouse. That which begins as an experience of coming together, continues as a process of growth and development throughout the rest of our lives. The Kingdom truly is in our midst. It is the sum total of all we learn and share and become as the years go by.

Eric Erickson has a model of living in which he says that each person is born into a world where one has "Life Tasks." The first of these is to learn to trust. If one does not learn to trust, one learns mistrust. Each stage of life has its own learning task:autonomy, initiative, identity, etc..The last is Integrity, or coming at the close of life and looking back and being able to say, "It has been good. The life I have lived has gone well. I am now a well integrated person." It is his conviction that every person is called to become that complete, well integrated individual. I agree.

This can happen as one enters into the fellowship with others in a spirit of welcome, and lives throughout their lives in an atmosphere of commitment to growth and development. Such is the task of the good shepherd: to lead those who are in the flock, in the family into all good things: to develop the minds and the hearts and the skills and the fruits that can be looked back on at the end of each day, and at the end of it all and it can be said, "Well done."

It is exciting to read how Jesus took those first four, added more, and then shared in the new understanding of the Word of God what their lives meant together with each other. It is exciting to hear him say, "It has been said of old, but I say unto you." It is exciting to listen to the disciples ask questions, some wise, some foolish, but all respected. It is exciting to watch them grow and develop as his own, and become the persons they have the potential of becoming.

It is almost as if they had turned so far from their former life as to have it no longer a part of who they were. But such was not the case. In the end of the Gospel story, these same four go fishing again. But it is not for men. It is to reflect on all that has happened in their lives, and to discover for themselves if this new way was to continue, even if their Lord was not with them as he had been.

They left their nets and followed him. They could do no other. Yet the richness of their life was so complete that there was never a moment when they regretted having been called and having made the decision to follow him. They grew beyond their fondest dreams, and we are the inheritor of that which they learned and that which they became, and that which they offered unto all who would hear it.

No hooks, no snares, no tricks, no lures. Just a newness of life that is just that: Forever New. We are those who have entered into that fellowship, that fold, that community, and we are forever grateful. Amen.

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