Although there have been many technological developments, fishing hasn\u2019t really changed much in the last two thousand years. In spite of all our diesel-powered boats, radar, detailed and accurate charts of the sea, satellite-assisted navigation, and the like, fishing is still pretty much the same kind of activity it was in Jesus\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fishing is about setting out on the water, about leaving the safety of the dry land and trusting the laws of physics and the goodness of God. It\u2019s about hoping and praying for a good, bountiful catch \u2013 but not really being able to do a whole lot to make <\/em>that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare this to farming. Farmers assure a good harvest mostly through hard work \u2013 careful preparation of the soil, proper nutrition and moisture, freedom from pests. The weather plays a part, of course, but it is only one of a very complex set of factors. And make no mistake, fishing is hard work, too: maintaining a boat, studying charts, baiting hooks, and repairing nets, just for a start. But in fishing, whether there are fish or whether there are none, whether the wind blows enough to move your sailboat or so much that your boat is capsized \u2013 these kinds of things are totally out of the control of the men and women fishing, aren\u2019t they? And most of the factors in fishing are like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, in spite of all the technology, all the training, all the experience \u2013 fishing is still pretty much putting all your hope in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The message is clear: just put your trust in God, and God will provide everything. We don\u2019t have to cultivate the soil, or sew seed, or dig in fertilizer, or irrigate the crops, or spray for insects \u2013 we just have to trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, today\u2019s gospel passage is a simple story with a clear message, right? It\u2019s a metaphor that by extension is as much about us as it is about James and John and Simon Peter and Andrew. Just trust in God, who provides everything we need, and we will find the power and the strength to go and catch people, to make disciples of all nations, and to build up the church through our efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, that\u2019s the way we\u2019d like it to be: all neat and clean, and wrapped up so nicely. We trust and God provides. What more could we ask for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But fishing, well, it\u2019s more than just a plentiful catch isn\u2019t it? Sometimes, there are no fish at all. Frequently, there are tremendous risks and great danger. And always there is a great deal of pain and suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few years back, there was a movie called The Perfect Storm<\/em>, based on a novel by the same name. Did any of you see it or read the book? It\u2019s about a small New England fishing town, and the relentless efforts of the fishing community to remain economically viable. It\u2019s about facing amazing challenges, and about the unfairness of life \u2013 why did they <\/em>catch so many fish while we caught so few? It\u2019s about women and children waiting on land for news of loved ones still out at sea during rough weather. It\u2019s a poignant depiction of the human drama \u2013 of love and loss, of work and struggle, of success and challenge and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The movie depicts modern-day, deep-sea fishing in graphic detail. We see large, elegant, graceful swordfish \u2013 not caught in a net and quietly surrendering to their fate, but impaled on large and painful hooks; painfully dragged aboard ship; beaten, stabbed, and even shot by the crew in a frenzied and violent struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And being gentle doesn\u2019t help: then they are attacked by sharks \u2013 on the very deck of their boat \u2013 hit by the boom, thrown overboard, and even caught in the worst net of all: the pain suffered at the hands of a fellow human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The movie, which is well worth seeing, ends with the amazing and defiant actions of one captain and a brave crew, who seek swift passage home with an abundant catch of swordfish \u2013 more than they could ask or imagine \u2013 and instead confront a storm of unbelievable proportion. Intent on offering their abundant harvest to the people on land, and reveling in their amazing bounty, the crew instead give their lives to the majesty of the sea, never returning from their valiant journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s face it, fishing is cruel \u2013 both to the fish and to those who do the fishing. Fishing is not a pretty story about evangelism or a miracle about feeding thousands; it\u2019s about struggle and pain, challenge and hope, success and failure, life and death, sacrifice and joy, magnificent beauty and unimaginable ugliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if this gospel passage is about us and our efforts to build up Christ\u2019s body the church \u2013 is this who God wants us to be? Is this who we want to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do we really want to lay out bait for people \u2013 not enough to sustain them, but just enough to get them painfully caught on a hook? Is it our vocation to pull them in, kicking and screaming \u2013 and to beat them into submission? And are we to revel in this catch? \u2013 tallying the number of fish we\u2019ve managed to drag in, disemboweled, and put on ice, and then thanking God for this manifest blessing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, aren\u2019t we all just like that kind of \u201cfish,\u201d as well? Are we somehow different from those we seek to bring to Christ? Are we to terrify them by wielding our weapons until they believe? Now, there\u2019s a revelation to be truly afraid of! There are doubtless some Christians who would say \u201cyes\u201d to all that. But are we Anglicans called to do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of our fellow Christians think that we are called by God almighty to become fishers of men, to lay out our nets and haul in as many people as we can get, and to thank God for the abundance of the harvest \u2013 measured not in pounds of fish but in numbers of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in most of Anglicanism, we offer another vision of the church. Oh, we are truly glad when the church grows, and we thank God for that. We believe and proclaim that our dependence is on God alone. And we recognize that our life\u2019s journey is not always one of hopeful expectation; that sometimes we come across times of struggle and even insurmountable odds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We hear this morning\u2019s gospel passage and consider the frightening implications of those words: \u201cFrom now on you will be catching people.\u201d The pain that we may suffer or that may be inflicted at our hands, the tremendous risk ahead of us, the hard work that is ours \u2013 and ours alone \u2013 to do: we must face these are challenges. Because from now on we will be catching people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet we remember that we rely on God and God alone for the many good things we know in this life \u2013 indeed for life itself. And we pledge to work hard, to do the best we can \u2013 not because it will gain for us any reward, but in thanksgiving for our many blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We remember that Peter, when he experienced the miracle of the presence of God in Christ, when he saw his boat sinking from a catch of so many fish, fell down at Jesus\u2019 feet and said, \u201cGo away from me, for I am sinful.\u201d We remember that we are like Peter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we remember that this story reveals the miraculous power of Jesus Christ \u2013 a power as available and present and real to you and me, at this holy table, as to simple fishermen on the Sea of Gennesaret some two thousand years ago. We remember the power of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so we fear that we, like Peter, are sinful and unworthy of God\u2019s love. But we also remember that Jesus replies to Peter\u2019s fear and trembling \u2013 as indeed to ours \u2013 with these most comforting words: \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d This comfort is ours, here and now, no less than it was theirs, out on that lake so very long ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This insight does not assure us success; it reminds us of our salvation. This teaching does not give us license to abuse others in Christ\u2019s name; it calls us to repent from the pain we inflict. This power does not scare us into submission; it invites us, gently and lovingly, to give up our fears and trust in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This power comes to us from God \u2013 by our very life, through our baptism, and again and again in this our simple ritual meal. And with the power of love, we are able to withstand pain and torment, and we are able to revel in joy and bliss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With love, we can endure great trials, face new challenges, and even overcome death. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sermon was written by the Rev. J. Barrington Bates<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although there have been many technological developments, fishing hasn\u2019t really changed much in the last two thousand years. In spite of all our diesel-powered boats, radar, detailed and accurate charts of the sea, satellite-assisted navigation, and the like, fishing is still pretty much the same kind of activity it was in Jesus\u2019 time. 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This power comes to us every day, in ways we have not yet begun to understand or imagine.
This power comes to us in our joy and in our pain, when we struggle and when we succeed. This power allows us to become more and more what God created us to be.
This power is love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With love, we can help to heal the world that suffers and hurts greatly.
With love, we can trust that God will provide all that we truly need.
With love, we can invite people to join with us in revealing more and more of the miraculous power that is God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n