Fish or No Fish
Luke 5:1-11 (New Revised Standard Version)
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
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"Tidying Up" featuring Marie Kondo is a Netflix special that has gained a lot of traction recently. Based off of her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," Marie Kondo walks us through a journey of reclaiming our living spaces and sorting through our possessions that "spark joy." I didn't know that tidying up could be so controversial, but apparently, it has caused people to be defensive of their extensive collection of books, antiques, or whatever else you could think of having in your house. Kondo's effort to let go of the things that don't spark joy has resulted in a myriad of articles, Facebook posts, and memes… (For for those of you who don't know what a "meme" is a picture that is culturally recognizable and provides humor when you caption it.)
There are things in life that bring us joy, and there are also things that don't spark that same sense of comfort within our souls. While I think all of us at some point have accumulated things that lift up our souls, I believe there are also times in our lives when gather things don't always relate to happiness. I'm thinking in particular of the card game "Go Fish," where you ask the opposing player if they have a specific card and if they don't, they say, "Go Fish," and then you have to add a card from the deck to your hand. In that scenario, fishing for another card from the deck doesn't elicit a feeling of excitement or awe. As we look at the passage this morning, we will want to keep this in the front of our minds, that our call is not always something we want to do, as we find Jesus telling Peter, "Go fish."
I'm sure that as Simon, who would be called Peter, was pulling up his nets and headed for the shoreline he wasn't expecting to run into someone like Jesus, but really who among us is ever ready for an encounter with Jesus? After putting in countless hours of waiting and tending the nets, Simon came back with nothing. And I almost imagine Peter rolling his eyes discreetingly when Jesus told him to go out and cast his nets once again. You know it's one thing to be a fan of Jesus, to understand what Jesus teaches and to know who Jesus is in the world… But it's another thing to actually be a follower of Jesus, which lays a higher claim on our lives than what we are often willing to give to Jesus. We'd much rather do the things that we want to do instead of doing the hard tasks that Jesus asks of us.
Now I'm not an avid fisherman, but I know a lot of people who do enjoy fishing regularly [ad lib]… Compared to the technology we have fishing today in biblical times was a whole other ordeal. It was strenuous work and took a lot of energy… Often fishermen like worked out of wooden boats that were about 27 ft in length, 7.5 ft in width, and 4 ft deep. So there wasn't much room to move around and then add the fact that they would have to haul in large nets that would catch the fish. Just try and put yourself in Simon's position… You've been working all night casting and reeling in your nets and when day breaks you're ready to get some rest, and then Jesus comes asking you to do the process all over again.
I'd be pretty skeptical of Jesus… In truth, I might even think that Jesus was trying just to have a little fun and see if I would actually go out and follow him. How many times have we missed the call of Jesus on our lives because we refused to believe that Jesus would add one more thing to our already long list of things to do? How many times have we left the work of compassion, care, and love untouched, because we though there were more important things to do? Fishing takes patience... it means that we'll probably end up doing some things that aren't fun or exciting or spark joy within us. But that's what it means to follow Christ... There's a cost, there's a sacrifice, and that's what it means to go fishing in the Kingdom of God.
However, the advice from a carpenter's Son would prove that all our eye-rolling, skepticism, and doubt would come back and catch us off guard if we go through life not willing to live with hearts that are open to the wondrous works of God. We find that there were so many fish that the nets were about to tear apart and the boat was on the verge of sinking into the lake. Had Simon given into his desire not to go back out, he would have missed out on the miracle that Jesus brought about that day. In many ways, we find that we are in Simon's position each and every day. We are present with a choice to either embrace the call of Jesus, which can lead to unexpected things, or we can stick to what we know, but miss out on the situations that Jesus sincerely asks of us.
I sometimes worry that our cultural obsession, both outside and inside the church, with the things or activities that bring us joy will make it so we will not hear the times when Jesus calls us to do something different, something that is outside the norm of our daily lives. I worry that as we pursue our own happiness and our meaning and place in life, we will neglect essential things if we find that they do not spark the same amount of joy in our lives. As an aside I want to say that I'm all in support of pursuing the things that are affirming in your lives, because more often than not they do lead to the places where God is calling, but if we ignore the more challenging call in our lives than we may find that at the end of the day instead of having fish, we have none.
We know what happens next to Simon once he decided to follow Jesus and go back out into the waters of the lake to cast his nets once again. As Simon and his crew pulled in the nets full of fish; we see Simon kneeling before Jesus, saying that he was not worthy. When we face our fears, when we face difficult challenges head-on, it can be quite an intimidating experience and overwhelming when we accomplish those tasks at hand. When we find that our challenge has been completed, we look up to see that Jesus is there telling us not to be afraid and that if we are willing to follow as disciples, we will discover that the nets in our hearts will be full of abundant love and grace. When we choose to follow even though it may not be the most exciting thing ever, we will find that something is waiting to be uncovered within ourselves and within our communities.
This morning we also hear of another story in which there was someone who believed that they were unworthy answering the call of God and hesitant in answering. In our first reading this morning, we hear the voice of the divine calling out to the prophet Isaiah, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" The prophet is concerned that he is unclean, unworthy, but before God, those excuses we make for ourselves mean nothing. And as the prophet is purified by a lump of hot coal he responds out to the voice calling out to him saying, "Here am I; send me!" When we are asked to go out and try again when we are asked to go out and casts our nets into a lake that seems void of fish, it doesn't seem intuitive to answer enthusiastically, but that is what God expects of us.
Fish or no fish? It seems like a simple question, but not so much when you begin to realize just how much work and energy goes into the kind of fishing that Jesus asks of us. It's easier to stick to the things we know… It's easier to live a life of discipleship that focuses on things that affirm the gifts that we know we have, but what would it look like to live a life of discipleship that casts the nets once more, because there is faith that Christ will use what we have to build up the Kingdom of God? You may be tempted to roll your eyes and look at Jesus with that a face that says, "Really?" Try throwing your net on the other side of the boat, because the thing that catches may be life-altering, transforming, and reaffirming in a way that exceeds any accolades or praises the familiar things could offer… But if we don't throw our nets over the side of the boat, we'll never know.
As Jesus called Simon, later known as Peter, to be a fisher of humankind, we see the impact that his faith had on those around him. While we might not talk about discipleship or trust in the same manner as they did back then, perhaps we should, because it would remind us that if we aren't willing to take risks to follow Christ, genuinely follow Christ, then we'll end up with an empty net… So here are some things I'd like us to carry with this week…
Do something that is meaningful, but familiar… It could be volunteer at a local organization, it could be visiting a friend or family member, it could also be as simple and as meaningful as praying for someone who you know needs prayer.
Do something that is meaningful, but unfamiliar… Take an opportunity to cast your net on the other side of the boat. Try something that you’ve maybe always wanted to do, but haven’t had the motivation to pursue it.
Spend time in prayer and reread the story of Jesus calling Simon… In what ways do you resonate with Simon and in what ways are you different? And perhaps most important of all spend time letting the Spirit of God inspire your imagination of what we could do together as we “fish” as faithful disciples.
We may not know what the waters of life bring next, but I imagine Jesus would tell us the same thing as he told Simon, “Do not be afraid…” So let us pick the nets and get the boat ready as we follow Christ. Amen.