back to Sermons Archive

January 27, 2008
Scripture: Matthew 4: 12-23
Sermon: “Fishing for people”

This is a familiar story for us as believers. We have heard it so many times and we have been told that this is the story of the call of the disciples. We have all been told that when Jesus tells the disciples that he will make them “fishers of people,” that we are called to go out and bring in people to the church. Which really scares us even more because we don’t like to talk about evangelism.

And this week, I have to admit that I struggled with this text and this message. And I realized that I kept getting stuck in the nets: pardon the pun. I couldn’t get my mind around the image of these fishermen and their nets.

I finally realized why! This image that Jesus paints for these fishermen is not a pretty picture. It is not a picture perfect watercolor. It is not a masterpiece of art where the figures seem to be effortlessly, causally pulling in the nets, filled with fish, just waiting to be caught.

No, when Jesus says that I will make you fishers of people, he doesn’t paint a pretty picture, far from it. Net fishing is hard work. Net fishing requires blood, sweat, and tears. Net fishing requires someone to be there for the long haul. Net fishing is a process. Sometimes you pull in a lot. Sometimes you pull in an old tire. Sometimes you don’t pull in anything at all.

And I think the thing that bothered me the most was the fish. Sure I admit that I’ve been fishing. Sure I admit that I’ve pulled some fish off hooks. But when Jesus says, I’ll make you fishers of people, he is not talking about line fishing. He is talking about net fishing. And when nets are brought in, there are fish flopping. There are fish floundering. There are fish with glossy eyes, with gills slowing going in and out. There are fish struggling to breath and slowly dying.
And really it doesn’t paint a pretty picture: Loads of nets being brought in with fish flopping around, gasping for air, slowly dying, slowly having their life slip away.

That’s not an image that I want to think about when I think about evangelism. That’s not an image that I would to have in my mind when I invite people to church. Just come to our church and you can flounder around, slowly suffocating until you die. Welcome to our church!!

So I think it is safe to assume that that was not what Jesus had in mind when he said I’ll make you fishers of people. So I invite us to take another look at this favorite story once more. We must take a look at what has happened before this moment in Jesus’ life. Jesus has been baptized and saw the heavens opening up. He sees the Holy Spirit come down upon him and everyone around the river that morning hears this voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

And even as he is dealing with the shock and hugeness of what happened at the river, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness. There is no passing Go. There is no collecting your $200. Jesus is led out in the wilderness to face the tempter. For forty days and forty nights, he is fasting. And he is thrown into a theological discussion on what it means for him to be the Son of God. Three times he is shown the benefits of being the Son of God, of being the one to bring the light of God to all people: power, rule over all the nations, command over creation. And three times Jesus turns down these benefits.

And he comes out of the wilderness. His head is probably spinning with questions. He is probably wondering what is expected of him. And now he hears that the one man, his teacher, his mentor, his baptizer has been arrested. Now Jesus is seeing the downside of being the Son of God. Now Jesus is seeing the downside of being the one to bring the light of God to all the people: The powers that be won’t give up easily. The powers that be don’t like to hear that a new King is coming. The powers that be don’t like to hear that this new king is bringing a new kingdom where the rich and powerful will lose everything.

And Jesus responds. He withdraws to Capernaum. Now this may seem strange to us. We are all thinking: Jesus, you are the Son of God! You have faced the tempter. Rome has got to be easier to deal with than that! Go and free John. Join forces and take on the powers that be! Go, Be the Son of God! Go, bring about the Kingdom of God! Go, Jesus!

And Jesus retreats. For us, it is almost like the Terminator turning and leaving instead of standing for that final battle. It doesn’t make sense! We want to call after him, “Jesus, where are you going!? Jerusalem is that way! The bad guys are that way! Jesus, where are you going!? Come back!!

And while we are all sitting around wondering and questioning, Matthew gives us one more piece of the puzzle. Matthew tells us that the prophet Isaiah tells us that it is all part of the plan, that the land of Galilee of the Gentiles is in darkness and now they have seen a great light. That the people who have lived in the shadow of death have been touched by a great light.
And then Matthew tells us that from that moment on Jesus began to proclaim: Repent, for the kingdom is near!”

Jesus realized that there is a time to stand and a time to retreat. The Word of God is a powerful thing and it makes the powers that be uncomfortable. And Jesus will not give into the final temptation. God has a plan. God has a purpose. And the message of God’s kingdom must be shared with God’s people. So Jesus picks up the mantel of leadership from John and continues calling people to repent.

Sure Jesus could have stood up and been the Son of God. But what good would that have done? And what change would that have brought? Just more separation. More fighting. More disruption. And God’s purpose for bringing all of God’s children together in community together would have been lost.

So Jesus retreats and begins to show the world that there is another way by issuing the invitation to follow him. Jesus retreats and begins to continue with John’s ministry by calling the people to repent and by inviting them to see that there is another way.

And he does this through his first act of ministry. He sees Peter and Andrew and says, Follow me. And then he sees James and John and he says to them, “Follow me.”

Jesus is an unknown to these men. He has not preached or healed anyone. He does not have this great reputation. All he says is, “Follow Me.”

And there is something about that invitation that is so compiling that these men leave their former lives behind and begin a new life with Jesus. They leave their nets and follow Jesus.

And then Jesus begins to show them the Kingdom of heaven has come near. He teaches. He preaches. He heals. Jesus shows these disciples what it means to live as a person of faith, grounded and working towards the Kingdom of God. He shows these fishermen exactly what it means to be “fishers of people.” It is about inviting people to be a part of something more. It is about inviting people to be a part of something new. It is about “engaging people in the vision and the agenda of the kingdom that widens their horizons.” It is about transforming people’s thinking from our human standards to what God is calling us to do and to be.

Jesus retreats and begins his ministry. He begins his ministry not in political and powerful Jerusalem. Jesus begins his ministry in Capernaum, an area where Jews and Gentiles live, an area where the rich and poor live, an area where people sit in darkness.

Jesus retreats and issues a summons for people to change their lives, not by commanding obedience but by inviting people to share in God’s love through experience, through teaching, through preaching, through healing, through invitation.

Jesus retreats and invites us to rethink our definitions of power and might, of success and failure of commanding and invitation. Jesus retreats and finds another way to spread the Gospel. Jesus retreats and calls us to follow him. Jesus retreats and issues an invitation: an invitation to turn our lives around, an invitation to be a part of something more, an invitation to lay down our nets and walk with Jesus.

Jesus invites us to experience the Kingdom of God, not through might and power but through grace, love, and invitation.

Jesus retreats and begins his ministry, knowing that the final battle with the powers that be will come one day. God has a purpose. God has a plan. Yes, the final battle with the powers that be will come, not through a mighty war, or conquering powerful cities. The final battle came when the moment is right. The final battle will come on a hill. The final battle came on a cross.

God has a purpose and a plan for all of God’s people to live in community with one another. God has a plan for all of us to actively work in achieving the Kingdom of God on earth. God has a plan and a purpose for each and everyone of us to be fishers of people, to issue the invitation for new life and hope to all of God’s children. To invite people to think about our world in a new way, to expand their understanding of power and might, to transform their thinking beyond our human standards to what God is calling us to do and to be. God has a purpose for each and everyone of us. So we retreat and begin our ministry once more, knowing that this world does not have the last word. God does.

This world may have tried to have the last word with every act of violence and hate that we see. This world may have tried to break our spirits by quieting the voice of peace. This world may have tried to shut the door on the possibilities of new life by rejecting hope.

And God says, retreat and show this world that there is another way. And God says, retreat and pick up the mantle of leadership through peace and hope. And God says, retreat and say follow me. And God, says, Lay down your nets and I will make your fishers of people.

There is another way! And we are called to share this invitation of hope and love with all of God’s children who are sitting in darkness. We are called to teach, preach, and heal. We are called to live out the Kingdom of God in our lives. There is another way! Jesus says, Repent and follow me!

May we all embrace our calling to go fishing for people!

Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

back to Sermons Archive