Welcome as we begin a new, short, message series, “Hooked: Followers Fish.” I must admit, I am not much of a fisherman. A couple of years ago someone suggested that I take it up as a means of relaxing and unwinding. I had not been fishing since I was a kid, so I had to buy a rod and reel, some basic tackle, and got myself a fishing license. I think I went fishing twice that summer, and spent more time untangling my line than actually fishing. Not only did I catch nothing, I don’t think I even had a nibble.
So it might seem like a funny topic for our message series, but as we see in today’s Gospel, the first people Jesus called to be his Apostles were fishermen; in fact 7 of the 12 Apostles were fishermen. He promised that if they followed him, he would change and transform them, beginning with how they fish.
Jesus didn’t promise to make them smarter, healthier or wealthier; He didn’t promise to make them more popular or better looking. Interestingly, he didn’t even promise to make them holier. Jesus told his first followers that if they followed him, they would become fishers of men. He would teach them how to use the same skills, patience and determination they used as professional fisherman to bring people into a relationship with him.
The metaphor of fishing has been used throughout the history of Christianity to describe our efforts to share our faith in Christ. Just as the Church has traditionally been sometimes compared to a boat.
Followers fish. Follow Jesus long enough and close enough and you will bring people into a relationship with him. The fancy church words for this are evangelization and discipleship. These are terms that many people do not associate with the Catholic Church much, but both are tasks entrusted to every Christian.
Traditionally the Catholic Church undertook evangelization through two approaches. One was to send off missionaries to far away places to devote the whole of their lives to spreading the gospel. Most of us remember visiting missionaries, who visit parishes to raise money for their missions and tell exotic tales of their adventures. Their stories are very interesting, but they couldn’t be further removed from the experience of the average person in the pew.
The other way the Catholic Church encouraged making disciples, was literally making disciples. This mostly entailed going to Catholic schools or attending CCD, what we call today Religious Education. Maybe once a year a parish might have a mission to also deepen our knowledge and practice of the faith.
There really is an easier way for us to engage in evangelization and to live as disciples that don’t require some kind of life time commitment, or even a change in life style. Our mission field isn’t on the other side of the planet; it is in our own backyard. It is in our workplaces, our schools, on the ball field, in our own families. We have opportunities all around us, all the time,
to bring people to Christ.
Unfortunately, since we don’t have a history of it, we tend to think of sharing our faith, to the extent that we think of it at all, as unnecessary, impolite, inappropriate. Over the course of the next few weeks I hope to underscore two truths. First, the most loving way to love others
is to share Christ with them. Second, sharing our faith is a crucial part growing deeper in our faith.
Let’s begin by looking at today’s Gospel reading. It is from chapter 5 of St. Luke’s Gospel. “While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1).
Where ever he went, Jesus attracted a crowd. In this particular scene, they are pressing in on him, and there is no place for him to go, except into the water. “He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat” (Luke 5:2-3).
Like I said earlier, I am not much of a fisherman, but even I know that it is better to go fishing at night than it is during the day. I don’t know why, but fish seem to come closer to the surface at night. So Simon and the other professional fishermen had just come in from a long night of fishing. While their nets where meant to catch fish, they would also catch other stuff as well. So before going home to sleep, fishermen would need to clean and wash their nets.
After preaching to the crowd for a while, Jesus – the carpenter – says something unusual to Simon – the professional fisherman; “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch”
(Luke 5:4).
Followers fish. If you want to go deeper in your relationship with the Lord, from time to time you have to put out into deep water. That’s not always a comfortable thing to do. We are pretty much uncomfortable in any environment trying anything the first time. The experience is forcing us to see ourselves differently, and that can be difficult too. When it comes to sharing our faith….you might think I’m not that religious, I’m not that holy. I am not someone who talks about Jesus or invites someone to Church. That just isn’t who I am.
Simon Peter was also reluctant to change his ways, but something about Jesus made him willing to try what Jesus suggested. And you know what? They had a huge catch of fish.
The great catch reminds us that Jesus knows what he is talking about. We introduce people to Jesus Christ because he can help makes us better at life.
As followers of Jesus, we all share the mission to evangelize and to live as disciples. The strategy I am proposing is not about leaving aside our lives as much as it is approaching our lives a little differently.
As you go through your day could you be on the look out for friends and family members, co-workers or classmates who don’t have a relationship with Christ. They’re not hard to find.
Then invest in them. Invest in them through prayer. Invest in them by fasting in some way. Invest in them in the same way you would invest in any relationship. Then when appropriate invite them to come to church.
Jesus isn’t just the expert on religion. He is the expert on life, every aspect of it. When we’re talking about fishing we’re not talking about introducing people into a religion. We’re talking about introducing the into a relationship, a relationship with the one person who understands life better than any person who has ever lived.
That’s why followers fish.