Epiphany 3B - Go Fish

GOSPEL
Mark 1:14–20

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”5 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Goal: God uses his people to be fishers of men, so that all people may hear.

Malady: People are outside of the relationship with God because they have not heard the word of God.

Means:  God calls us and teaches us.

Sermon - Go Fish

Grace Mercy And Peace from God our Father, and Savior Jesus Christ his Son our Lord.  AMEN

One of the things I have come to notice over the years, is that it seems like less kids know what it is like to Go Fishing anymore. I cant prove this with any statistics, but more and more kids that I have run into have never gone fishing before. I’m not sure if this is because apple hasn’t come out with an iReel, or if kids just don’t go outside as much anymore, much less go fishing. Its kind of sad, because they aren’t learning about the skills takes to catch fish, or the patience it takes to wait. I am by no means a master angler, but I have at least know a few things about fishing and the equipment that you need. You need a pole of some sort, a hook and some bait, and a net to bring the fish in. That’s all you really need. One of the important things to learn though is that the equipment changes slightly for the different types of fish you want to catch. Maybe it’s a different bait, or a different type of hook, or heavier equipment. You need to be prepared for every circumstance. I also know one other thing about the fishing I’ve done. Normally you go out for fish, and not men. Its generally not a good thing if your hook grabs onto something other than a fish.

In today’s gospel text however, Simon and Andrew, James and John, were all fishers of fish called to be fishers of men. Now, Today’s Gospel is very similar to last week’s gospel passage in John 1:43-51. In both passages, Jesus is calling disciples to follow him, but there are subtle differences. John’s passage focuses on the call to follow, Mark’s tells us what they would do with that call. Jesus is calling disciples promising that they would become fishers of men. From today’s text we learn about how God uses his people to be fishers of men, so that all people may hear.

It is in simple words that Jesus begins his ministry in the Gospel of Mark, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” There is little pomp and circumstance in his message, merely the truth and a call to believe in it. It is not unusual to see a Man called by God to go out and preach the broken Law and the healing Gospel, the Old Testament was filled with prophets that were sent out to do Just that. God called these men so that his word to the people could be proclaimed. God speaks through intermediaries all the time, because we cannot hear his perfect word directly when we are outside of the relationship with him. Here however it is unique, because instead of being just a man called by God, instead it is a man who is the Son of God. Jesus is able to speak the word directly to the people. But, he does not remain alone; he calls men to follow him. He calls men to become fishers of men. These are men that would continue what Jesus had started long after he died, rose, and ascended into heaven. When these four men were called to be fishers of men, they did not hesitate, they got up immediately and left everything that they had. They acted without hesitancy, preaching what Jesus had taught them, living in what God had given them. They were called to be fishers of men, but first they would be disciples.

It seems appropriate then that he calls fishermen first. Who better to become fishers of men than fishers of fish. Many people know that one of the first things that a fisherman has to learn if he wants to be a good fisherman is to be patient, because without patience one can never catch a fish. You also have to know when to act, since a hook will have its bait eaten away if the fisherman never pulls. An impatient man may never catch a fish, but a man that is too slow to act wont catch one either. And the next things the truly great fishermen learn though is how to learn from your experiences so that you can catch more next time. This isn’t unique to being a fisherman either. To be successful, we have to be able to learn, lessons that are taught to us, what we do good in our attempts, and what we don’t do good in our attempts. To be successful is to learn. Quite simply that is what is meant by being a disciple, it is quite literally being a learner.

If you noticed though, Jesus didn’t call them to be disciples, he called them to be Fishers of Men. They would go out and catch people for the Gospel . Becoming a disciple was an ends to a means, because Jesus knew that he wasn’t going to remain here on earth forever in a physical body, he left behind people that he trained to continue preaching the Gospel, to reach out to those who did not know the why they felt weighted down by grief and sorrow because of the law, and that there was the powerful message of the Gospel that promised them a new relationship with him, the Christ, anointed to be the pure sacrifice for our sins. The words of Jesus “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” are so simple because with the Christ coming in the body of a man, salvation was there for all people. The light came into the world so that all the dark places in our souls would be eradicated by the pure and holy light of the Love of God. And that is not a time that has come and gone, that only affected men of old, but it is the truth that still rings out in this very Christian and apostolic church.

We too have been called to be fishers of men. We have been called by the power of the Gospel, through the water and the word we are brought into the relationship with God. That means that as children of God we need to learn, to be disciples, so that we may know the many and abundant blessings God has showered down upon us as his children in the church. And we do learn, we learn through Sunday school as children. We learn throughout confirmation. We continue to learn in adult bible class, group bible studies, and through personal bible studies. We learn through the readings and the sermons preached in worship as well. And we learn in all these places, not because of the teacher or preacher, but because when we are called the Holy Spirit enters our lives and teaches us through the WORD. We are disciples.

But, simply being disciples do make fishers of men. Knowing all the techniques of fishing only makes you a fisherman if you actually go out and fish. In the same way, knowing the bible alone does not make you a fisher of men. It simply makes you a very good learner. We were not called to simply be learners though, but to be fishers of men. The 12 disciples did not remain simple disciples forever, but they became Apostles, the sent ones. Learning about the Love of God is great, but we should also want to tell others about it too. God uses his people to tell other people about the Love that he has shown the entire world through his one and only son Jesus Christ.

Fishing for men is not a simple affair. It takes patience, and it takes the Holy Spirit working through us in the things that we have been taught as disciples. We cannot be hesitant, We can take comfort in knowing that results are not always as evident as fishing for fish. You don’t catch a fish with every cast, and not every conversation you have will result in a new member here at holy cross. But if no one ever sends out the line, nothing is ever caught, and if no one ever tells another person about the actions of God, how are they to know? It is the ultimate catch and release experience… those who are caught and not bound up, instead they are caught by the power of the Holy Spirit and set free by the power of the Gospel. Different people will respond to different things, but the root of the message is always the same, Christ and him crucified.

It is important to remember that we are not the same as the apostles. They were called to a unique position to reach out full of the holy spirit working miracles and speaking the words of the spirit. I doubt any of us here will have a moment where because of what we say thousands will convert at one time. But we can remember and learn how we can act like them. They were not perfect. They did not have a perfect record of conversion either. Their power did not come from themselves but through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls and equips men and women for different jobs, and some are called to teach, some to serve, and some to fish.

We are called to be fishers of men, like the apostles, and we have been given the power to do just that through the Holy Spirit. We can rejoice and be glad because through Jesus we have been called children of God, and he continues to work through his children so that ALL men may know of his love forever. Get your poles ready, because through the power of the Holy Spirit every day is fishing season. AMEN