Epiphany 5

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: Epiphany 5
PROPER: C
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: February 4, 2001


TEXT: Luke 5:1-11 - The Calling of the Disciples
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.

ISSUE: - Luke’s story of Jesus calling his disciples and giving them the mission of fishing for people is a powerful statement of the church’s call to be a mission for the world. Repeatedly in scripture very simple astonished people are called to serve God’s purpose. There is the promise that the Spirit will be with them. They need to respond in trust. In our world today, the call by virtue of our baptism to confess the faith of Christ crucified, to proclaim his resurrection, and to share in his eternal priesthood stands firm.
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Here’s another one of those rather astonishing stories in the Christian Scriptures. Jesus is at the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowds pressing in on him as he teaches. He then takes to speaking from the bow of one of the relatively large fishing boats, using it as a pulpit. Jesus asks the weary fishermen who have been working all night without a catch of fish to push out into deep water and let down the nets. They do so at Jesus’ command and miraculously there is an enormous catch of fish, so large that the boat is about to sink. They have to call James and John to assist. Peter is in awe of Jesus, declaring himself a ‘sinful man.’ But Jesus reassures Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” The disciples immediately leave everything and follow Jesus as his disciples. Leaving everything, of course, meant leaving family, friends, all of your net working support. It appears as a startling astonishing quick decision on the part of the Simon and Andrew, James and John. Jesus is perceived as one who can give these men something much more than their present existence provides.
In the story, in terms of the culture, Jesus is the Patron of the disciples, who are his dependent clients. In this period people who had some surplus of goods were patrons, who by their graciousness provided favors to less fortunate people. We talked last week about St. Cecilia as Patron Saint of Musicians, who is in the stained glass at the back of the church. Musicians would pray to St. Cecilia for favors that only she in her saintliness could provide. The reformed church questioned such practices in the later history of the church, but still today there are folk who swear by St. Anthony, who helps them find lost objects. St. Christopher assists travelers, as St. Nicholas was patron saint of children. Jesus is patron of the disciples who graciously provides them with the great catch of fish. Clients of patrons would in turn stay close to their patrons, and speak well of them, and return honor to them. In still another sense Jesus is the broker who brings people and introduces them to God, who is the greatest Patron of all. But the point at issue is the fact that people were dependent for many of their needs. The disciples seem to be recognizing their essential dependence upon Jesus Christ.
In still another sense, Jesus calls his disciples from very simple ranks, not unlike how God in the Hebrew Scriptures called prophets and leaders. Moses, for instance, had become a shepherd and reportedly had a speech impediment, which he tried to use as an excuse for not going to Egypt to set God’s people free. Remember in last weeks Hebrew Lesson about the call of Jeremiah, Jeremiah resists the call by saying, but “I am only a boy.” God was not impressed by Jeremiah’s excuse anymore than he was by Moses’. In the Hebrew reading today from Judges, Gideon complains that he is too weak and has no military skills for leading his people against the Midianites. “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” But the Lord replies, “I will be with you.” Jesus, who himself is a carpenter, selects fishermen and tax collectors to be his own. They respond seemingly with great trust and with hope.
Another aspect of this story is Jesus encouraging the disciples to go fishing. They resist, at least Peter does: ‘We’ve been fishing all night and caught nothing,’ but then he gives in to the request. They go out on the lake where the water is deepest to let down the nets. Some Biblical scholars see this action a baptismal in nature. The disciples go to the depths, let down the nets in the water, and catch the fish. There is that sense of their being immersed and then their lives are transformed into becoming new persons, with new persons, and new direction. Now they become fishers of men. It is a higher calling to which they respond with urgency, immediacy, with faithful participation.
Still another aspect of the story is seen as Eucharistic. In a sense it is another feeding story. Remember the Feeding of the 5,000. Two small fish and five barley loaves feed a multitude. It is spiritual abundant nourishment that comes to a large of crowd of people. Here again you have a story of a great harvest of fish. The disciples with Jesus bring to the people on the shore an abundance of food, a fulfillment, a nourishment, a spiritual feeding potential that is only available through Jesus Christ. Without Christ in the boat, in the darkness, the disciples caught nothing. In the light of the new day, accompanied by Jesus, there is new hope and fulfillment.
There are a number of Parables of Jesus’ that are about the Harvest of God. The Parable of the Sower tells of the farmer scattering seed. Some falls on poor soil, the path, in the thicket of thorns, yet there will be some that falls on good ground, and it will bear fruit and bring forth a bountiful harvest, you can be sure. The Parable of the Mustard Seed tells of a tiny seed, and yet it becomes bountiful and many birds nest in it. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares tells of field ruined by the weeds, but nevertheless there will be a bountiful harvest at the end. You think there is no hope, Jesus is saying to his disciples, but immerse yourselves into me, and into this work, and there will be a harvest of fish you will not be able to drag to shore alone.
Notice too that in this story, the disciples are called upon to be active in the ministry with Jesus. I will make you fishers of men. They are not mere spectators, but are actively involved and baptized and nourished by Jesus and enter into ministry and the mission of Jesus. For many years, the church and its people lost sight of their calling as fellows with Jesus and his ministry. In the Christendom model of the church, an hierarchical structure prevailed. Leaders of the church were seen as “princes of the church.’ Bishops, priest, and deacons became paid employees of the church, and were often seen as the professional ministers of the church. Large numbers of people were baptized, and the local communities thought of mission as something beyond their boundaries. Mission became something that happened somewhere far away. Even in local churches, ministers were hired by church boards to preach good sermons, visit the sick of the parish, and the shut-ins, to lead the youth, and have competent business skills, a be ever present at all church activities. Members of the congregation were reduced to a minimal ministry of cutting the grass and providing occasional fundraisers to keep the church going. And of course many lay people saw themselves as untrained for ministry.
Be aware of the sharp contrast to what Jesus called his own disciples to do. He called them to an active and hard working ministry; Jesus was well aware that fishermen were hard workers. They participated in healing the sick, casting out demons, proclaiming the good news. Setting the captives free, and proclaiming the forgiveness of the year of the Lord God. They went with him and participated in a ministry to many poor and hurting people. With him they proclaimed the love of God and the justice of God, and invited them to participate in the Kingdom, or realm, of God. He called them to be laborers to bring in the harvest: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. God your way: behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:2-3)
In our baptismal service today, we stress significantly that we are the people and the disciples of Jesus Christ. A person who is baptized is immersed in the water (at least symbolically) and is fed the spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist. They are invited by us all with Christ to be laborers in the harvest: We receive you into the household of God. Confess the faith of Christ crucified, and share with us in his royal priesthood.
We no longer live in Christendom. The mission of the church is no longer just somewhere else in far away lands, or out West. There are needs around the world, of course. But in our own communities we live in a very pluralistic society, which for me means varieties of philosophic thinking and a variety of cultures unlike our own. We live in a community where there are many people who know nothing of Jesus Christ, nothing of forgiveness, nothing of turning the other cheek or walking the extra mile. There are those for whom God and Jesus Christ is little more than curse words. Concepts of fairness, justice, honesty and not cheating are often lacking. There is a permeating spiritual depravity caused by the world’s rank materialism, and self-centeredness. There is a permeating violence in our society that seems almost to come natural for many people. We see this not only on TV, in news reports from far away places, and in the movies, but in our schools, in homes where physical, mental, and sexual abuse sometimes abounds. There is in our society as people live longer and often lose friends and acquaintances, there is probably a great deal of loneliness. Also in a world where we throw away a lot of things, there is the need for sensitivity to the fact that older people become disenfranchised and forgotten. Many children today come home to empty homes, there’s an element of loneliness in that respect as well.
The days of Christendom and its model of spectator Christians is really over. The mission today is around us. Each of us as individuals may need to be more prayerful in asking God, and as a congregation as well, to help us find our mission, and our way of being laborers in the harvest of humanity. God help us to bring the Spirit of Jesus Christ to the secular world, to the hurting and lonely. Lord, help us to be responsive to the bountiful and abundant catch of grace you have given to us.
HYMN 541
Come labor on. Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain, while all around us waves the golden grain? And to each servant does the Master say, “Go work today.”