A Call to go Fishing!
Luke 5:1-11
I don't think that we can relate to fishing with nets in the sea of Galilee - but we sure can relate to fishing here in the Rideau…think of getting up early in the morning, before it's light. Driving to your favorite fishing place. You know the secret spot that only you and your buddies know about. Parking far enough away that the fish won't be scared by your car as you arrive and launching your boat. Quietly moving down the river, and setting up. And then waiting…and waiting,…and waiting. But the fish aren't biting. Not at all. They are even teasing you, swimming around down there and jumping from time to time just to to get your attention, but not biting at all…so you move a bit; use your extra special lure that you only use at times like these…and still nothing. Not even a nibble. You and your buddies are being skunked in a big way. No fish on the horizon on this fishing trip.And then a person comes on by and says…says, you are fishing in the wrong spot!! The wrong spot. You have fished this spot since you were a kid, and you KNOW that the only place they bite in this area…is right here. And that they bite best on you special blue lure with the green and yellow spots. The wrong spot indeed. And this guy isn't even from around here. How would he know. Ya right, you think, and even almost say it…
But just to shut him up, and make him go away, you move over and make one cast where he says…
And then, can you see it…the lure arches out over the water and just before the splash, the biggest fish you have ever seen lunges from somewhere in the depths and rips into your line. Your reel screams…zzzzz….in fact your pretty sure you smell smoke as the line flies from the reel. And now your main problem is how to land a 45 lb fish with 12 lb test line…
Of course Jesus was not just some stranger…he was a celebrity… great crowds were impressed with him, and were pushing and shoving and making a great commotion…and you weren't just trying to get a little fishing in some morning, you had probably come to hear Jesus…You had tried to fish in the quiet of the night, but now there was a loud crowd, and a commotion, and Jesus says now is the time to do a little fishing…people pushing…people shouting……I can imagine a little boy Matthews age with a stick slapping the water just for fun…and kids chasing each other through the shallow water,…and Jesus says "now is the time to fish". Right.
Jesus IS right. That huge catch of fish is undeniable proof that he is more than just some man, this week's celebrity.
You know I find it amazing that Jesus is so good at talking in the language that we need to hear. To those fishermen, there would be no more impressive a miracle than to have Jesus show them that he understood them right where they lived. In the world of fish. Jesus understood, and could have said to them that day "come and help me in my mission to the people of Israel". But he didn't. He said "come and I will make you fishers of people".
How does Jesus speak to your heart? What is your heart language? How do you understand the world?
Jesus is here today to say to each of us, come and be fishers of people…but the miracle is he says it in the way we need to hear…
Come, and help me lead the people back to God….I will make you a leader of the people to help them come back to me.
Come, help me double my investment in my people. I love them all. I will use you to invest wisely, and grow my kingdom...
Come fight my fight…stand tall, and battle to right the wrongs and free the oppressed.
Come, help me care for the lost…Be a helper and care giver to those that I love.
Come, turn the other cheek, show everyone how I love them and how far I am willing to go to care for them….
Come run the race, train and persevere, learn from me and come to understand me, hang in there for my kingdom….
Come..feed my sheep, Care for, lead and protect those who cant…
Jesus needs us all, every one.
In Isaiah's vision we see acted out God's call… "Whom shall I send?"
In both Luke and Isaiah, we see the response to God's call as one of fear and awe. Isaiah says I am a sinful person and a member of a sinful race. Simon says "Oh, Lord, please leave me-- I'm too much of a sinner to be around you.
And it's the truth isn't it. God truly is holy. We are, each one of us, far too screwed up to have anything to do with God…whether we know it of not, we are hopeless cases without Jesus. But that's the good news isn't it. EXCEPT FOR JESUS. Jesus did come, and he does call us to be workers in the vineyard. He forgives us,….. he welcomes us home…., and even more than that, he doesn't leave us there…he call us to be his co-workers.
Through his Spirit, he transforms us into a people who are the fishers of men, the shepherds, the racers, the care givers, that we were meant to be.
God is calling each one of us, to be the authentic children of God were designed to be - that we were designed to be even before we were knit together in our mother's wombs. He is calling us to be a people lead and empowered by the spirit. He is calling us to transform our broken world.
"Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?
"Whom indeed….let us respond with Isaiah…"Lord, I'll go, send me"
Amen
©2004 Steve E. Timpson
(613) 272-2360
P.O. Box 69
2764 Highway 15, Portland, Ontario
stimpson@ontario.anglican.ca