So, The Fisherman's Going to Teach Me To Fish?

Several years ago I was walking along the beach with my Dad. I asked him, “How do you know how God is working in the world?” He said, “Do you see that flock of seagulls overhead? I know that just beneath the surface of the water there is a school of fish. I don’t have to see the fish to know they are there. If you open your eyes to the world around you, you will be able to know what’s happening under the surface.” In our scripture lesson today, we do not know what Jesus said to the crowd. As a preacher, I wish I had the transcript of what Jesus said. That would certainly make sermon preparation easier. Nevertheless, I imagine that Jesus said something to the crowd like what my father said to me because Jesus tells Simon to go out into the deep water and let down the net, and the catch they bring in amazed everyone.

Jesus is walking along the lakeshore and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear more of what he had been preaching. He sees two boats on the shore with the fishermen cleaning their nets. They weren’t just closing up shop. They weren’t just breaking for breakfast. They had given up. I imagine that as they were cleaning their nets they were trying to figure out what to tell their wives and children when they were coming home with nothing. They weren’t flipping the sign from “open,” to “closed.” They had been defeated and deflated. This is to whom Jesus goes first. “Simon, I know that you are an expert fisherman. Can I borrow you for a moment . . . I know, I know, I’m sorry you have no fish, but I’m not hungry . . . I need your boat.” If you’re a fisherman and you have no fish, you may think that you are worthless. Not so. Not with Jesus. “Simon, you have something I need, and it’s not your fish.”

Jesus gets in the boat with Simon and asks him to put the boat out just a little from the shore. He sits and teaches the crowd. Again, we don’t know what he said, but it seems that when he was finished there was something missing. As he sits in the boat he leans over to Simon and asks him to put the boat out into the deep water for a catch. (Casual affair). Peter turns to Jesus and gives him an excuse. Now, those of you who were here last week know what’s about to happen. If you were living in 1st century Palestine and you knew your scriptures, reading this hot off the press, you know what’s about to happen. Moses—I’m not good with words. Isaiah—I’m a man of unclean lips. Gideon—I don’t work out much. Jeremiah—I’m too young. Peter—Lord, I know how to fish, and I’ve been fishing all night and I haven’t caught anything. But if you say so, I’ll do it. Peter gives Jesus an excuse. Remember what God does with excuses. He crucifies them so that you may be resurrected with a new life. You know that something miraculous is about to happen.

Simon puts the boat out into the deep water. Any fisherman will tell you that you don’t catch fish in the open water. You have to cast your line in the shallow water near rocks and logs and hiding places. Often the Gospel goes against the conventional wisdom of the world. A sower went out to sow some seeds. He threw seeds on good soil, on rocks, on the path. He flung seeds everywhere. This is a bad way to do business, but it’s a great way to evangelize. With the seeds being the word of God, we are to spread it everywhere, not just with those who we think is the good soil of the world. A man had two sons and one of them took his inheritance and squandered it. When he hit rock bottom he came home. Now, when he comes knocking on the door, you’re supposed to whip his but for being an idiot, right? The father runs out to meet him and dresses him in fine clothing and has a party. One footnote to this story: now that I have children, I’m very interested in what happened the morning after the party was thrown. I’m pretty sure daddy woke his son up early in the morning with a fresh new pair of work boots. A rich man had lots of wealth and he said to himself, “What should I do, I have lots of stuff. I know, I’ll build larger silos to keep even more stuff.” Then God said, “Your life is ending tonight, and what’s going to happen to all this stuff? There’s no room in heaven for your stuff.” A man had 100 sheep and one of them went missing. Aren’t you supposed to cut your losses and move on? The shepherd leaves the 99 in the wilderness to search for the one who is missing. Peter knows that putting his boat out into open water is foolish. He’s a fisherman. He knows this, but he does it because Jesus asked him to. What is Jesus asking you to do?

Maybe this means that a radical change is in store for you. Peter, James, and John came to shore with the fish, dropped everything, and followed. They dropped a fortune worth of fish, and followed Jesus. There may be something in your life which needs to be crucified so that you can follow Christ’s calling. But before you go into the office on Monday morning and quit your job to join the circus, we need to keep in mind to what Jesus called the fisherman. He didn’t say, “you were fishermen, and now you will be bankers.” He said, “you were fishermen, and now you will fish for men.” In other words, your gift for navigating the waters, your gift for organizing a crew, your gift for providing a community of people with food, will continue to be used, but it will be transformed into work for the kingdom. Peter, you have amazing gifts. Now, use them for the kingdom.

God speaks to some through the heart, some through the mind, soul, and strength. God speaks to you in a language you will be able to understand if you’re willing to listen. God has said, “You have a gift that no one else has, and I need you to use it for the Kingdom. If you are a fisherman and you think you have nothing to offer because you don’t have fish, Jesus will ask you to turn around and notice the unused boat, which is what he really needs anyway. Within each and every one of you lies the potential for an abundance of good, a good so great that you yourself will be unable to enjoy alone. Your calling is where your deep joy and the world’s deep hunger meet. Be true to yourself and the Christ who calls you beyond yourself.