Fishers for Christ

Habakkuk 1: 14-17

1 John 2: 1-6

Matthew 13: 47-50

Fishing

How many of you have gone or like to go fishing?  It is a fascinating sport. Especially if you go out hoping to catch one kind of fish, and you wind up catching other kinds. There are often surprises when you fish.

Back when I was in training with the Ohio Division of Wildlife we had a whole class on the laws pertaining to fishing.  There were—still are—certain methods of getting fish that are illegal. One of them was using nets, unless you were a commercial fisherman. Another was using dynamite. We all heard stories of people using dynamite to get a bunch of fish all at once and rather quickly.

Later on I became a fish management supervisor up in Akron for ODW and we used a variety of large nets to sample fish in the water bodies in our District. We would set the nets and then a day or two later we would go out, lift the nets, count the number of each kind of fish in the net, weigh and measure certain species, collect scale samples to determine the age of the fish, or collect eggs from certain species to take back to the hatchery at Portage Lakes. The fish were then returned to the water unharmed. That was always a lot of fun, because it was amazing the variety of fish caught, and their sizes. We often caught record breakers.

In Jesus’ time when fishing on the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Magdala as it was called then in that area, there were two kinds of nets used. One was a round net weighted all around the perimeter that could be thrown out by one person, in the shallows, and then pulled in. You may have seen that on TV as those nets are still in use in many parts of the world. The second was a much larger net that was used behind a boat or sometimes between two boats, pulled along behind and then drawn in to trap the fish: a dragnet. This, too, you can see on TV regularly. Dragnets take more than one person to use. In this gospel passage, Jesus is speaking of the latter kind of net.

 In using any net, you will almost always catch a variety of fish, and often have other stuff in the net too. In the Sea of Galilee there are at least 36 different kinds of fish, and any dragnet will likely pull in many of those kinds.

In this Gospel parable we read the word fish, but actually the original Greek Gospel does not use the word fish at all. Instead the word Jesus used is more accurately translated to mean “all sorts”, in other words all kinds of  “stuff”. That word just doesn’t sound quite right in the Bible, but it is more accurate. Jesus knew about fishing and he knew there could be surprises when you use a dragnet. Off the coast of England a commercial fishing boat hauled in WWII live torpedoes, and not long ago another pulled in $2 million pile of marijuana. Also, not long ago, they hauled in a newlywed couple who had chosen to scuba dive on their honeymoon. So a net is rather indiscriminate. You catch a lot of stuff.

So what is Jesus really telling us in this parable? First of all, this is the last of 7 parables in a row in Matthew chapter 13. Each is telling us about the kingdom and what our role is in kingdom work. The first parable tells about a farmer going out and scattering seeds everywhere, on rock, on a trodden path, amongst weeds, and on fertile ground. In that parable he tells us that the sorting out of the good crop from the weeds is to be later, and not ours.  In all seven of the parables he tells us that judgment between what is good and what is not is not our business. We are to do the sowing, we are to do the fishing, and the sorting is to be left to God.

Second, this parable points out God’s interest in diversity. Jesus attracted all kinds of people: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, paralytics, lepers, people from Judea, Galilee, from across the river in what was called the Decapolis, Romans, blind men, women. Some would stay and listen to him, some would follow him, others were indifferent, and still others hated him. But he cast his net over all, not just a select few. We are to do the same.

Earlier in Matthew, and in Mark and Luke as well, Jesus calls his disciples and tells them he will make them fishers of men. In other words, he will teach them to put out the drag net and bring in a lot of stuff. Then let God do the sorting.

Fishing with a big net is labor intensive, and cannot be done successfully alone. Likewise, together as a church we can bring in more people than any one of us alone. And, just as in fishing with a big net, each of us has a role to play to help bring in new people. It is not the job of a handful of persons to do the work while others watch. It is all hands on deck.

However, our fishing analogy does break down a bit when it comes to bringing new people to Christ. Jesus also wants each of us to do fishing of our own. In fact, though we are called to work together as a congregation to cast our large net, the real success in bringing new people to Christ is person to person. The church can provide the training needed, can provide activities attractive that encourage and enhance the person to person work, and as a congregation we can support and encourage each other and celebrate success. But, one of the problems a lot of churches have is, they can have wonderful activities that attract and bring people in--- that is casting the net. But they never complete the catch.

Just having people come to an activity does not bring them to Christ. Besides, some churches they have a difficult time getting new people into the activities. The real work has to person to person. People need to be brought to the activities by friends. There they need to meet and be accepted by others who believe in and follow Christ.

So, how do we do individual “fishing”? We will do more with this in the future, but for now remember BLT.  BLT.

First, Build relationships with non Christians or lukewarm Christians. It doesn’t start with praying with someone to receive Christ. That’s the end. And it doesn’t start with inviting someone to church. That’s the middle. . It begins with making friends with non-Christians, people who don’t know and have not accepted Christ as Savior. That’s all. Just making a new friend, without anything religious to start with.

Second, Listen for opportunities to help your new friend. Listen and pray for and watch for the chance to do something helpful and important for the person with whom you have been developing a relationship. The opportunity to extend the love of God to that person. If you are working and praying to develop a real friendship, God will provide that opportunity.

Third, Take your new friend to a non threatening activity where they can hear a little bit of the gospel in an enjoyable way, and meet some other real Christians. Like a musical event, or a church dinner, or some other enjoyable activity. This is where the congregation as a group casts the big net. But this will not work if what is planned is just for the interests of the congregation members and they are the only ones who come. Congregation members need to bring new people to the activity. That is the person to person fishing Jesus wants each of us to do.

We will touch on each of these more in the future. What is important is, you don’t catch fish just sitting on the porch. Or in a pew on Sunday. Are you willing to go out on the water and be a fisher for Christ?