Going Fishing - Epiphany 3B

 Tony Blake said, “Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God.”

This morning we have come to church to reflect on fishing.

Today’s reading is a story, however, for some reason this year I heard it as a parable; a parable about fishing. Now the parable isn’t written out, rather it is inferred; it is set out in tidbits of stories about fishing through the Gospels and into the Book of Acts.  Now remember, when Jesus uses parables, Jesus is often talking about the commonwealth of God, and within the parable often upsets the traditional and acceptable way to think or act on a given subject. Jesus’ parables upset the fisher monger’s cart.

 

When I go back to Owen Sound to visit family, I enjoy going for a morning run along the Sydenham River. Along the way, I see fishermen. So, when I think about fishing, I picture this river. I have an image of fishermen who take a lawn chair, a thermos of coffee, a tackle box and fishing pole, and set up a spot along the edge of a river – I picture a shady stretch of river, with lots of bugs and damp air, and wrapped in mist rising off the water in the early morning light. There is a nod of welcome from one fishermen to the next as they set up their spaces well distanced from each other. There is no talking; the only noise is the occasional  “swwwz” of a line being cast, or the “shwEtshwEtshwEt” of the reel drawing in a catch.  This is fishing: slow, quiet, solitary, peaceful, waiting ... waiting.

 

When I hear Jesus say: “Follow me and I will make you fish for people,” I apply the idea of fishing for people, to how it is that I saw fishing.  This call to follow Jesus and go fishing, has me comfortable and relaxed, willing to wait and be patient. I translate ‘going fishing’ into living a life where my actions illustrate God’s love; where I -over time- speak with friends and family about God; where I keep the door open and check-in with those interested yet not ready to commit; where I go about doing my thing, preaching and teaching the gospel and hope that the fish passing by take notice.  This is fishing: slow, quiet, one-on-one relationship building, peaceful, patient, loving.

 

When I go for a run in Halifax, at the right time of year, moored on the waterfront are a fleet (4 or 5 strong) of fishing trawlers. Boats with huge drag nets winched in place on the steel rigging. On the boats one will see a crew of people working at repairing this or that – it is a loud operation, even when at dock and not in the full swing of fishing. There is banging and clanging, the fleet creaks in the tide and bumps the pier, the fishers yell back and forth to each other, the herring gulls go nuts with squawking.

Judging by the size of the nets, one knows that a lot of fish were caught, and caught at one time. You can smell that fish were aboard, maybe still are in the holds. This too is fishing.

My first experience of the sight of the immensity of a trawling fleet, the cacophony of sound, the scale of the catch, and the overpowering smell, ... I was discombobulated and flabbergasted.

 

When I hear Jesus say: “Follow me and I will make you fish for people,” trawling is not how I envision answering this call. This kind of fishing in my mind is the mega church evangelism program; or offering a needed service that comes along with propaganda pamphlets and salvation preaching; or hiring a charismatic speaker or healer to draw in a crowd; of religion that comes with pressure and intimidation, of strings attached to belonging.  And yet, there is big sea fishing in the biblical record.  God sends Jonah to Nineveh on a fishing expedition – and hauls in a catch so big Jonah is disgusted by the sheer volume of itr; he really didn’t care for the Assyrian’s in Nineveh.

 

When I hear a Jesus’ parable, I have an expectation that if I am indeed listening with my heart, the parable is going to make me uncomfortable, challenging my perceptions, and calling me to change. Listening to a parable is like fishing;  American writer Katharine Weber wrote: ‘fishing is marvelous... there is the irresistible urge to tangle with the mysterious and unknown, to rely on intuition and hunches.’

 

Today  I tangle with the mysterious and unknown, an urge to ‘go fishing’ in my own way, in my own time, yet sensing that there is a call to fishing in other forms. In the text we heard that Jesus calls four fishermen – who leave their nets and boats, to ‘go fishing’ in a different way for a very different kind of catch. And, as Mark’s Gospel does, there is an immediacy to this fishing for people expedition. If this were not a parable it would be impossible – fishing is a slow business full of patience; except when it is not. In ‘fishing for people’ there is a tension: an individual casting of a line, or a team of disciples (four fishermen) who will cast a net. In their ministry, the fishermen will experience Jesus fishing, where he will make a little catch, the woman at the well, the man healed from an unclean spirit, the Ethiopian Eunuch; with these examples standing beside the crowds who turn up to hear Jesus preach, the groups of lepers who come for healing, the bounty of thousands who after hearing the Apostles preach turn their hearts and lives to God.

Untangling the line, - looking for Mystery- , the parable casts the calling of the fishermen after a reference to John the Baptizer being arrested – arrested for fishing in the Jordan – a reversed fishing of sorts, where John as fishermen casts the word, ‘Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand,’ and people -lots of people, fish out of water- from all around Judea take the bait and come to the river for a baptism of repentance.  John is fishing in the desert. John is fishing publicly and openly-  his fishing is making powers that be angry and uncomfortable.  Fishing gets John imprisoned and later executed; fishing is unpredictable – even dangerous.

 

Through the years, in conversation with fishermen, I have learned that fishing is second nature to them. Each has their preferred way – or only way- to fish, with specific bait and tackle to be used in their secret spots, at a particular time. Fishers are comfortable in their skills and often set in their routine and ways – until they are forced to do otherwise.  The church is similar.  As fishers we fish comfortably, using the same ways and routines we have for decades, and choose to remain in our favourite waterholes where it is safe and we feel at rest.  ... that is until something challenges us or forces us to spread the Gospel  -to fish- with new tools, in new ponds.  Pandemic has certainly been a catalyst for changing how we answer the call to go fish for people.  We have a new piece of tackle – well not really new, just used to its fuller potential – the inter-NET; tackle that spreads a large net beyond the known fishing holes. Gospel by internet, indiscriminately casts the Word to anyone seeking food for thought or soul.

It has become clear over the past months that fish – people- like to nibble on ideas of faith, come to the surface to catch a glimpse of the Mystery, to feel momentarily part of a school of fish, to protect themselves from a bigger fish out to eat them – all this without having a fear of being caught. Caught by the nets of well-meaning Christians. You know what I mean, the church who tries too hard with someone who walks in their doors --- we’ve heard the stories of desperate congregations who see new blood  and pounce, smothering. 

Fishing is an art, a skill.  And we have learned that the skills are adaptive. There are people that fish and those who just disturb the water – we are called to be fishers indiscriminately casting the net. When considering the text for today, as a parable of fishing, we are directed to tangle with the Mystery and the how-tos of sharing the Gospel and casting a line to invite others to come and follow. Pandemic fishing has changed everything, not to ever go back to what was. As stated earlier, Jesus’ parables are always about challenging one’s perspectives, causing discomfort, and affecting change for the healing of the world.

Today I feel like Jesus is calling me to fish in the style least comfortable, with activity, noise, using large /diverse/and new tackle, and do so indiscriminately and with immediacy.

 

Finally, no conversation about fishing is complete without the mention that all fishing trips do not  put fish on the table that night for dinner. Just because you go fishing does not mean you will catch something. A colleague reminded me this week, that it is not about the catch; we are not called to catch people, we are called to go fishing. In the fishing, I have learned and continue to learn about myself, others, creation, God – and my relationship with each- tangled in this net, I continue to wrestle with the Mystery and in the how of sharing God’s message- a Gospel of love, peace, forgiveness, commonwealth, and acceptance.

John Buchan, once Governor Genera of Canada wrote – ‘The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”

 There is hope – for me as a fishermen – for us as we answer the call to go fishing – for fish not yet swimming in community.  Thanks be to God we are held in a vast ocean where the Mystery swirls in every drop of water.