“Don’t be afraid to go fishing”

Luke 5:1-11

I am not a fisherman.

However, that doesn’t stop me from preaching

On this passage which draws heavily on

The image and experience of fishing.

I have only gone fishing a few times in my life

And they were memorable…

Not necessarily good but memorable.

One vacation at the shore, my Dad and brother and I

Went fishing.

We didn’t know anything about tackle,

Or bait or fish so we bought squib

And put it on the line

And threw it in.

We ended us catching two fish that day:

One was a blow fish that blew up

As we pulled it out of the water

And the second was a dog fish- small shark

That we immediately threw back.

It wasn’t a particularly productive day

but it was a good day- an unconventional day but

day spent with my dad,

a day of new adventures

and a day to remember.

I have had other more productive experiences

Where I actually did catch fish but the good news is

That we didn’t give up fishing

because of that one day

And that one experience.

Fortunately when God called me to be a fisher of people

And not a fisher of fish.

Today’s lesson is about God’s call to real live fishermen,

Called alieus in Greek.

They were good enough at fishing to earn a living.

The trick for them was to translate their

Love and skill of fishing fish to a new

Calling to catch people.

Today’s passage in Luke is similar to but not the same

As parallel passages in Matthew, Mark and John.

In Matthew and Mark, Jesus’ call to the fisherman

Comes in the beginning of his ministry.

He simply encounters Peter, James and John

On the shore and calls out: “Follow me

and I will make you-aleeis anthropon- fishers of men.”

In Matthew and Mark there is a word play

On the word “alieus” – fisherman.

In John the story of the miraculous catch

Comes at the end of Jesus earthly ministry,

After the resurrection when he is calling

Peter and the rest of the fishermen

Back to discipleship.

Their immediate response to Jesus’ death was

To go back to something they knew- fishing.

In this appearance in John, Jesus calls

The disciples back with the words:

“Follow me.”

The story we read today in Luke has elements

Of both the Matthew/Mark story and the John story

But it is different.

Luke’s call of the disciples is not in the beginning

or end of Jesus ministry but right in the middle.

The call to the disciples is not with the formulaic:

“Follow me” (as in Matt, Mark and John)

But “do not be afraid” as the angels had said to

Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds in Luke 1.

So we know that Luke is different- not conventional-

But that didn’t stop Luke from telling his story

Or answering the call of Jesus to be

“catching people”.

One can’t help but wonder whether the Greek word

For “catching people” is the same as “fishers of men.”

It isn’t.

The phrase for “catching people” is anthropous esa zogron”

“Zogron” is actually the combination of two words:

zaos- alive; and agreo- catching.

So even though there are similarities

Between these different gospel stories

It is helpful to know that they are different.

We are not called to be disciples in the same way,

Or the same time or with the same words.

Every call of Jesus is different

Just as every fishing trip is different,

And every fisher person is different.

And the punch line is simply

Don’t be afraid to go fishing.

Don’t be afraid to be a disciple of Jesus

Even and especially if your style of

Discipleship is different,

And your call is different,

And your response is different,

That the next person.

Jesus needs each one of us just as

We need all four of the Gospels

Matthew, Mark, John and Luke.

Luke is a reminder that sometimes and often

The call of Christ sometimes happens

In the middle of life,

In the midst of everyday life.

William Carr and Walt Larimore in the book

Going Public with your Faith affirm this idea

By saying that evangelism is not an event

But rather a process, a relationship

That develops over time.

It is a process that God is doing and

We get to participate in.

Luke’s story is a reminder that we are not to beat people

Into submission with our faith but rather to

“Catch people alive”.

The old model “confrontive evangelism”

Doesn’t work for many people in

This day and age.

The intent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is

“not to condemn the world but

that the world might be saved through him.”

There’s a reason that Luke uses the phrase

Zogron, “catching alive”, rather that the

More familiar aleeis anthropon,

“Fishers of men.”

God wants us alive and well and ready to joyfully do the

Work and worship of the kingdom;

Not dead and beaten down,

duty bound and submissive.

Perhaps this was because Luke was not a fisherman

But rather a doctor, whose job it was to

Preserve and save lives.

And yet Luke still tells this story

Of the call of the fishermen

For a reason.

Luke is telling all of us, fishermen and non fishermen,

Not to be afraid to go fishing.

It’s not about how many fish you catch

Since Christ is the master fishermen but

It’s about the purpose, process and community.

The purpose is to participate in Christ’s ministry

And to be obedient to Christ call.

The process is to get rid of your fear of fishing

And simply participate in what God is doing in Christ.

One thing I have learned from fishermen is

That they love the process of fishing-

The quiet waters, the listening,

The being at one with nature

And with the very fish

That they are catching.

Carr and Larimore call this the organic nature

Of relational evangelism.

Walt Larimore himself is a Doctor

So he is aware of the organic nature

Of every human process including

Evangelism.

When we focus on the process and participating

In the process then we are not worried about

whether we catch so many fish

the nets are breaking or whether

we catch one dogfish and

one blow fish.

Lastly, we are participating in community in Christ.

The reason I remember my first strange fishing trip

Was not because we only caught two weird fish

But because it was a wonderful day with

My father and my brother.

That was the power of this Luke fishing story as well.

It wasn’t the great many fish that they caught

But the encounter with the Master, Jesus Christ,

That made the day memorable.

It wasn’t the catching of fish that was so important

but the change in Peter himself that pivotal.

So for me and I hope for you

The message of today’s passage is

don’t be afraid to go fishing.

Whether you’re a doctor, minister, teacher

Mechanic, mother, father, salesman,

Office worker, city worker,

Veterinarian, engineer,

Manager, secretary

And your lake of Gennesaret might just be

The very place you work or go to school

Or neighborhood in which you live.

“Don’t be afraid, from now on you will be catching people.”

Amen