Dymchurch 23-01-05
Fishers of Men - Matthew 4:12-4:22
Story: A vicar was retiring after 25 years in the parish. As he came to clear out his bedroom, he found a small bowl with 5 eggs and £1,000 pounds in.
Baffled he called his wife and said: Darling, what is this little basket under the bed with five eggs and £1,000 in.
"Oh " she said " I must confess that everytime you preached a bad sermon, I put an egg in the basket"
Secretly the vicar was quite pleased: "Not bad, he thought ” five bad sermons in 25 years"
"And what about the £1,000?"
"Well every time I get a dozen, I sell them!"
These vicars’ wives have a way of making us
feel so wanted!
Life is full of little surprises! And I think the way that Jesus called Andrew and Peter - in this morning’s Gospel - would have been a surprise to them.
Why - because Jesus called them to be “fishers of men”
Why “fishers of men” you might ask?
I think that it was more than just a pun on their occupation as fishermen.
It was more than simply calling Andrew and Simon Peter to a new trade.
I believe the phrase "fishers of men" gives us insights into the character required of Christ’s disciples.
What character traits would a first century fisherman on the Lake of Galilee have to have had?
Well, I can think of three if he was going to make a living out of fishing:
ADAPTABLE,
COURAGEOUS and
TENACIOUS
Perhaps a simple way to remember these 3 character traits is by the pneumonic A.C.T.
1. The first character trait was ADAPTABILITY
Fishermen on Lake Galilee had to be adaptable depending on what mass of fish was in their part of the lake that day.
Let me explain. There were three main methods of fishing.
1.1 Use of baited hooks
One method would have been the use of
baited hooks – used for catching individual fish.
We see reference to this method of fishing made in Mt. 17. The collectors of the Temple Tax came to Peter and demanded Jesus’ Temple tax. Jesus, you will recall, tells Peter to go out on the lake and to cast a baited hook into the lake
“ Take the first fish that you catch;” Jesus said
“open its mouth and you will find a four drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” (Mt. 17:27)
1.2. Use of the Cast Net
The second common mode of fishing was to use a cast net.
There were two types of cast net
1.2.1. The first was a simple cast net - in the form of a bag, coming to a point at the bottom.
Its mouth was about 3 foot in diameter - with weights around it. The weights kept it open - when it was thrown and closed it - when it sank.
It was with these nets that Peter and Andrew were fishing - when Jesus called them to follow him in this morning’s Gospel lesson.
1.2.2. The other cast net was too heavy to be thrown. And so it would only be used by fishermen when they found themselves in the midst of a shoal.
This type of cast net was referred to in Jn 21 in one of Jesus’ post Resurrection appearances. Peter and the others had been out fishing all night - and found nothing. Jesus appeared to them at daybreak and asked them if they have caught anything. They answered no.
Jesus then told them to “throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some” and they were amazed to catch 153 large fish. (Jn 21:6)
1.3 Use of a seine net
The third common mode of fishing was with a long seine or drag net. This would be drawn behind a boat - with floats on the top - and weights on the bottom.
It was this net that was referred to in Mt. 13 in the Parable of the Nets when Jesus said:
“Once again the Kingdom of God is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. And when it was full the fishermen came and pulled it up on shore.”
A fisherman had to be adaptable with the use of his fishing equipment
It was no good going out with fishing equipment that was inappropriate for the mass of fish in your part of the lake.
Sadly many of our churches are still “fishing for men” with the wrong fishing equipment.
2. The second Character trait of a fisherman was COURAGE
Fishermen on the lake of Galilee had to be courageous and tough.
The Lake of Galilee was famous for the speed at which a storm could whip up. This is due to the mountains that surround the lake.
Story: Sir Charles Wilson, writing over 100 years ago, - described his own experience of such a storm of the Lake of Galilee (which he refers to by its other name - Lake Tiberias).
He wrote this:
“The morning was most delightful; a gentle easterly breeze - and not a cloud in the sky - to give warning of what was coming.
Suddenly about midday - there was a sound of thunder - and a small cloud ‘no bigger than a man’s hand’ was seen rising over the heights of Lubeik - to the west. In a few moments - the cloud had spread - and heavy black masses came rolling down the hills - towards the lake, completely obscuring Tiberias.
At this moment - the breeze died away; there were a few moments of perfect calm - during which the sun shone out with intense power - and the surface of the lake was smooth.
Tiberias stood out in sharp relief - from the gloom behind - but it was soon lost to sight - as the thunder gust swept past them - and - rapidly advancing across the lake - lifted the placid waters -into a bright sheet of foam.
In another moment - it reached Gamala - driving my companion and me - to take refuge in a cistern, where - for nearly an hour - we were confined listening - to the rattling peals of thunder and torrents of rain.”
Anyone prepared to go out on such an unpredictable lake had to have courage.
The Church might well find itself in stormy waters as it goes out to “fish for men” too. The question is “will we have the stomach for it?”
3. The third character trait of a fisherman was TENACITY
Fishermen had to be tenacious. They had to have patience.
They couldn’t afford to give up, if they didn’t catch something immediately.
They would often be out all night fishing – and catch nothing.
But they were persistent and would come back again the next day.
So how can our Gospel passage apply to us today?
4.1 Adapable
I believe we need, like Galilean fishermen.
We need to be adaptable in the way we present the Gospel.
If we want to fish successfully, we need to understand the fish in our part of the lake and use the appropriate equipment.
There is no point using a baited hook when there are shoals of fish.
There is no point using a drag net when there are only few fish out there.
In the same way if we want to reach this post-modern society, we can’t necessarily rely on methods of the past - which were geared to a different generation.
Why do we need to be flexible in what we do?
Because Jesus has only given His Church one Great Commission – to reach the lost (Mt 28:16-20) – to reach those outside the Church
As Archbishop William Temple said: “The Church is the only organisation that exists for the benefit of its non-members.”
4.2 Courageous
We need the courage and the wisdom to know when to “go fishing”.
We need to be prepared to tell people what and why we believe - to tell our Christian story.
4.3 Tenacious
Too often, we are tempted to give up - because we do not see immediate change.
Story: I became a Christian - at sixteen through the persistence of my aunt - (who was a Roman Catholic nun) who, amongst others, prayed for me.
She could have given up – but her persistence won through – though it took almost 17 years.
We too need to be tenacious in prayer even if it takes almost 17 years before we see results.
CONCLUSION
I think the challenge to be “fishers of men” was made best by a man - who by his own confession is not a Christian. Matthew Parris, the Sunday Times Journalist wrote this:
’The New Testament offers a picture of God, who does not sound at all vague.
He has sent His Son to earth. He has distinct plans for each of us personally and can communicate directly with us.
We are capable of forming a direct
relationship, individually with Him, and are commanded to try.
We are told that this can be done only through his son. And we are offered the prospect of eternal life – an afterlife in happy, blissful or glorious circumstances if we live this life in a certain manner.
Friends, if I believed that, or even a tenth of that, how could I care which version of the prayer book is used.
I would drop my job, sell my house, throw away all my possessions, leave my acquaintances and set out into the world burning with desire to know more and, when I had found more, to act upon it and tell others.
Far from being puzzled that the Mormons and Adventists should knock on the door, I am unable to understand how anyone who believed that (which) is written in the Bible could choose to spend their waking hours in any other endeavour.’ (Matthew Parris).
WHAT A CHALLENGE TO US!
