I love to fish because my dad taught me how. I remember summer vacations spent with him in a boat on Minnesota lakes, just the two of us, fishing all day for bass and ferocious Northern Pike. And then in the evening after supper the whole family would crowd into the boat to fish for crappies.
When we moved to Oregon, trout and salmon became the fish we pursued. He taught me how to fly fish, which is fishing of a much different sort. I much prefer it to any other kind! And now I have passed on my love of fishing, especially fly, to my son Michael. He is a fly fishing fiend, the kind that makes a dad proud…
This Sunday’s Gospel passage from Matthew 4 is the account of Jesus calling the first disciples, the fisherman by the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus called the first disciples, they already knew how to fish! But they did not yet know how to fish for people. When Jesus called them, he promised to teach and then send them out. Jesus called them to something new, yet not completely different or foreign. He promised to transform a skill set they already possessed.
Last Sunday my remarks on John 1: 29-42 centered around three simple words: See/Hear, Share, Invite. It seems we have a built in hesitation and reluctance when it comes to sharing what God is doing in our life. But as I pointed out Sunday, we share easily about the new movie or restaurant, the big game, or (in my case) the unsurpassed virtues of Barnacle Bill’s smoked salmon!
In other words, we already know how to do this. And like the fisherman, Jesus calls us to something challenging and new, yet not completely different. Like the fisherman, he calls to us fish for people, sharing our faith with others. And like the fisherman, he promises to teach us, transforming a skill set we already have and using it for the building up of the Kingdom of God! Lord, give us a heart to heed your call, and teach us how to fish for people.
See you Sunday!
