Epiphany 3 B, 01/26/03

Text: Mark 1:14-20

Title: Fishers of Men

In our Gospel reading we heard the account of how Jesus called his first disciples. He simply tells Simon and Andrew that he will make them fishers of men and they drop everything and follow him. The same happens with James and John. I don't know about you, but this just sounds too easy to me. It is hard to believe that these men would just drop their whole livelihood the instant Jesus calls them.

This reminds me of a fish story. A very odd, but true story. This happened to my father and me several years ago. As we were paddling our canoe along a lake a big fish jumped out of the water and into our canoe. But before I realized what had happened, the fish had jumped back into the lake. Can you imagine that? A fish jumping right into our boat! While that may sound strange, it got even stranger. As we continued to paddle on, the fish jumped into the boat a second time. This time I swung around and struck the fish with my paddle, hoping to knock it out. But before I could raise the paddle a second time, the fish had again escaped into the lake. I guess it had been too easy to be true; too easy to deserve a catch.

Jesus' fishing story, however, was different. While his catch of Peter and Andrew, and James and John seemed so easy, he did not let them get away. They turned out to be his most loyal and important disciples. Their quick response to Jesus did not remain shallow and short-lived. That's because Jesus discipled them and turned them into fishers of men; into his great apostles.

Perhaps one reason they responded so eagerly to his call had to do with his message, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" This was the time Israel had been waiting for. It was the time for redemption; redemption from the slavery and oppression of the enemy. While many in Israel believed this to merely be one of political liberation for their own country, God intended it to be a time of spiritual liberation for all mankind: Of freedom from the slavery of sin and the fear of death. Jesus calls all people, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) This is God's good news for all people.

But the time is short. Time is running out. People are dying without Christ and without hope. Each hour thousands enter into an eternity without Christ. If only they could have the chance to hear the good news. If only they could have the opportunity to respond in faith and find rest for their souls. If only … there were more fishers of men.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus spent three years crisscrossing the land of Israel with his band of disciples? Some consider this a short time, especially if they see Jesus as a victim of political abuse. But I consider the three years a rather long time. After all, the reason God sent Jesus into the world was to offer his life as a ransom for us. In reality, then, the three-year delay between his baptism by John and his crucifixion was a long intermission. It was a time Jesus patiently set aside to prepare his disciples to become fishers of men.

Today, as the world population explodes, the harvest of souls is much greater than it was 2000 years ago. That is why Paul's words to the Corinthian church we heard in our Epistle reading are even more urgent today than they were back then: "…the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of this world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." (1 Cor. 7:29-30).

As Jesus' second return draws closer, the stakes for lost souls become greater. As we go about our daily business of life in this world God is counting on us to be his fishermen; to be his fishers-of-men. As Jesus called and prepared his disciples to be fishers of men, so God is calling his church, he is calling me and you, to be fishers of men. This task and calling we received when we were baptized. No one is exempt. All of us who are part of his body are called to live as children of God and heirs of a heavenly home.

Now, how does this translate into real life? Well, imagine that you were a poor orphan child in India, begging on the streets, hoping to escape another night of hunger. Then imagine a wealthy merchant coming along and having pity on you so that he adopts you into his family with full rights of a son and an heir. Now, what do you think you would do next? Would you go back into the streets in search for food? Of course not! You would learn to rely on adoptive father's promise to care for your every need as his own dear child.

Do you understand this parable? Do you understand that you belong to the One who made this planet and the whole universe? To the One who loves you so much that he gave up his own life for you? To the One who has overcome death and has given you an inheritance of everlasting life? Tell me, if this is really true, what effect do you think this will have on how you live your life? Well, that is what Paul is talking about when he calls us to live in this world without being engrossed in it. Unfortunately, we often continue to live and behave as orphaned beggars rather than children of the King of kings. The amazing grace we have received from Jesus is so much more wonderful and greater than anything in this world. That is why neither happy circumstances, nor tragedies should move us from the joy we have of knowing who we are in Christ and what we shall become when he returns.

As we allow this reality to penetrate and change our thinking, our acting, our speaking and our whole being, we become fishers of men. You see, to be a fisher of men has to do with who we are as Christians. It has to do with who we are as a church. Jesus outlined the mission of his church in Matthew 28, saying, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything that I have taught you."

There are four aspects I would like to draw out for you from this mission Christ has given us: First is the word "Go." We are to be a church which passionately pursues the lost. It means that we cannot just wait for the fish to jump into our boat. As fishers of men, we must be about the business of preparing our nets and letting them down into the water. We must go and find the hungry fish.

Secondly, we are to "make disciples of all peoples." It is our mission to reach the lost and bring them into the church, baptizing them and teaching them. This is the task of evangelism, of sharing the good news with those who are receptive and inviting them to be part of God's kingdom.

Thirdly, making disciples also means that those who are members of Christ's body are nurtured and edified so they become effective in making disciples.

Finally, we are also called to reach out beyond our parish. The call to "go" includes making disciples of "all nations." The final mission of our congregation is to multiply itself. We are to see that Christ's church is established not just in our community, but in other places as well. As the bride of Christ, our relationship with Christ, our Lord is meant to result in babies. One example of this is the Korean ministry that was started a dozen years ago. As a great commission church, I believe it is time that we begin to think about having another baby. Granted, there is a lot of preparation and work that needs to go into giving birth to a new ministry and a new church. However, we all know that is the reason for which we exist and therefore we cannot afford not to do so. The time is short. The call is urgent. It is time for us to fish for men.

We are going to have a baby! That's right. We are going to have a baby. I am sure about this because of what I have seen happening here over the past year. We have had tremendous opportunities for reaching out into our community. The response to the gospel has been very favourable. Those of you who have attended our Friday evening Family Bible Fellowship know what I am talking about. It is time for us to start thinking about having a baby. It is time for us to become excited about this and to prepare ourselves. Following the voter's assembly this afternoon, we are going to have a luncheon at the parsonage when we will look at what has been happening and consider where God is leading us in our ministry of reaching out to our community. I invite all of you who would like to be part of this ministry to join us for lunch.

Next week Tingyu and I will be attending a conference where we will be learning how to prepare ourselves for this very task. Tingyu is being sent there through St. Luke Lutheran Church in North York because they want her to help them begin a Chinese ministry at their church. I was invited to attend as her spouse so I can be understanding and supportive of her efforts. But I am also attending, because I believe that our congregation is ready to start thinking about having a baby. It is my intention to come back from this conference with the tools we need to prepare ourselves to become effective fishers of men.

Yes, it is time for us to see ourselves as fishers of men. It is time for us to become excited about what God is calling us to do as his church and his bride, for we are going to have a baby!