Reverend Ref +

EPIPHANY III-A

Let me ask you some questions about Jesus. Do you believe he changed water to wine? Do you believe he gave sight to the blind? Do you believe he walked on water? Do you believe he raised Lazarus from the dead? Do you believe he was resurrected?

All of these things are, in a word, miracles. They are all acts that surpass our understanding. But because we also believe that Jesus was God incarnate, it is easy for us to say, "Sure, why not? I can’t do any of those things, but surely God can."

So why do I have a hard time with today’s gospel passage? Why can’t I accept these miracles as easily as those I just mentioned? What is it about these two miracles that, for me, makes it almost unbelievable?

"What miracles?" you ask. Why, the miracle of immediacy and the miracle of acceptance. Let me talk about the miracle of immediacy first. Here’s Jesus walking on the shore of the lake, and he says, "Hey! Simon. Andrew. Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed.

And then a short distance later, he says, "Hey! James. John. Come with us." And immediately they get out of their boat, leave their nets and dad behind, and follow Jesus.
What is wrong with this picture? What’s wrong is me. All of those other miracles I mentioned are, well, easy. Water to wine, walking on water, raising from the dead. All of them are Godly acts. But this one – in this one the onus is on the men being called to immediately follow. They just up and leave.

What’s wrong is that this is a very impractical act for my practical mind to grasp. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything impractical in my life. Although one could say that dragging my family off to seminary was just that; but even then it was a carefully considered decision. So this whole business of immediately is hard for me to swallow.

That’s the first miracle. The second miracle, which is less difficult to accept but more difficult to put into practice, is the miracle of acceptance. The interesting thing about the call of Simon and Andrew, and James and John, is that Jesus met them where they were. They didn’t have to go on a pilgrimage, climb a mountain, or survive critical examinations by a first century COM. Jesus came to them, in their environment, caught their attention, and said, "Follow me." And they did.

My favorite professorial saying in seminary was, "It’s more complicated than that." It’s not only more complicated, but it’s deeper than you might first think. Here’s where I’m going with this.
Jesus called Simon and Andrew as they were casting their net. "I will make you fish for people," he says. Fishing is equated with inviting. When you fish, all you can do is cast your net or your line in an attempt to bring in some fish. When you invite, all you can do is ask people to come with you and check it out; whatever "it" is. The first point of our mission statement is to Invite. We are asking people to come check us out. We are fishing.

Look at the lives of Andrew and Simon Peter, based on what little information we have. Andrew is called ‘the bringer.’ Where you really see this is over in the Gospel of John. It is there that we hear of Andrew bringing his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. It is there that we hear about Andrew bringing the boy with the loaves and fish. And it is there that we hear about his involvement with the Greeks who want to meet Jesus.

Simon Peter is also a bringer. Jesus sets him up as head of the church. As the first official bishop of the church, Peter cast his net far and wide in an effort to bring people into the church and into the family of God. Jesus took the existing talents of these two men and redirected their focus towards the kingdom of God rather than on this world.

And then there’s James and John. We don’t know much about James. The tradition about his brother, however, holds that this is the same John who wrote the gospel, three letters and Revelation. And, since my New Testament professor isn't here, and this is my sermon, we'll go with that today. So if that’s true, then look at how that meshes with his call from Jesus.

John was in a boat mending his nets. Have you ever mended anything? It takes time, effort and patience. There is no quick fix. And the goal of mending something is to repair some damage; to make it whole again. To strengthen what was weak and torn.

Granted, we only have these five documents to go by, but John’s writings put forth the ideal of peace, unity and love better than any other writings in the New Testament. A professor of mine once said that if the passage talks about love, it’s most likely from John.

The John of the New Testament tries to mend the early Christian communities of their conflict. He tries to repair the internal damage with love. The same John who lovingly cared for his nets cared for the early church. Again, Jesus took his existing talents and personality and redirected his focus.

Jesus didn’t require any of them to change their basic makeup. In this gospel story we can see what Jesus saw. We can see that each person called has a special gift that can be used to benefit the kingdom of heaven. We can know that Jesus sees deeper than we might, and that what we see as mundane, he sees as extraordinary. And this is the second point of our mission statement, to include. This is exactly what Jesus did. He included both people and their talents in his mission. Didn't try to change them, just re-direct them.

The miracle of this story is twofold. First, once we realize that Jesus is calling us, we really do follow immediately. Once I accepted the fact that God really was calling me to the priesthood, I did move immediately to follow. And second, Jesus looks deeper than our exterior to our true nature and sees how that can benefit the kingdom. So as we move forward, as we look to invite and include people in our Christian community, let’s understand two things: first, fishing doesn’t equate catching, and second, let’s look for those "hidden" talents that might not be so hidden after all.

We are called to fish. We are called to invite. And when people decide to accept that invitation, they will follow immediately. We are also called to include. So rather than looking for programs to fit them into, let's look at what talents they bring and allow them to use that for the benefit of the kingdom.