For those who stress how dependent Christians should be on the teachings of Jesus, it may be timely to remind ourselves that Jesus is not recorded as being a one man band. As Mark recorded it, Jesus never set out to be the sole act. He certainly presented gospel as good news – but the good news had an essential place for partners in the enterprise and it was not confined by the Temple walls. It was good news, not because Jesus could say some clever words, but rather because something was set in place whereby individuals and even the community might start to be transformed and their values encouraged to grow.
Gospel has no value left just as past history. Although it may be hard to admit, it is also worth reminding ourselves our gospel only performs in each generation about as well as the current batch of disciples allow it to perform.
If many in our community find what we offer is largely irrelevant to their daily life, perhaps we, as the modern day interpreters of Gospel might look to our current witness before looking elsewhere for someone to blame.
Unfortunately, or perhaps precisely because it is such a striking simile, this morning’s gospel call of the disciples to become fishers of men is possibly both the most famous – as well as the most misunderstood call to mission in the history of the Christian Church.
At its most simplistic it sounds a bit like a mission to build numbers. Don’t catch fish – treat people like fish – hook them, net them, catch them with baited words – fill the pews and when the pews are full, build another bigger church and fill that too. I am sure that is what the unfortunately misunderstood word “evangelism” has come to mean for whole branches of the Church. And yet if you listen carefully, that is not what Jesus said – and nor does it correspond with what actually happened with the disciples. That is simply not what Jesus taught them to do.
And did they need teaching? To a non fisherman, being offered fishing lessons probably seems completely superfluous. Throw a net into the water you catch fish. Bait a hook and throw it into the water, you catch a fish.
What is there to learn?
As any real fisherman will tell you, even when fishing only for fish, there is a great deal to learn. The seine fishermen in Jesus time had to learn to fish at night when the nets would be harder for the fish to see – and when the fish might be attracted to a light in the boat. Certain types of fish only feed at certain times and are attracted to very specific bait. Some types of fish are found at specific depths and even at specific temperatures and at specific times of the year. These days it is even more of a science. For example the modern Tuna fishermen now use sea surface temperature maps generated from satellites to identify the warm patches where the tuna congregate. And that is only one of a host of things a fisherman needs to know.
It may well have a lot more meaning then for a fisherman to be asked to learn a new way of fishing.
“Come with me and I will show you how to be fishers of men (sic)”. In Mark’s probably reconstructed memory, that was what Jesus was saying. But that doesn’t mean simply preach at those we might invite. We have to be concerned for them as individuals, and these days we would mean men and women and note they are individuals facing unique situations, rather than as scalps or trophies.
For Jesus it was never going to be easy to use these fishermen for the tasks of the kingdom.
We read in the gospels that these disciples were wilful, they were slow to understand and at times they were not in tune with what Jesus was trying to accomplish. Remind you of any congregation you know? On the other hand as they lived and worked with Jesus, they seemed gradually to wake up to what it was that Jesus was asking them to do. Of course they had doubts, and you might wonder why this did not cause Jesus to give up on them. But here is a thought. Perhaps it was in fact that these doubts justified their selection because doubts are essential to honest thinking. As Tennyson wrote in his poem dedicated to his late friend, Arthur Hallam, In Memoriam A. H. H.:
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
When I hear people try to turn Jesus’ teaching into simple formula recitations leaving no room for thought or doubt, I worry that they may overlook the way Jesus himself approached others.
Jesus showed by his actions he was not interested in reacting to labels. He showed by illustration and actions that the so called heretics of his day, the Samaritans, should be treated as individuals and that if for example the despised Samaritans showed compassion, this was to be genuinely valued. His disciples are called to share these same attitudes in living out their mission. Today the fact that some modern-day, self-claimed disciples, appear to be judging and even rejecting others in terms of labels like “Muslims” or “homosexuals” suggests that they may not be exactly on message.
Jesus showed by his actions he was more interested in the spirit of the law than the detail.
Presumably his followers also have to see that a concern for justice is part of what we now call the Christian message. We can for instance see that since Jesus showed a real focus on concern for the poor, that we who claim to follow Jesus, but who just who happen by accident of birth and opportunity to be living in the rich West, we also need to learn to be awake to the injustices visited on the poor.
Those called to follow Jesus in his day found themselves with unexpected responsibilities, constantly encountering what we would now call situational ethics. What for example should one do when the institutional church puts its own wealth ahead of its duty to the people? Jesus reportedly cleared the temple.
What should one do when ostentatious display of religious status gets emphasized ahead of service? Jesus risks his own safety and calls it like it is.
What should one do when religious custom identifies the untouchable leper? Jesus reaches out and touches with the healing hand.
Each of these actions tell others about the way he is inviting others to follow.
Yet the thing about situational ethics is that situations change. It is now not so much the Pharisees as those Church leaders with titles like Reverend or pastor or parish steward or Tele-evangelist or even member of the leaders meeting that should now be our focus. With lepers now far less common, today’s untouchables may well be those with COVID. Our modern-day Samaritans may just as easily be those we now call extremist Muslims, or atheists more commonly spitting out what may appear to us to be words of vitriol.
One of the sad things about traditional Christianity is that it is slow to react to change and is often left behind when trade policies or environmental issues are being debated. To win hearts and minds, at a minimum, religion must be seen as relevant to current issues. This is why a strong presence of the church need to be involved in debates like genetic engineering, like climate change, like food production, like the arms race and sustainable energy policies. One current injustice is that many poor nations are being denied access to the new vaccines for COVID. If we care, what are we saying or doing?
Conversely when the Christian World service is among the first to set up aid in a disaster area, or when the current church leader offers Jesus way to the current problems, the Christian message wins the right to be heard. But surely it is not just the Church leaders. What for example are we saying about accepting those displaced by the weapons produced by the wealthy arms dealers from our part of the world. Do we now say we don’t want to offer shelter to the refugees our side have displaced? Do we, as part of our witness for Jesus, support US leadership when they reduce UN aid or withdraw support to the WHO . I suppose we could always pretend not to notice that less aid leaves refugees in desperate conditions. Remember some politicians, who are merely reflecting what the people want, are those who change the policy.
Sometimes the rule book is not the issue, and those who are called to discipleship have to learn that they too have to take a message of responsible action as well as words if their evangelism is to have any integrity. When we hear of someone in the Church helping deal with disasters in the Pacific or helping refugees settle in New Zealand this should remind us that fishing for people is not just preaching at them.
In his day Jesus called a cross-section of men and women to mission. Today the need is probably as strong as ever, since the need for compassion, for justice, for those concerned for their fellows and even a concern for the planet itself is as urgent as ever. The call for those prepared to share the tasks for the kingdom, may have changed in form – and the specific tasks and challenges change year by year and even day by day.
We do well to remember the gospel only has our present generation to depend on – and as for all the generations in the past, the success of this gospel depends on…..well… people like us.
CHANGING THE CATCH PROSPECT: As a “once in a blue moon” fisherman with a very dubious record for success – I was initially impressed by that wonderful TVNZ ad of a fellow turning up on the beach with an expensive battery powered float that towed a fishing line with multiple hooks out beyond the breakers and then returned with a full catch of regulation-sized snapper. A friend of mine, similarly impressed, bought the device – and for several weeks tried his luck. He did land some that were not big enough to keep and on one memorable occasion. the fail safe navigation system let him down and he had to borrow a boat to rescue it from a rock. Unfortunately he did not strike the dreamed jackpot. Perhaps it doesn’t do to assume fishing is a no-brainer?
For those who stress how dependent Christians should be on the teachings of Jesus, it may be timely to remind ourselves that Jesus is not recorded as being a one man band. As Mark recorded it, Jesus never set out to be the sole act. He certainly presented gospel as good news – but the good news had an essential place for partners in the enterprise and it was not confined by the Temple walls. It was good news, not because Jesus could say some clever words, but rather because something was set in place whereby individuals and even the community might start to be transformed and their values encouraged to grow.
Gospel has no value if it is just past history. Although it may be hard to admit, it is also worth reminding ourselves our gospel only performs in each generation about as well as the current batch of disciples allow it to perform.
If many in our community find what we offer is largely irrelevant to their daily life, perhaps we, as the modern day interpreters of Gospel might look to our current witness before looking elsewhere for someone to blame.
Unfortunately, or perhaps precisely because it is such a striking simile, this morning’s gospel call of the disciples to become fishers of men is possibly both the most famous – as well as the most misunderstood call to mission in the history of the Christian Church.
At its most simplistic it sounds a bit like a mission to build numbers. Don’t catch fish – treat people like fish – hook them, net them, catch them with baited words – fill the pews and when the pews are full, build another bigger church and fill that too. I am sure that is what the unfortunately misunderstood word “evangelism” has come to mean for whole branches of the Church. And yet if you listen carefully, that is not what Jesus said – and nor does it correspond with what actually happened with the disciples. That is simply not what Jesus taught them to do.
And did they need teaching? To a non fisherman, being offered fishing lessons probably seems completely superfluous. Throw a net into the water you catch fish. Bait a hook and throw it into the water, you catch a fish.
What is there to learn?
Well, as any real fisherman will tell you, even when fishing only for fish, there is a great deal to learn. The seine fishermen in Jesus time had to learn to fish at night when the nets would be harder for the fish to see – and when the fish might be attracted to a light in the boat. Certain types of fish only feed at certain times and are attracted to very specific bait. Some types of fish are found at specific depths and even at specific temperatures and at specific times of the year. These days it is even more of a science. For example the modern Tuna fishermen now use sea surface temperature maps generated from satellites to identify the warm patches where the tuna congregate. And that is only one of a host of things a fisherman needs to know
It may well have a lot more meaning then for a fisherman to be asked to learn a new way of fishing.
“Come with me and I will show you how to be fishers of men (sic)”. In Mark’s probably reconstructed memory, that was what Jesus was saying. But that doesn’t mean simply preach at those we might invite. We have to be concerned for them as individuals, and these days we would mean men and women and note they are individuals facing unique situations, rather than as scalps or trophies.
For Jesus it was never going to be easy to use these fishermen for the tasks of the kingdom.
We read in the gospels that these disciples were wilful, they were slow to understand and at times they were not in tune with what Jesus was trying to accomplish. Remind you of any congregation you know? On the other hand as they lived and worked with Jesus, they seemed gradually to wake up to what it was that Jesus was asking them to do. Of course they had doubts, and you might wonder why this did not cause Jesus to give up on them. But here is a thought. Perhaps it was in fact that these doubts justified their selection because doubts are essential to honest thinking. As Tennyson wrote in his poem dedicated to his late friend, Arthur Hallam, In Memoriam A. H. H.:
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
When I hear people try to turn Jesus’ teaching into simple formula recitations leaving no room for thought or doubt, I worry that they may overlook the way Jesus himself approached others.
Jesus showed by his actions he was not interested in reacting to labels. He showed by illustration and actions that the so called heretics of his day, the Samaritans, should be treated as individuals and that if for example the despised Samaritans showed compassion, this was to be genuinely valued. His disciples are called to share these same attitudes in living out their mission. Today the fact that some modern-day, self-claimed disciples, appear to be judging and even rejecting others in terms of labels like “Muslims” or “homosexuals” suggests that they may not be exactly on message.
Jesus showed by his actions he was more interested in the spirit of the law than the detail.
Presumably his followers also have to see that a concern for justice is part of what we now call the Christian message. We can for instance see that since Jesus showed a real focus on concern for the poor, that we who claim to follow Jesus, but who just who happen by accident of birth and opportunity to be living in the rich West, we also need to learn to be awake to the injustices visited on the poor. Those called to follow Jesus in his day found themselves with unexpected responsibilities, constantly encountering what we would now call situational ethics. What for example should one do when the institutional church puts its own wealth ahead of its duty to the people? Jesus reportedly cleared the temple.
What should one do when ostentatious display of religious status gets emphasized ahead of service? Jesus risks his own safety and calls it like it is.
What should one do when religious custom identifies the untouchable leper? Jesus reaches out and touches with the healing hand.
Each of these actions tell others about the way he is inviting others to follow.
Yet the thing about situational ethics is that situations change. It is now not so much the Pharisees as those Church leaders with titles like Reverend or pastor or parish steward or Tele-evangelist or even member of the leaders meeting that should now be our focus. With lepers now far less common, today’s untouchables may well be those with COVID. Our modern-day Samaritans may just as easily be from the ranks of those we now call extremist Muslims, or even atheists more commonly spitting out what may appear to us to be words of vitriol.
One of the sad things about traditional Christianity is that it is slow to react to change and is often left behind when trade policies or environmental issues are being debated. To win hearts and minds, at a minimum, religion must be seen as relevant to current issues. This is why a strong presence of the church need to be involved in debates like genetic engineering, like climate change, like food production, like the arms race and sustainable energy policies. One current injustice is that many poor nations are being denied access to the new vaccines for COVID. If we care, what are we saying or doing?
Conversely when the Christian World service is among the first to set up aid in a disaster area, or when the current church leader offers Jesus way to the current problems, the Christian message wins the right to be heard. But surely it is not just the Church leaders. What for example are we saying about accepting those displaced by the weapons produced by the wealthy arms dealers from our part of the world. Do we now say we don’t want to offer shelter to the refugees our side have displaced? Do we, as part of our witness for Jesus, support US leadership when they reduce UN aid or withdraw support to the WHO . I suppose we could always pretend not to notice that less aid leaves refugees in desperate conditions. Remember some politicians, who are merely reflecting what the people want, are those who change the policy.
Sometimes the rule book is not the issue, and those who are called to discipleship have to learn that they too have to take a message of responsible action as well as words if their evangelism is to have any integrity. When we hear of someone in the Church helping deal with disasters in the Pacific or helping refugees settle in New Zealand this should remind us that fishing for people is not just preaching at them.
In his day Jesus called a cross-section of men and women to mission. Today the need is probably as strong as ever, since the need for compassion, for justice, for those concerned for their fellows and even a concern for the planet itself is as urgent as ever. The call for those prepared to share the tasks for the kingdom, may have changed in form – and the specific tasks and challenges change year by year and even day by day.
We do well to remember the gospel only has our present generation to depend on – and as for all the generations in the past, the success of this gospel depends on…..well… people like us.
Bill Peddie's website 