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January 23, 2005; The Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year A
    The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector

I had a dream when I entered seminary of one day returning to my home parish to be there rector.  But when I graduated and returned to my home town I found that I people remembered me for who I was before seminary.  The situation was very awkward to say the least.  There I was a newly ordained priest out to save the world, and all my friends wanted to talk about were old times. 

Things were not going well for Jesus.  He had just passed the equivalent of the church’s General Ordination Exam by overcoming Satan’s temptations in the wilderness and returned home to Nazareth.  While his mom and friends were excited, they didn’t know quite what to make of Jesus.  He was not the same boy that ran through the streets and played in their back yards.  Something had happened to him while he was gone.  Rather than returning to his dad’s carpentry business, he was found preaching and teaching wherever there was a group of people. 

Then came the news that John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod for meddling in his family affairs.  This really set Jesus back.  This newly anointed minister was so full of enthusiasm, yet his family and friends now seemed to be distancing themselves from him.  And his cousin, John was setting in prison because he could not keep his mouth shut about the need to repent because of the arrival of the Messiah.

Jesus decided that he needed some time to himself so he left Nazareth and made his way to Capernaum by the Sea if Galilee.  Ah, to bask in the sun on the Sea of Galilee, now that would have been a place to have a retreat.  Yet Jesus did not go to Capernaum to retreat into himself or escape his responsibility.  Instead he was to be found on the street corners and in the synagogue preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Not a very original message if you remember.   This was the theme of John the Baptist’s preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,”[i] on the banks of the Jordan River.  But as we know, Jesus’ mission and ministry were quite different from John the Baptist.  John was the forerunner, a prophet who called people to get ready for the breaking forth of God into this world.

The cry to “repent” was not new with Jesus or John the Baptist, but was the standard call of the Hebrew prophets for centuries.  Repent, literally it means to change one’s mind, to change the direction of your life, get a new orientation for your way of living.

As Jesus strolled along the Sea of Galilee he saw two fishermen, Peter and Andrew, casting their net into the water.  He called to them, “”Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  Matthew states that, “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”  Wow!  What a response.  Jesus tried it again to two other men, James and John, and had the same response.  That we could have such a response when we invite people to church today.  Imagine inviting someone to come to church and they drop everything they are doing and say lets go.

“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  Well, for certain these first disciples were not being called to just follow Jesus or sit at his feet and listen to his teachings.  These men and many more were called to help spread the news of God’s coming kingdom, the kingdom that was initiated in Jesus.

What does in mean to be called to fish for people?  I can think of a few things that it doesn’t mean.  Jesus’ call clearly has to do with evangelism, but it doesn’t mean trapping people by using nets or other gimmicks to get them in the church doors.  It also doesn’t mean taking away their freedom to leave if they so desire.  Throughout Jesus ministry, people were free to accept or reject both himself and his message.  No coercion, no tricks, no arm twisting, no begging and pleading; just the invitation.

To fish for people we first have to get out of the boat, i.e. the church.  Jesus never waited for the people to come to him, he went to them.  I can sit at home and dream of fishing all day long, but I will never catch any fish until I go to the river or lake and start fishing.  Jesus intended for the disciples, and us, to go where the people are and share the news in an active way.

There are several phrases in our baptismal service that capture this activity.  In the Baptismal Covenant we are asked, “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?”[ii]  And, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?”[iii] In the Prayers for the Candidates, we pray, “Send them into the world in witness to your love.”[iv]  Reminders that we are called to act out our faith in our everyday lives – not just in church, but at work, at home, in the store, wherever we find ourselves.

We act out God’s love by making our daily lives an offering to God in whatever we do.  Whether it be as we raise our children, manage our finances, volunteer in the community, or enjoy friendships.  In all of these experiences and more we ask God to help us care for one another and his creation.  In these ways we proclaim the Good News of God in Jesus Christ.  We do this because  Jesus’ calling of his disciples has been passed into our hands by virtue of our baptism, and a sacred trust has been placed upon us.

I don’t believe that we have to stand on the street corners and shout, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  But I do believe that we have a responsibility to first of all live what we believe, and when the opportunity presents itself to let people know that we are Christians.  It’s no big secret that we need to hide.  To realize that God wants us to deliver his message in Benzie County should be no less of a surprise than the fact that Jesus chose fishermen instead of Rabbis to be his first disciples charged with spreading the good news. 

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