February 9, 2025

Epiphany 5, Year C

Luke 5:1-11

Epiphany, Winnipeg

Just a question or two to start:

How did God call you to be a teacher, or a university student? God has called you to that. How did God call you to be an engineer or a machinist, a pharmacist or a nurse? How did God call you to be retired, how did God call you to play soccer, how did God call you to be looking for a job, how did God call you when you lost your job? God calls us to all these things, all these ways that we live our everyday lives.

Second question: How were you called to become a follower of Jesus? Or if that’s not the way you usually talk, how were you called to become a Christian? Or when did Jesus become important to you? Maybe you would start the answer with Baptism, or maybe you wouldn’t. But what brought you there? What brings you here again or for the first time? What brought you to follow Jesus?

If you can’t come up with an answer right away, that’s OK. But keep that question in mind today…

Back to that story from Luke. It’s kind of strange what happens: Simon and his partners have just had what’s probably the most successful day at work that they’ve ever had. They finally get all that fish ashore – enough fish to sink two boats – so there are these boats with all those fish which is really like having all those boats with all that money, but they just walk away from it. They walk away from that miracle and all it could do for them and they follow Jesus to who knows where.

How did you come to be followers of Jesus? Maybe one of those fishers on the shore would answer, “I saw all those fish and I knew this was someone special.” Another might say “I saw all those fish and I thought that if I follow Jesus around I might get rich.” A third one would say “I saw all those fish and they could have made me rich but for some reason, for some reason, I left.” Another one might say, “I don’t know, I just went where Jesus went next.“

But we never hear those answers. The only thing anyone says after all the fish are caught is “Go away, Lord. I am sinful, sinful.” Nobody says “Wow!” Or “Thanks.” Or “Could you do that tomorrow too?” Or even, “Could I come with you?” Simon just says, “Go away. I’m sinful” He has nothing to offer in response to what Jesus has done. All he’s got is a small confession. And some fear. And “Go away.”

But Jesus stays. In response to this fisher with nothing to offer Jesus says, “Don’t keep on being afraid. From now on you’ll catch people.” And then they all leave everything and go with Jesus. They leave behind the biggest catch and boatloads of income and something predictable to follow someone who finally says, “Don’t be afraid.”

You think you’re weak? Don’t be afraid.

You’re a sinner? Don’t be afraid.

You’ve feel like you’ve got nothing to offer in return? I can live with that. Don’t be afraid.

You’re on the right side of the issues? Don’t be afraid.

You’re on the wrong side of the issues? Don’t be afraid.

And Simon and James and John leave behind everything to follow Jesus, who will gather up people wherever he goes: the poor ones, the rich ones, the children and the elders, the ones who are sick and the ones who are well, the ones no one else wants, the ones close to home and the ones who have travelled from so far away, the ones who are devout and the ones who aren’t devoted to much.

They leave behind everything to be with someone who happily hangs around with the ones who have nothing. They leave everything to follow someone who will show them how to fish not for money, or boatloads of stuff, or success or power, but for people. To fish for people, not for their money or their numbers. To fish for all kinds of people, not to fish for everyone who agrees. To fish for people because everyone needs to hear, “Don’t be afraid. Whatever you have or don’t have, whoever you are or are not, don’t be afraid.”

Right now all over North America there are people who are afraid or frustrated or angry. They wear MAGA hats or rainbow colours, they have one of those nasty Trudeau bumper stickers or they hope that anyone but someone whose initials are PP gets elected here. They’re trying to cross the border in an irregular way while someone else works to keep the border tight. And Jesus says to all of them, “Don’t be afraid.”

It doesn’t make it easy to fix everything. But there is this simple thing to remember, and that is that on every side of every big or little disagreement we’ve had in the church or the province or the country or the world are people who Jesus met on the lakeshore, just like he met Simon and James and John that day, and who Jesus called to follow. So now we all travel around together with Jesus. And Jesus has not ever given up on us. And he will not stop saying, “Don’t be afraid. You’re catching people now.” And his net keeps getting bigger, because he will never let our best or worst efforts pull us apart. The net’s big enough to contain the whole church. The net’s big enough to contain the whole world.

Jesus met this gang of people on the shore that day. For some reason, they dropped everything and followed. They gathered up a few more people along the way. And those ones gathered a few more – the nets just get bigger – and they kept catching people and gathering them together, and then one day, there we were: Sitting in a pew at 200 Dalhousie Drive or sitting on the couch in front of an iPad or a smart TV. We’re looking forward to the day or fearing the day, feeling like we’ve got it all or fearing that we’ve got nothing, and Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. Now you’re going to fish for people.” And we leave all our stuff on the shore, and follow Jesus into our lives; we follow the one who gathers up everyone who has nothing; we follow the one who gives us everything. AMEN.