I vividly remember the first time I went fishing, I think I was about five. One of my grandfather’s best friends, Tom, took me down to a small pond in rural Georgia, and he taught me how to bait a hook, cast a line, reel in the fish, and later, how to clean the fish to feed our family. Have any of you been fishing? Can you tell me one thing you learned?
[Take responses from the congregation]
Excellent! I want you to keep those things in mind as we go on from here. One thing I think is fascinating about fishing, is that Jesus thought it was a great metaphor for helping people to find the wholeness of meaning, joy and gratitude that is a life in relationship with Him. Especially as we think about our lives and our church in the wake of the pandemic, Jesus and Paul have a lot to teach us.
Lesson #1: Jesus comes to us where we spend our time. In our passage from Luke today, we see Jesus is preaching and teaching, and the crowds are making it harder and more distracting, because of the crowds. So what does Jesus do? He sees some fishing boats which are pulled up after a night’s fishing and the fishermen who are winding down for the day, and Jesus asks Simon if he can use his boat. In the same way, Jesus comes to us where we spend our days. Are you shopping? Are you working? Are you going on a play date, or spending time at your kids’ game? Jesus is not with us just on Sunday morning…Jesus comes to us where we are, in the middle of all we are doing, and climbs into the boat with us.
Lesson #2: Jesus knows where the abundant life is. The thing that blows me away about Jesus in this story, is that He knows where the fish are. Simon is the fisherman—and he hasn’t caught anything all night. How many of us are running through our days, dealing with hassles, getting things done, and doing the best that we can…and still we feel like something’s missing? How many of us are living from crisis to crisis, climbing the ladder of success for ourselves and our kids, and thinking about what we want to do next…but no matter how much we achieve, no matter how much success we experience, it’s never enough? Like Simon, we have been fishing all night where we know how to fish, and we have come up empty. Jesus knows things. Jesus knows where we can find what will fill our nets and fill our lives—fill them until we have more than our old nets and old lives can handle! Jesus will guide us to where we can find God’s abundance and be filled with meaning, gratitude and joy.
Lesson #3: Jesus takes what we know, and gives us purpose. Jesus says to Simon and Andrew, James and John—“Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching people.” The disciples knew fishing—so Jesus makes it clear, they will still be fishing. If you are an entrepreneur, then Jesus might have you working on a start up. If you are a teacher, then you will have the chance to teach grace. Whatever our gifts and expertise, Jesus knows that they have a purpose in building the Kingdom of God—our “Kingdom purpose.” If you’re working for someone, bring loving care and excellence to what you do. If you’re coaching a little league team, help each kid know they are loved and appreciated. If you’ve got time on your hands, fill it with things that make a difference in the lives of others. Whatever we do, can we demonstrate how much Jesus loves us to the people around us? Jesus takes what we know and gives us purpose.
In the post-pandemic, we may be spending our time in different places with different people than we were. That may mean we have to rethink how Jesus comes into where we are, to re-examine the opportunities Jesus is putting before us, and to consider what it is that we know now and how Jesus can give our lives purpose. The curious thing is that all these “fishing” lessons are ones that work in the church context too!
According to Thom Rainer, one of the trends that accelerated during the pandemic is the growth of people’s participation in the digital world. Our kids and grandkids were zooming. We learned about zooming. But we also learned about YouTube, got hooked into FaceBook, Instagram, TikTok and more. We tried out PeaPod for ordering groceries, bank apps for managing our finances, and UberEats and DoorDash for bringing us dinner. In his book, The Post-Quarantine Church, Thom Rainer points out that—post-pandemic—the church has four different “ponds”—different groups of people—we are working with.
1. Digital only people. Some people will find us online, watch and relate to us online, and never make it into our physical building. There could be lots of reasons for this. Perhaps people are physically or emotionally unable to be here, or perhaps they are geographically distant. Rainer asks, “How will churches reach and minister to these people?” (p. 31)
2. Digitally transitioning people. Rainer defines this group as “mostly connected to the church digitally…[but] somewhat open to connecting in person.”(p. 32) For this bunch, we want to create pathways and encouragement to come in person when they can or want to.
3. Dual citizens. Rainer says, “They are connected to your congregation both digitally and in person.”(p. 32) A dual citizen may come in person for special occasions and then worship online most of the time, or come in person most of the time, and pick up a service online when they are traveling. What are the ways we can increase connectivity, so they can feel connected even when apart…and want to be.
4. In person only. This group is small, and shrinking. Most people have figured out—or have family who have figured out—how to get connected online. We still need to find ways to reach and minister to these people who are increasingly isolated from the growing digital world.
In many ways the digital world is as mysterious to us as the disciples found underwater life—Where are the fish? What kind of bait do we use? How are we going to bring them in? How are we going to help Jesus change their lives too? In other ways, we know what we would look for—a good experience, a loving connection, and the hope that only Jesus can bring. Rainer concludes, “We know that the world is both digital and physical. For that reason alone, our churches must respond to both. And though the ways we reach these two mission fields will vary and change, it is imperative that we do something and do it well. Waiting is not an option.”(p. 38)
The interesting thing about the fishing that I did with Tom was that I learned that you can only catch the kind of fish that lives in that pond. The little pond he took me to, I caught lots of tasty bluegill, and if I had gotten really lucky, I might have caught a bass, or maybe even a catfish. In our lives, we have different “ponds”—different social circles—that we are in. And now we have this great, big digital world we as a church have access to. All the things that make us a great church—worship, teaching, fellowship and serving—those are things we have the chance to not only do in person, but to figure out digitally. With our church, we are blessed with a warm sense of community around Jesus Christ in person, and now we have this great opportunity to help create the same warm, Jesus-centered sense of community with folks who have a digital presence with us. It’s as if Jesus has gotten into the boat with us, and said to us, “Put your nets into the internet for a catch.” We cannot see the fish, but if we stay focused on worshiping God, loving people and sharing the grace of Jesus Christ—we know God’s abundance is just around the corner!