Cast Your Net Again!
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| "The Second Miraculous Draught of Fish" by James Tissot |
As day was breaking,
Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered Him, “No.”
He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find
some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of
the quantity of fish (John 21:4-6).
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ!
This last week, both of our LC-MS seminaries
held their call services for new candidates in the ministry. I’m pleased to
announce that Jesse Baker received a call to Zion Lutheran Church in Hardwick,
MN. We thank God for providing a pastor for Zion and we look forward to working
with him in our Pipestone Circuit and Minnesota South District.
Call days tend to get pastors reminiscing and/or
commiserating about their own call night. An almost universal disappointment
seems to be the sermon for the placement service. I suspect that this might be
in part because pastors—especially those just coming out of the seminary—tend
to be the sharpest critics. It may also be that the preacher realizes this may
be his only chance to straighten out these novices before they get in the
congregation, and so the sermons tend to be long and heavy on the Law. It might
also have something to do with fact that the intended audience of these sermons
is more interested in finding out where they will be going to spend their next
few years of life and ministry than anything else at this point. Candidates for
the ministry probably don’t listen to the sermon on call night much better than
the couple listens to the sermon in their wedding service.
This prompted one pastor, Rev. William Cwirla,
to offer his own advice for the sermon on call night.
Simple. 10 minutes max. Basic outline:
1.
You’re
incompetent.
2.
Christ
is your competence.
3.
Go
where you’re sent; Christ will bless you.
It’s a good suggestion.
A fitting outline for candidate placement services and for impromptu breakfasts
at the beach and for Divine Service in little congregations in small towns in
southwest Minnesota.
In last week’s text, John wrote what seemed to
be the perfect ending for his Gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are
written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and
that by believing you might have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Perfect
conclusion, end of story.
But then, curiously enough, there’s one more
chapter in John’s Gospel, our text for today. The seven disciples seem to be
asking themselves, “What are we going to do now?” Peter says, “I’m going
fishing.” It doesn’t take much coaxing to get the others to join him. After
all, they are in Galilee, waiting for the Lord to come as He had said He would.
They’re right next to big lake on which most of them had made a living before
being called by Jesus. So, they set out by boat for a customary night of
fishing. But they don’t catch anything. As my Uncle Warren would say, “They got
skunked!”
Just as the day was breaking, Jesus comes and
stands on the shore. He calls out to them much like one fisherman might call
out to other fishermen. “Hey guys, you haven’t caught anything to eat, have
you?” “No,” they answer, but they haven’t caught on yet that it is Jesus. When
Jesus tells them to cast their net out again, this time on the right side of
the boat, they do so without much thought of how silly this advice is to
experienced fishermen who have worked these waters all their life, the whole
last night without any success, or about whom it is who is telling them to do
so.
But when the catch is so big they can’t haul
the net into the boat, their attention turns back to the man on the shore.
John, perhaps remembering that earlier catch of fish when they began to follow
Jesus, says to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”
Peter wastes no time. He puts on His outer
garment and throws himself into the sea so he can swim to the beach ahead of
the rest. This is a big change! Do you remember what Peter did the last time
Jesus enabled the disciples to make a great catch? Peter said, “Depart from me,
for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” That was the natural reaction of a man who had
not yet seen the cross, one who had not experienced Jesus’ forgiveness in the
shadow of that cross.
How different it is this time! Peter jumps into
the water. He can’t wait to be near Jesus. This is the natural reaction of
those who have believed in the cross and resurrection. See, by this time,
Easter has happened. Believing in the crucified and risen Christ creates a
completely new nature. Now inside is a person who knows he’s forgiven, loved by
God. The new person inside knows he’s going to be with God forever in
heaven—and he can’t wait to be with Him. And because he believes that, there’s
this whole new nature that’s eager to do something for Christ.
So what’s he going to do? We’ll get to that,
but first, let’s finish this story.
The others follow Peter in the boat, dragging
the net full of fish with them about a hundred yards to shore. When the
disciples reach the shore, they see breakfast is already cooking, fish on a bed
of coals and bread to go with it. It appears they are surprised to see the fish
cooking, although no one asks Jesus where He got it. Instead, Jesus tells them take
care of the catch, sort out the “keepers” from the small ones, and He’ll get
breakfast ready.
Peter, ever quick to oblige the Lord, climbs
into the boat. Although the net is too heavy to lift into the boat, he manages
with the help of the others to drag it onto the beach. It is loaded with 153 large
fish but doesn’t tear, unlike the net from the miraculous catch early in Jesus’
ministry.
Imagine how the disciples must have felt as
Jesus invites them to have breakfast with Him. They know it is Jesus, but this
is only His third appearance to them as a group since He died. The resurrected
Lord, who brings forgiveness and life by giving Himself up to death on the
cross, certainly deserves our service. But Jesus is the Host. He serves them
bread and fish for breakfast.
But Jesus still isn’t finished with His
disciples. Although our Gospel stops at verse 14, Jesus does not. He takes
Peter aside and restores him as an apostle. Peter denied Jesus three times; so
three times, Jesus tells him to feed His sheep. Jesus doesn’t just appear to
give fish and daily bread. He appears to give forgiveness, again and again.
After all, that is why He died. And that is why He is risen. And before He
ascends into heaven, Jesus gives His disciples this same ministry of
forgiveness and life and promises to send His Holy Spirit to help them.
It’s possible to recognize a number of
similarities between the disciples in the text and the Church today. For
example: It was after the resurrection and the disciples were together. To
follow Jesus after His resurrection is to be together with other believers.
Not only were they together, but they did what
they knew how to do. That is, they returned to their vocation as fishermen.
Easter doesn’t mean the end of life or work, but rather faithful living and
working in a new light.
Before Jesus entered the story, the disciples
had caught nothing despite working all night. The Church’s work is only
productive insofar as Jesus directs and effects it.
Jesus provided for the disciples. He provided
direction for their fishing. He provided the large catch of fish into their
nets. He provided food for them back on land. Jesus takes the initiative with
us, too. He comes to us in our everyday vocations and graciously provides for
all our needs—bodily and spiritually. In fact, Jesus does everything. Jesus
feeds and equips us for the work He has for us to do.
Jesus is the one who plans and makes it all
happen. The best-laid plans of men are meaningless. Peter says, “I’m going
fishing,” but all night they catch nothing. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
Without Jesus, all our fishing for men is just as fruitless. But then Jesus
says, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” and things go very well.
Jesus is the one who catches fish. We just go where He tells us, casting our
nets again and again.
Many people might say that Trosky or Jasper or
even Pipestone, Minnesota is not the best spot to go fishing for men. Church
growth experts are going to say, if you want to grow the Church you have to
plant churches in growing suburbs and vibrant communities. But our job isn’t to
grow the Church, but rather to be faithful where God has placed us. To cast our
nets again and again at our Saviour’s call. He will provide the growth to His
Church, when and where He wills.
Any good fisherman knows sometimes when you go
fishing, you’re going to get skunked. Not many days in the mission field are
153-large-fish-days! But you won’t catch any fish if you don’t cast out the nets.
And the more often you go out on the lake and cast the nets, the more often
you’re probably going to catch something. Feel like it’s hopeless? Feel like
you’ve been skunked? Take the Lord at His Word. Cast your net again!
As fishers of men, we don’t plan how many
“fish” we’re going to catch. We just go about our business—fishing because
we’re fishers of men, sharing Christ just because we’re Christians, people who
ourselves are loved, forgiven, going to heaven—doing what come naturally. We
leave the results in the hands of the Lord.
Every Christian does this naturally. New
Christians aren’t made by how well the pastor entertains us or how much the
songs stir our emotions. No, new Christians just naturally happen as we seize
the opportunities that God presents to us to share the story of Jesus and His
love.
As a pastor, I get lots of chances to tell
people about Jesus. But the four cases where I actually know God let me have a
hand in making new Christians were the easiest, most natural: when Aimee and I
brought Jessi and Katie and Logan and Marissa to be baptized. We did
essentially nothing. I wasn’t even a pastor yet, so I didn’t even do the
baptizing; but through the water and His Word, Jesus made four new believers.
And as they continued in that Word, they’ve grown in their faith and have
shared it with their friends and acquaintances as well. And now they have their
own children to be baptized and to tell the story of Jesus and His love. See,
for all of us who’ve experienced and believed in Easter, making new Christians
comes quite naturally. Jesus does all the work, even as you go about your daily
vocations.
In the meanwhile, Jesus sustains you with His means
of grace. He feeds you, not a miraculous catch of fish and bread, but with His
Holy Supper, His very body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of your
sins.
So, by God’s grace, may you use the
opportunities God places in your path to share the wonderful story of Jesus and
His love and forgiveness. May you all be fishers of men, willing to cast out
Christ’s Gospel net into the mission field here and abroad, with your personal
confession of faith, with your prayers, and financial support. May you all be
doing what comes naturally—living in the grace of God.
Though you may feel incompetent, Christ is your
competence. Go where you’re planted; Christ will bless you. He will provide for
you. He will feed you. He will sustain you. He will give you strength and life.
For His sake, you are forgiven for all of your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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