January 27, 2008
Epiphany III

GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 4:17?25 [Jesus calls the disciples.]

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, gRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.h

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, gFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.h Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

When we encounter Jesus, our lives are changed. We are blessed.

Jesus blessed the lives of those whom he encountered. Our Gospel lesson for today shows how Jesus first blessed the 4 fishermen and then the thousands of people in the Galilee area. He taught in the synagogues. He preached the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and he healed every disease and sickness among the people. The spiritual and physical things of God entered into the daily lives of the people as they were healed and given the comfort and joy of the Gospel.

Jesus comes into our lives and blesses us, too. It starts with a call: gCome, follow me.h When we follow Jesus we go where he goes and do what he does. We learn to be like him. In other words, we become his disciples. The 4 fishermen followed Jesus and became active in the preaching, teaching, and healing ministry of Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we become active in the same ministry. We witness. Even if we may not be able to heal sickness, through the Gospel Word we can give strength and hope.

When Jesus called the fishermen he said, gFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.h They would be gathering people into the kingdom of God. And so, fishing has become a standard parable for doing evangelism in the church. Evangelism in the narrow sense of the word, means bringing new people into the church. Although the mission of the church is very broad and includes the whole work of the church, the word gmissionsh is used in the narrow sense of meaning bringing new people into the church. So we have a gfishinf mission.h It is like catching fish and bringing them into the boat. It is like catching people and bringing them into the kingdom of God. Not only the first 12 disciples, but all Christians share in this mission. All Christians are called by Jesus, and they follow Jesus as he proclaims the Kingdom of God. In other words, all Christians are given the work of evangelism, of spreading the Good News and inviting people to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Now when some people hear the church say that they must do evangelism, they get scarred. They are afraid to talk about Jesus and invite people to church. There are some good reasons for this fear. Maybe in the past their invitation has been refused and they are afraid of being personally rejected again. Maybe they were laughed at. Maybe someone got angry at them. Maybe there was some sort of mild persecution or hassle or harassment. On a television news program last week, a man said that he was not harassed for being a Christian as such, but rather for being greligious.h We are not always swimming in the same pond of sin as others. When we do not accept other peoplefs sinful life styles, it can make evangelism difficult. When it comes to doing Evangelism, some people think they are too busy, or theyfd rather spend their time doing something else. Actually, Evangelism takes a lot of patience, perseverance, wisdom, training and Bible knowledge. But it is simple enough for a child to say simply, gJesus loves you.h

But it might be more than fear or laziness. It could be unfaith. Maybe we have forgotten the call of Jesus. gFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.h Maybe we have forgotten our Baptism. In Baptism Jesus brings us out of the seas of sin and death and changes us so that we can breathe the fresh air in Godfs kingdom. In Baptism, we are made a part of this gfishinf mission.h He has gfished us uph out of the baptism water. He called us and gave us the name of gChristian.h He put the sign of the cross upon us to show that we have been saved by his death and resurrection. We see in the work of Jesus how dangerous evangelism can be. He gave his life when he proclaimed the Good New that our sins are forgiven. His resurrection gives us new life.

Jesus said, gFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.h We usually think of one person with one rod and line going out to catch one fish at a time. It can be lonely, boring, and often discouraging. I know, because I am a very poor fisherman. But Jesus was talking to professional fishermen of Lake Galilee. They worked together as a team using nets. And with the direction of the Lord, they were able to catch many fish. Without the Lordfs aid, in the New Testament, Peter never caught a single fish. Evangelism is the same. Without the work of the Holy Sprit working faith in the heart of people, no one can be saved. The disciples worked as a team to catch fish, and they worked as a team to preach the Gospel. For example, in Hawaii there is a hula dance song about the gHukilau.h The ghukilauh is a type of party where a group of people go off-shore with a long net, then slowly walk to the beach, collecting many fish in the net. Then there is a sort of barbecue party to celebrate the big catch. This is an excellent evangelism style. People are working together to cast out the nets and pull them in. People are working together to proclaim the Gospel and to invite people to church. It is no longer a scary, lonely job.

Next Sunday we will have our church annual convention. We will talk about doing the mission of the church. The ghukilauh evangelism technique would be a good way to work as a church. We work together in planning this gfishinf missionh because this is how Jesus called the disciples and trained them. And when we work together in this we remember that Jesus is always with us. The Holy Spirit is guiding us. We cast our nets when we live the Gospel. The bait is the promise and forgiveness and love of Jesus.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church