Do you wanna go fishin?

      This Gospel always makes me think about going fishing.  Hey, after Mass, you wanna go fishin?

     Speaking of fishing, there’s this Church in rural North Alabama that had 2 deacons that loved to fish; they went almost every week, weather permitting.  Well, I’ll bet you didn’t know this, but Holy Spirit wasn’t Father Vincent’s first assignment after ordination.  No, he was first assigned to that rural parish with the deacons.  Wanting to “fit in” at the parish, one day he asked the deacons if he could go fishing with them.  “Sure!” they said.  So they set out for "their spot" in a nearby river where they always go to fish.  After a couple of hours, they decide it's time for lunch and the deacons tell Father Vincent that there’s a nice spot over on the river bank to eat.   So, the first deacon reels in his line, sets his pole down in the boat, picks up the bag of sandwiches, steps out of the boat, and walks across the water and sits down on the bank. Father Vincent almost drops his cell phone in the water he’s so shocked!  Now the other deacon sets his pole down, steps out of the boat, and walks across the water over to the bank and sits down.  Father’s jaw drops down to his feet, his eyes get as big as saucers, ... and he reasons:  "Ok, so these deacons are holy men, that's true--but they're just deacons; I'm a priest--I'm certainly holier than they are!  Surely this means that I can walk on water, too.   So, he sets his pole down, stands up, steps out of the boat, and with a big splash, goes straight to the bottom of the river! ... The first deacon looks over at the second and says: “we really should have told him where the rocks are.”

     What exactly does it mean to “go fishing?”  Well, for most of us, it means to get away from the world, on a boat or on a shoreline, far away from people, work, or any obligations.  When we fish, we escape from the realities that we find so exhausting.  We just want some peace and quiet; we just want some time to relax.  You can see this by the method we use to catch the fish.  First of all, we use one fishing pole, one fishing line, and one hook—not exactly an efficient use of time or resources.  Secondly, the type of fishing that we do is on some quiet creek bank, or from a boat in a pond, stream or river.  Thirdly, it is usually in a boat that seats just a couple of people.  The whole atmosphere is designed to make us feel comfortable and stress-free.  We catch one fish at a time; one minute, hour, or day at a time.
     In today’s Gospel, we hear about a very different type of fishing.  The fishing in the time of Christ was done using large, burdensome nets.  It was not done alone, but usually involved cooperation among a group of people working together.  The fishermen had to haul the boats without trailers, drag the nets, and bring the fish into their small boats without a pulley system. Once the fish were caught, they had to be salted, and then taken to market.  Finally, the nets and boats had to be repaired of any damage sustained.  In other words, fishing was hard work!  It was an operation geared toward bringing in as many fish as quickly as they could.  It wasn’t done to relax, it was done to EAT.  It was plain old manual labor, and it demanded total commitment by all involved in order to be successful.
     It is into the lives of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John that we see Jesus appear.  This man Jesus approaches, and says to these hard working fishermen, “Come, follow me.  I will make you fishers of men.”  There are no inspiring speeches accompanying this request; no healings, no mighty acts, no demonstrations of power designed toward impressing or convincing them to go with him.  Jesus seeks out these men and he speaks simply, but as the One who has authority.  He wants them to be...fishers of men.  ?    

     To be a fisher of fish is hard enough, but to be a fisher of people...how do you do that?  First of all, where do you find a net big enough to catch all of these people?  Seriously; what kind of net can bring people into one place like the nets of Peter, Andrew, James and John did with fish?  What type of net can “catch” large numbers of people like their nets catch large numbers of fish?  Well, the answer is...that “net” is Jesus, the Word of God.  It is “the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us,” who goes and seeks out the first four Apostles.  There’s your net.  It’s Jesus, who simply but personally calls them to follow him.  Do Peter, Andrew, James, and John say anything in response to Jesus’ call?   No, they don’t utter a word.   They “speak” with their actions.  They get up immediately, St. Matthew tells us, and they leave their jobs, their families, their whole lives behind and follow Jesus. This act...speaks volumes.                                     

     These 4 Apostles responded to Jesus’ invitation and became fishers of men.  Do we respond the same way?  Jesus calls us just like he called his disciples 2000 years ago.  Do we say “yes” to Jesus by our actions; by the way we live our lives each day?  What the Apostles did—what we are called to do--is not the safety and serenity of one pole, one line, one hook by a quiet pond, stream, or river.  It is very real.  It is very public.  And sometimes, it is very hard. 

     Yesterday, the Church celebrated the feast of the conversion of St. Paul.  As you recall, one day Paul, then called Saul, was on his way to Damascus to capture Christians and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem.  On the road, he is blinded by a bright light, and knocked to the ground.  He hears a voice that says:  Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?  The voice is Jesus.  Jesus sends Paul to Damascus, not to persecute, but to convert, be baptized, and then to bring Gentiles to him.  This is a very different call than the personal, simple call of Jesus to his first 4 Apostles.  Here, the risen Jesus does demonstrate his power by blinding Paul...to make him see: to make him see the truth, and to then bring that truth to others.  Most of us do not experience this type of call; ours is more like the quiet, simple request of Jesus to his first 4 Apostles; only we don’t hear it with our ears from a man standing in front of us, we hear it in our hearts from our Savior in heaven.

                   Jesus calls us, not only to follow him, but also to bring others to him, no matter how difficult the journey.  The call to be fishers of people is not an easy one to answer, but answer it we must.  Just like with his Apostles, and later with St. Paul, Jesus is calling us to follow him, and to spread the Good News to the world.  And take note:  it’s a two-part call.  It’s not enough just to follow him—Jesus asks us to spread his Word and bring others to him.  We should do so for no other reason than for the love of Jesus, who is our Savior and Lord.  Let’s enter this new year with a renewed sense of mission, and of purpose, so we can spread the Good News of Christ to those we meet every day, and ask them to: “Come, follow him.” 

     You know, at the end of Mass, after the final blessing, comes the Dismissal.  The Deacon has 4 different options that he may choose from.  I always say:  “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.”  It’s not just a way to end Mass, it’s our charge, our mission.  When we leave this church, we must not leave Jesus behind.  Or, we must not bring him with us, but keep him to ourselves.  We are called to spread the Gospel of Christ to everyone we meet.  We are all called to be disciples of Christ.

    And so I ask you again:  After mass, you wanna go fishin?