Not always do the readings appointed for the one year and three year series have the same focus. This week they do. On Sunday we will hear the Parable of the Sower and Jesus’ own explanation of the mystery of God and those who fall away. Today we hear the equally grand mystery of the miraculous catch. Both turn us to the mercy of God alone. There is no reasonable explanation or marketing information to be ascertained to teach us where to plant or where to fish. It is all in God’s wisdom, according to His purpose, and by His mercy.
Our Lord sends His disciples out to fish after they had fished and fished and fished without anything to show for it all. They were tired and weary but who are they to disagree with the Son of God? So they go at the wrong time to the wrong place and use the wrong method only to be nearly drowned in the process because of the great catch of fish. Jesus is not teaching them superior fishing methods but something of the grace and mercy of God. It is not simply a lesson meant for the apostles but for you and me. The Lord knows what He is doing. He does not need nor does He ask for our opinions or our wisdom. He asks us to do what He says.
Everything God does is by nature His plan. He does not act upon whim nor does He act accidentally. It is all His intention. It is accomplished by His power. This is what the disciples learned with the miraculous catch of fish that defied explanation. Then Jesus does the unimaginable. He insists that they will now become His agents and instruments, fishing not for gain but for men so that they may know with them the unending limits of God’s mercy and grace.
On one hand it seems to be a painful reminder that no one enters the kingdom of God by their decision or will but they are caught in God’s net. No one comes to God by their own reason or strength but only by the Holy Spirit. This is Luther’s genius in explaining the third article of the creed. We hear and believe. Faith is not an act of our will but of God’s, His gracious gift by the power of His Spirit working through His Word and Sacraments. It is not that we do nothing – we are fishers of men, after all, but we do not make people believe or fill the net. God does that. He keeps His promises. He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies everyone who will be saved. He keeps us from being snatched out of His hand. He delivers the faithful to the Father at the appointed day. Do you believe this?
That’s what the disciples learned from that little fishing expedition – to believe.
Those who belong to the Lord are not lured into the kingdom. They are not caught by the skill of the angler or the knowledge of the secret holes where the big ones hide under the surface of the waters. This is not serene mountain stream and a well fought fight with a trout. Instead, this is the surprise of a net that unfolds the unsuspecting fish. They care caught in the violent act of a net suddenly stealing them from their old life and marking who they belong to. Nets catch all kinds. Good and bad, big and small, the ones deemed valuable and those deemed to be throw away. Like the different soils of the parable of the sower, it is not about the soil or the lure but solely about the mercy of God.
The net is the voice of God, spoken to us in Scripture and through us to others. God speaks and we know Him. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The Good Shepherd calls us by name. We all know this. But how this works is a surprise. The Church is not a group of people who share common interests or values or hobbies or anything like that. The Church is as diverse as that net holding the miraculous catch. What we have in common is simply that we belong to the Lord. There is no homogenous principle in the Church. There is only the net reaching out into the world and bringing back all kinds for the Lord and by His power. It surprises the fish and even the fishermen.
It can be dangerous to fish for men. The boat creaks and groans under the weight of it all and sometimes it feels like it is all about to drown the fishermen. But do not fear. Even sinners who find a home in God’s Church have a work to do for the sake of the Lord and His kingdom. Peter admits this when he tells the Lord to leave him alone because he is an unworthy sinner. Aren’t we all? Later Peter will admit with the rest of them that he has given up everything for Jesus – isn’t that enough? But that is the point. It is not what we give or give up or what we do or fail to do that makes the Kingdom grow. It is all God’s doing and it is His grace to call us to join Him in this calling.
We will all want to jump ship from time to time. We will all try to put the Lord off by reminding Him we are just sinners. The Lord knows all of this. We are kept not by our own wills but by the net and the boat, the voice of the Gospel and the ship of the Church. We are not set free to go our own way but kept in Him who is the Way, through the Word and Sacraments. There will always be a cost to discipleship and part of it is the illusion of freedom this world offers. It is never easy. Life in Christ is not easy and it is not the good life of our dreams.
But where else can we go? Peter asks for all of us: Who else has the Word of life? We live not by reasoned understanding of God’s ways or by consent to them but by God’s grace alone, by God’s mercy alone. That is also how the Church grows. Thanks be to God that the Lord still rules His Church, still catches unworthy sinners into His net of forgiveness and new life, and still calls unworthy people to fish for men. It is not our skill that commends us to Him but His grace that we commend to the world. His Word will not return empty but will always bring forth the miraculous catch. Look around. It brought you and me to the Kingdom; it will continue to catch and keep the caught until He ends it at the last day. Thanks be to God!
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