Jesus
says, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men". But
wait a minute - fishermen catch
fish! They try to trick them with maggots or fake flies. They hope
the fish will bite, then they fight them onto land! Or they
scoop them up in a huge net. Out of water, the fish die. Then they
are sold, cooked, eaten. The fisherman gets paid, and the fish
gets, well, dead.
In
fact, in the Old Testament,
fishing is used 4 or 5 times, as a metaphor -- for evil &
judgment! Listen to this: "I will send for many
fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them. ...I
will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because
they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile
images (Jer 16.16); "I will put hooks in your jaws"
God says to Egypt (Ezk 29.4); "The time will surely come when
you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks"
(Amos 4.2);
“You
have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea
creatures that have no ruler.
“The
wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his
net,
“he
gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.” (Hab
1.14-17)
So,
does "Mission" do harm?
IT
CAN if we take this image the wrong way...
(a) fish have to be killed. If we think this is why Jesus used this imagery, then mission can turn into a processes by which people are destroyed, their uniqueness taken from them, they are expected to dress in a certain way, listen to a certain kind of music, and suppress parts of their personality to make them acceptable at polite Sunday services... For example, when we only have room for one type of person, we “kill cultures”. This is what happened when mission and colonialism meant the same thing. But shouldn't people be encouraged to flourish and grow into the unique people God has made them to be?
(b) The image can lead us to develop a type of mission that thinks “we just need to throw out some nets”, or “we trap people with bait.”In France, lots of people think “evangelism” is all about handing out tracts. But to hand out literature without talking to someone and finding out whether this particular tract, or any tract for that matter, is neither helpful or appropriate. We throw out our nets and think we're fishers of men. (c) It would be important for a fisherman to catch a certain amount so he knew he would have enough money. So the “fishing” image can also depersonalize those you were trying to reach, and encourage you to only concentrate on numbers. It can turn people into a means for a Missional end rather than as persons to relate to.Working with the homeless as I did for a few years, yes we want to help as many people of the streets, but if we focused on the “many" and not the individuals we would not have given the help needed and people's recoveries would not have been sustainable. How much more so when we are inviting people into relationship with Jesus.
Why did Jesus use the “Fishermen” image?
So with all this potential misunderstanding, why does Jesus call Peter and Andrew to become “Fishers for people”? Simply this: because fishing was their job. He did with them, exactly what he did with so many people – he built bridges with them by entering their world and speaking in a way they could understand and relate to. Jesus uses "fishing" as a metaphor in conversation with fishermen -- so he is modelling "relational" & incarnational. He might say to Ruth, “Follow me, and we will cook up a feast for people’s souls!” Or to Sandra, or Alan "follow me and I'll make you a musician for my glory" ... He did say to my Mum a few years ago in a prophetic word, that he was giving her some boots for climbing spiritual heights.
And when Jesus called Peter and Andrew to become “Fishers for people” he was assuring them that he could use what they were, and their unique insights into the world.
How would he call you like that, what image would he use?
So let's look a little closer at what being a fishermen meant to Peter and Andrew in their context... which will help us get to the real essence of what Jesus is saying to us...
(a) fish have to be killed. If we think this is why Jesus used this imagery, then mission can turn into a processes by which people are destroyed, their uniqueness taken from them, they are expected to dress in a certain way, listen to a certain kind of music, and suppress parts of their personality to make them acceptable at polite Sunday services... For example, when we only have room for one type of person, we “kill cultures”. This is what happened when mission and colonialism meant the same thing. But shouldn't people be encouraged to flourish and grow into the unique people God has made them to be?
(b) The image can lead us to develop a type of mission that thinks “we just need to throw out some nets”, or “we trap people with bait.”In France, lots of people think “evangelism” is all about handing out tracts. But to hand out literature without talking to someone and finding out whether this particular tract, or any tract for that matter, is neither helpful or appropriate. We throw out our nets and think we're fishers of men. (c) It would be important for a fisherman to catch a certain amount so he knew he would have enough money. So the “fishing” image can also depersonalize those you were trying to reach, and encourage you to only concentrate on numbers. It can turn people into a means for a Missional end rather than as persons to relate to.Working with the homeless as I did for a few years, yes we want to help as many people of the streets, but if we focused on the “many" and not the individuals we would not have given the help needed and people's recoveries would not have been sustainable. How much more so when we are inviting people into relationship with Jesus.
Why did Jesus use the “Fishermen” image?
So with all this potential misunderstanding, why does Jesus call Peter and Andrew to become “Fishers for people”? Simply this: because fishing was their job. He did with them, exactly what he did with so many people – he built bridges with them by entering their world and speaking in a way they could understand and relate to. Jesus uses "fishing" as a metaphor in conversation with fishermen -- so he is modelling "relational" & incarnational. He might say to Ruth, “Follow me, and we will cook up a feast for people’s souls!” Or to Sandra, or Alan "follow me and I'll make you a musician for my glory" ... He did say to my Mum a few years ago in a prophetic word, that he was giving her some boots for climbing spiritual heights.
And when Jesus called Peter and Andrew to become “Fishers for people” he was assuring them that he could use what they were, and their unique insights into the world.
How would he call you like that, what image would he use?
So let's look a little closer at what being a fishermen meant to Peter and Andrew in their context... which will help us get to the real essence of what Jesus is saying to us...
What
positive assets did the fishermen bring to the task of evangelism?
- Perseverance. There were times when they worked all night and caught nothing. They didn't give up. They couldn’t because fishing wasn't a spare-time hobby they could turn to when they felt like it. If they didn't fish, they didn't eat. So they kept going even when things were difficult. There's an idea going round, that we "shouldn't waste our time" on people who are not interested in Jesus. Now we need to respect people's space and not keep on about Jesus; we become boring and people will end up trying to avoid us! But we need to NOT drop people just because they don't respond quickly to Jesus.
- Courage. I respect the guys who go out to catch fish because it takes a lot of physical courage; they face danger & discomfort. Galilee is famous for its fierce and sudden storms , and could be just as dangerous as the open sea. If we are going "fishing" we need to go where the fish are: that may mean we spend time in places we don't find all that pleasant: city streets at 1a.mm. for Street Pastors, for example. Or a workplace where people regularly show open contempt for Christianity and Christians.
- Hard work. They were used to rowing, raising sail, pulling nets of fish, sorting out their catch, keeping nets, sails and the structure of their boat in good order. Mission is a call to hard work.
As
I mentioned we could think that all we need to do is throw out a net
and if we get any bites, we'll be good... but these were professional
fisherman, and there was a little more to it than that. They would
know the sea, which type of fish would be in the shallows and the
deep at what time... and would use different nets and lines for
different types of fish... the “Fishermen”
image shows that we cannot simply approach people with a "one
size fits all" mentality. Not
everyone reacts the same way. People
need different things and to know different things about God...
For
example, our
little church plant has around 10 people, two of whom are just
exploring what it means to be a Christian... One of those is a
Congolese Single mum with a young family and mobility issues, who
needs to know Gods love and care in her situation. The other is a
young French lady who loves talking about philosophy, who needs to
know that you don't have to turn your mind off to believe in God. If
we started talking to the Congolese lady about philosophy she would
feel intimidated. In the same way if we went to the French lady's
house to help her change lightbulbs, she would just be really
confused.
As we mentioned, Jesus talks about fishing for men, with fishermen. Fishing wasn't just something they did, it was their livelihood, it was their identity. For them this would mean a complete change of lifestyle, and of identity. As dad mentioned, being a fisherman was hard work, and they would know from this image that following Jesus would leave no room for complacency. They also would know from days and nights of fishing without any catches that, although they mustn't be complacent, they also cannot be self-reliant... you can do everything right and still not catch any fish. It is the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That should be comforting when we try and things don't go right, that ultimately it doesn't come down to us. We must be faithful fishermen, but it's God who brings in the fish.
So how do we bring all that together and take something home with us?
As we mentioned, Jesus talks about fishing for men, with fishermen. Fishing wasn't just something they did, it was their livelihood, it was their identity. For them this would mean a complete change of lifestyle, and of identity. As dad mentioned, being a fisherman was hard work, and they would know from this image that following Jesus would leave no room for complacency. They also would know from days and nights of fishing without any catches that, although they mustn't be complacent, they also cannot be self-reliant... you can do everything right and still not catch any fish. It is the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That should be comforting when we try and things don't go right, that ultimately it doesn't come down to us. We must be faithful fishermen, but it's God who brings in the fish.
So how do we bring all that together and take something home with us?
Jesus
is announcing the kingdom! (v. 17)
He lives the Kingdom as he heals the sick, drives out the demons and
builds bridges between people and cultures. And he calls us, first of
all, to follow
him. Then, he makes
us fishers for people.
Fishers
for people is something we ARE not something we do. It's not
something Jesus tells
us to do. It's something Jesus promises
to make us.
What
he calls us to do is follow him.
- Follow Jesus into the Kingdom of God
- Follow Jesus & experience an ongoing transformation.
- Follow Jesus you will be made to fish people into the total reality of God's kingdom. Not just into our church!
What
we are can be part of that, when we answer the call of Jesus, simply
to follow Him into his kingdom. And guess what, unless we are
following him, we are never going to be fishers for people. The best
we can hope for is to hook a few people into our organisation! I'd
rather be bringing people into God's Kingdom!
©
November 2016 Gilmour Lilly (Material in black type) and Peter Lilly
(Material in blue
type)
No comments:
Post a Comment