Epiphany V

Fishing with Jesus

Jesus tells the disciples who have fished all night and caught nothing, to put their nets out into the deep water. (Luke 5:1-11) I don't like deep water. Oh, I don't mind it in the swimming pool where you can see the bottom. I can swim and when I get tired I can float. What I don't like about the deep water of a lake or the ocean is that you can't always see what's out there with you. What if there are undesirable creatures lurking out there in the deep. It's so hard to know when you cast out your net into the deep exactly what you will get back!

It's the fear we all face when we find out that God wants us to fish for people. What about all those unusual fish out there in the deep waters of life? What if we catch one of those in our net? What do we do then? It's enough to make you stop fishing, which is what most of us have done. Church attendance is down and we blame it on the secularization of our society. The main reason we don't have more people in church is that we have quit fishing. When was the last time you or I invited someone to church - one of those folks in the deep water of life? Fishing is not easy work - ask anyone who fishes. It takes time and hard work.

Jesus got my attention with this bit of fishing advice. Perhaps I can overcome my fear of deep waters...