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“Leaving Our Nets”
Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; Matthew 4:12-15;
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Camp
and Conference Ministries
Stewardship Sunday at OCPC & Annual Meeting of the Congregation
January 27, 2008
Please pray with me,
Lord, as we listen to your Words that teach us, as your Holy Spirit descends
upon us now, give us what we need to be your faithful followers; bring us
from our darkness to your shining Light in our lives. AMEN.
Have you ever charted the course
for a successful fishing trip? The operative word here I think is ‘successful’;
it’s not easy. From little on fishing was fun for my siblings and I up at Long
Lake near Spooner, WI, with our parents in the summer sun. Really, we went there
often to Grama’s cottage for swimming, eating her homemade food (sticky buns,
beer-battered fish, and potato salad!), and of course fishing in our favorite
spots. I and my twin sister were at the length of a clothes’-line, little-on, so
we didn’t fall down the steps to the lake, or run away and perhaps fall ‘in the
lake.’ Grama scared us in staying near her eyesight in the heat of August; the
course she charted for us was small, in our smallness; later, as we got older,
going fishing was charting the waters, finding the right place/ time for the
fish to bite, and filling our nets. Back then, in the 50's, there were no path
finders, depth markers, map-quest, or GPS (global positioning system–car video
road
maps)!
My Uncle Ern, Dad’s brother, knew
exactly where the fish were biting and what to put on your hook to make the
‘blue-gills’ bite. We’d go fishing with him at weird hours, I thought, like just
at sunset, or just after a rainstorm, or in the early-morning hours before
sunrise. I always thought these to be the darkest times to fish, but one thing
was sure; it worked. Our happiness was in the brightness of those gorgeous
yellowish-scaled fish jumping in our nets and brought in by the ‘bait of the
day;’ worms, minnows, or fly-fishing. I was never frightened to ‘hook a line,’
take a fish off my line, nor was I ever in the boat that didn’t catch fish. I
learned of a bass, trout, crappies, sun-fish, all by catching and seeing them
up-close in their size and color. Today, I still love fishing trips; but part of
the fun was not-knowing what to expect; in my family you had to ‘show’ your
evidence–no excuses!
Charting a course for success in
following Jesus was in his day not easy, nor is it easy, I believe, today. In
leaving their nets, in leaving our nets of routine and comfortableness, we are
in uncharted waters of what is to come; truth be known, in uncomfortable
‘waters.’ Jesus was asking fishermen in his day to stop fishing, to leave their
nets, and, “follow me.” One thing I have always wondered about this story; fish
are caught ‘unexpectedly’ aren’t they? What about these fishermen who didn’t
know what to expect in following Jesus and catching people? Could they have been
in for something they were curious about and wanted to know more in who and what
Jesus’ life was like, or were they knowing full-well what they were getting
into, or what was expected of them?
These weeks of Epiphany after
Christmas are in observing the fulfillment of history; in seeing, hearing,
following the Light of Christ in the world, God’s Son. Our prophet in First
Isaiah reminds us of his vision, ‘light that has shined’ after the darkness of
the ideal king who is to come in the name of Jesus, and later, ‘a shoot out of
the stump (Isa. 11:1-2; stem-Hebrew virgo
or virgin) of Jesse.’ These are references of the family heritage of
David, chosen by God, and are a meaning of the hope of ‘a child’ born (a virgin)
among us named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. Isaiah’s hope was for a peaceable Northern and Southern Kingdom as one
‘from this time onward forevermore.’ No other N.T. text tells of this except
Matthew; you see, Galilee, the area so discretely mentioned in both our texts
defines the Gentile region, that drab, darkened area where Jesus began his
ministry. Jesus was a Nazarean, he was in those uncharted waters of unfamiliar
country-land as a Jew, fishing for more people to know and understand him. Jesus
was coming, asking, calling these fishermen, in an area he was not familiar, to
leave their nets and ‘follow me.’ He’s asking them to leave their nets of
routine work, family, and familiar territory, and to help him ‘sell his story’
of traveling, curing and healing others in God’s Name.
Today, don’t we hope for a
‘peaceable’ kingdom between all nations? And yet, do we want to leave our nets
and follow in Jesus’ path of activity; ‘sitting’ in the darkness of unfamiliar
territory, then ‘following’ the light of familiar territory? His teaching in
the temple, telling the good news, seeing and healing others; our leaving our
comfortable homes, friends and family to go to uncharted waters of cure and
healing? I daresay it is not one of those ‘immediately’ decisions that many of
us make. When I think of following in Jesus’ steps, I find here in church that
many of you are leaving your nets and are out charting unfamiliar waters often;
I see and hear it from you nearly every day and at least weekly. I’ve recently
had persons ask to volunteer and help them find things to do to help others. Our
success is in our asking for opportunities and venturing into areas we’ve never
been.
I think of following Jesus in
stewardship and mission projects in the PC(USA) and in our church that are
continuous and steady, seemingly, because of persons (1) promoting ‘moments for
mission,’ (2) local breakfasts and lunches served to those who can’t make or get
their own, (3) providing pantry goods for those in need; these church activities
continuing from early in the church’s history. No, stewardship is not just
tithing and ‘money out, money in’ type of work. Confident stewardship is in
education and interpretation of our time, talents, and treasures. Profitable
mission tasks are how we, as disciples, use our gifts from God to show God’s
grace to each other and to the world.
Today we celebrate those whose
gifts we have received continuously, year after year in time, talents and
treasures by a meal together. It’s relationships, and in our relationships, our
mission and stewardship together, the good news for us is that these are tasks
following Jesus’ path of light and love; communicating and educating, actively
participating and sharing with others what God has done in our lives.
We can ask, are we sharing in what
God’s given us? Those fishermen left the darkness of the waters and their nets
caring for and managing all that God’s Light and Love had given them by the sea
of Galilee. Our Christian discipleship is in leaving our nets and the routine of
our lives and traveling with Christ in uncharted waters with new courses and
forces in our lives in the grateful response to God’s Light and Love in/for us.
Let the Light of God’s grace and goodness shine in us brightly as we come and
see, follow Christ Jesus, and celebrate as we take care of God’s gifts to us in
time, talents, and treasures, all for the Kingdom of God, our world.
Thanks be to
God. AMEN.
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