Last Sunday, we heard Saint John’s narrative of the call of the first disciples. In that account, Jesus first disciples were directed to him by John the Baptist. One of those disciples, Andrew, went of his own accord and told his brother, Peter, about Jesus. Among other things, we are given the earliest examples of evangelism. Those who follow Jesus were all told about him by someone else.
Today, we heard Saint Matthew’s account of the call of the first disciples, and it was a bit different. In this narrative, Jesus himself approaches his future disciples, including Peter and Andrew, in the midst of their regular routine – they are hard at work fishing – and he simply says to them: “follow me.” They follow him.
One of the challenges of being a Christian comes from our own scriptural texts. They don’t always agree. One perspective held by many scholars today holds that Matthew and John are offering two different versions of the same initial call. On the other hand, most commentators in the early church held the view that the Gospel accounts each tell part of the story of Jesus – each adding details that the others do not contain. In this vein, Saint John Chysostom, archbishop of Constantinople at the turn of the 5th century A.D., offers a solution to this textual difficulty that I find particularly elegant.
Chysostom refers to Saint Matthew’s account of the call of the disciples as the second call. He notes that the first call, narrated by Saint John, occurs in the wilderness where John was baptizing. There, John the Baptist directs Andrew to Jesus, and in turn Andrew brings Peter to Jesus. Our gospel account today, narrated by Saint Matthew, takes place after John the Baptist has been arrested and put in prison. After hearing of John’s arrest, Jesus withdraws to Galilee while those initial disciples withdraw and return to work. Once Jesus begins preaching he again encounters Andrew and Peter – and James and John – and tells them to follow him. The fact that they will become fishers of men will mirror this process. Chrysostom says: “[Jesus] neither resisted them at first when they desired to withdraw from him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did he let them go altogether. He gave way when they moved aside from him and came again to win them back. This, after all, is exactly what fishing is all about.” Fishing is all about luring the fish over and over again until at last the fish is caught.
Some of my earliest memories are fishing with my father and my sister in Maine. We had a tiny boat and we would often fish for Flounder and Mackerel. Once, I remember my sister caught a lobster. She reeled in her line and there, holding onto the hook with its claw, was a lobster. When it got into the boat it let go – it was never caught, it seemed to have come willingly. If my sister could do that every time she dropped her lure into the water, she would be the greatest fisherman the world has ever seen. Sadly, that was the only time it ever happened. Every other time, when she or I or my father caught anything, it was either by dumb luck, snagging a fish that was just passing by, or through careful tired and true fishing techniques: dropping the lure into the water and waiting until a fish took note of it, moving it out of sight and then returning – over and over – until at last the fish just had to take a bite.
I like Chrysostom’s take because my experience of evangelism has been like fishing. Rarely have I seen an instantaneous conversion. I have met many people who have been directed to Christ by someone else. I, myself, am one of those people: told about Jesus by my parents, my friends, and my mentors; brought up and led by the hand towards Jesus much like Peter was led by Andrew. I have also met many people who in their middle of the daily routine have encountered Christ in a way that dramatically changed their lives. I am one of those people too: I have encountered Body of Christ in the world in ways that have deeply affected and changed me, surprised by grace in the middle of the mundane. The Christian that I am today and the vast majority of Christians that I encounter, however, have been shaped in both ways.
Like those first apostles, I believe that we have all been called to be fishers of men – called by our Lord to spread the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to every man, woman, and child that we encounter. But I also know that evangelism is rarely like catching a lobster on a fishing line. It takes time, it takes patience, and sometimes it takes luck.
God has filled every one of us with great gifts to use to spread the Gospel: We all have been given a different set of lures and fishing tackle. These gifts can come in the form of time or money to help further the mission of Saint Mary’s and other churches. My wife and I pledge at three different churches because we know that our support makes a difference and helps spread the Gospel to people we might never even meet. Every gift makes a difference.
Also, I think it’s a plus that we all are more comfortable fishing in different environments so that like the apostles, we can cover more ground and reach a greater variety of people. Saint Mary’s location in Times Square means that an enormous variety of people comes through the doors. One of us can meet someone here today and change a life in a way that the rest of us might not be able to. I think our differences are an enormous gift from God that we can use to spread the Gospel to other different people.
I also think its good that that we have time on our side. If we don’t have a productive day, there is always tomorrow or next week. Like every fisherman, we continue because we know today might bring another great catch. And tomorrow might too.
As each of us continues to be shaped by the power of the God coming into our lives, may God make evangelists of us all, give us power to use the gifts he has given to us to spread the Gospel, and fill us with the patience that his Son, Jesus Christ, showed with his own disciples. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
