Mark 1:14-20

The gospel reading we just read is one of my favorite readings in the Bible. Jesus approaches his first disciples, who were fishermen and he calls them to follow him with the promise that he will make them fish for people. Jesus tells them: Come with me and I will make you fishers of men.

Beautiful. You know why I love this text? Well because I am a fisherman myself. I love fishing and I can spend hours by the lake sitting there quietly waiting for the fish to bite. But let me tell you something about fishing. This is a true story.

This summer I went fishing at the Blue Marsh, it was evening and it looked like it might rain. But I went anyways. I came to the lake and I saw one guy already fishing and so I sat right next to him and started to fish. After a while we started to talk about fishing. The guy’s name was Jersey, and I’ll never forget one thing he said:

He said, you know there are fishermen who buy the cheapest rods and reels, who once in a while get to the lake with a book or couple of their friends to hang out, they find the most accessible place, they throw the bait in the water and chill kind of doing their own thing. If the weather gets bad, they just pack upand go home. Most of the time they don’t catch anything.

But then, Jersey continued, there are those who we call anglers. Now those are the people who do their homework. They invest their money in the fishing equipment, they study the lake and water where they fish. They read books about the behavior of the fish they catch. The bad weather will not ruin their passion for the fishing for they have determination and patience. Now these the so called anglers are the once who actually catch the fish.

As I was standing there in the rain wearing only a sweatshirt ready to go home looking at Jersey in his heavy duty raincoat and fishing equipment for hundreds of dollars, I knew right away, who is the fisherman and who an angler.

Why did I share this story with you? Well as I said in today’s Gospel reading Jesus approaches Peter, Andrew, James and John and he says: Follow me and I will make you fish for people. Jesus approaches every single one of us today and he says: Follow me and I will make you fish for people.

But the question is what kind of fishing is Jesus talking about? Does he want us to be recreational fishers or is he calling us to be anglers? Does he want us to occasionally come to the living water, his Holy Word or does he want us to study it and get to know it the best we can? Does he want us to once in while go out and mention something about him or does he want us to witness about him all the time with everything within us? Does he want us to pack and go when the bad weather approaches or when the “fish” don’t bite or does he want us to be patient, trusting and persistent?

Well I believe we all know the answer. For as my friend Jersey said: Angler is the one who catches the fish. And part of being a good angler is that you leave everything behind and you’ll be able to concentrate on the thing that you’re doing at that moment, which is fishing. The first disciples immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. James and John immediately left their father and followed Jesus. For they knew that this is the only way to become the true anglers of men, the true disciples of Christ.

So how about us? Are we able to leave certain things behind, so we can fulfill our calling? Are we able to follow Jesus and share the good news of His Gospel, love and forgiveness with people around us? For that is our bait. Not worms or sweet corn on the hook. But the news of God’s love for all human kind in Christ Jesus. The invitation to experience God’s peace and comfort through a community of believers. We have the true live bait, the best bait in the world! And the world is full of hungry people who are desperate to hear and taste the good news telling them that they’re loved no matter what.

In the 12^th chapter of Hebrews we read: Let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. What is holding you back? What is the sin that entangles your life, your family, and your relationships? (Pause) These are the things that Jesus wants us to leave behind. These are the things that he wants us to be free from. For once we experience his loving forgiveness, once we are freed from the burden of sin and the guilt that comes with it, once we put our trust in his hands, we realize that we’re able again to be true anglers of men. For the love of God is again in our hearts, the joy of Christ is seen in our actions and the power of the Spirit is present in everything we do.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news. Repent and believe that’s the beginning! And then go and share with people around you! To repent means to realize and name everything that is not from God, everything that is there to hinder us and keep us away from God, everything that makes our lives painful, stressful, and dysfunctional. Identify these things and leave them behind and God in Christ Jesus will give you a fresh and new beginning. He will make you true anglers of men.

I would like to finish with a true fishing story. One Saturday morning it was this summer, I decided to go fishing. I got my rods, my folding chair and my bait, got in the car and took off. I turned left on the S. Robeson street, driving towards the light intersection on Penn Ave. I got there and stopped on the red light. There was lady driving the opposite way, franticly waving at me pointing up. I’m thinking what is going on, the light turned green and I turned onto Penn Ave. In that moment I realized, my bait is on the hood of my car. Well it was too late, after sharp turn, everything flew off, couple cans of corn, some oath meal and a can of worms all over Penn Ave. I told you I’m a fisherman, not an angler. But the moral of the story is, let us not waste the bait we were given, let us not waste the love of God, his blessings and promises. But let us nurture them and use them wisely, sharing them with people around us, for that’s our holy calling. That’s the way Christ’s light continues to shine through us.

Amen