Jesu Juva
“Caught in the Net of Life”
Text: Mark 1:14-20; John 3:1-5, 10
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
Fishers of men, huh? Here’s what my question would have been: which men? ‘Cuz don’t send me to Nineveh, like you did Jonah! No way! Not those men! For if there was ever a people whom God should not love, not want to save, and not send a prophet, an apostle, or anyone else, it would be them! The Ninevites. Residents of the capital city of one of the meanest, most corrupt, most vile, violent, and evil countries ever. I’ll fish for men, but not in that sea!
‘Cuz that’s what we do, isn’t it? We pick and choose. This person, not that person, is worth my time, my effort, my attention, my prayers, my energy, my money. This person is worth it, that person is not.
But that’s not how Jesus does things. Not how He thinks. So Jonah was sent to the Ninevites. And so badly did God want him there that even when Jonah said no, not those people! God arranged the whole fish-swallowing-adventure to change Jonah’s mind. God went fishing (with a fish!) for that one man! A man who really didn’t deserve it after saying no to God and running away. And as soon as Jonah finished wiping the fish slime off his skin and washing it out of his hair, God said: now, go. God made Jonah a fisher of men.
And now He was going to do that for Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. Which men? All men. Every. Single. One. For Jesus wants every single one, loves every single one, and came to die for every single one. No one too corrupt, vile, violent, or evil. The Ninevite as well as the American. The abortion provider as well as the abortion user. The pornographer as well as the one watching it. The one committing suicide and the one assisting suicide. The one trafficking sex and the one indulging in it. The one promoting body-mutilating transgenderism and the one remaining silent about it. The one abusing and taking advantage of the elderly and the one who just forgets about them. The one who pushes someone onto the Metro tracks and the one who throws another under the bus, as it is said. The identity thief and the reputation ruiner. The ones who never come to church and the ones who come in body only. I will make you become fishers of men, Jesus said. These men. All men. For I want them all.
So if we think there is someone who shouldn’t be saved, we are revealing that it is ME who should be on the outs. ME swallowed by the fish and not spit out. That I am that very person I am speaking against. For really, if there was ever a people whom God should not love, not want to save, and not send a prophet, an apostle, or anyone else to . . . look around! Shouldn’t it be us? Shouldn’t it be ME? Look at your resume - your sin resume, that is. What does it qualify you for?
So when Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him and be His disciples, maybe He had a two-fold purpose: to not only show them HIS resume, to teach them who He was, Jesus, the Son of God who had come to save all people; but also to show them their resume, who they are. To reveal their ignorance, their selfish hearts, their judgmentalism, their pride, their lostness.
And He did. Think of all the times the disciples had to bow their heads in shame, had to take their feet out of their mouths, had to have their wrong thoughts corrected. Yet Jesus wanted them, and would use them. In great ways. They would learn that He is a God of no little grace! Grace for them, for Ninevites, for us here today. A God of forgiveness, of sins small and great.
For look at all the people Jesus caught in His net! Canaanite women, Centurions, those possessed with unclean spirits, prostitutes, tax collectors. And look at all the people in this church today - people no better; in fact, maybe worse. Paul said he was the chief of sinners, but maybe there’s a crown like that for your head, too. You know what I’m talkin’ about. I doubt we could find a sin that isn’t represented here in this room, by some of us, or many of us. Are you shocked by that? You shouldn’t be.
But just as God sent His Word to Nineveh, and Babylon, and Egypt, and Samaria, and Rome, so He has sent His Word here. His Word calling us to repentance, and His Word proclaiming us forgiven. His Word washing us clean, and His Word feeding us. For His sent His Word, the Word made flesh, to the cross, to provide all of this for us. To be the life of the world. All of it. That all have life and have it abundantly, and eternally.
So God not only sent Jonah to Nineveh - twice! - He also relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Which is to say, He forgave them. Which is to say, He wiped their slate clean. Which is to say, when He looked at them now, it is as if none of the meanness, corruptness, vileness, violence, or evil ever happened. It is gone. They have been set free from it. It is no longer who they are or who they need to be in the future. They can live differently now, in the peace and joy of the Lord, and His love and forgiveness.
Now, they didn’t. They went back to their old ways and finally God brought an end to that kingdom. Evil may have its day, but only a day.
So God throws out the net of His Word through the mouths of prophets, apostles, pastors, and His people today. That though we swim in the sea of an evil world, we be pulled out and into the boat of His Church. And not flip-flop our way back into the sea, like Nineveh did! But live here, in His life and love. And find our life here, not in the things of the world. To know that it is not my job, or success, or sports, or education, or relationships, that give me life - it is the life I here receive that gives me the ability to enjoy all these other things rightly. Not as things that take over my life, but as things that enrich my life. It’s when they take over . . . that’s when things start to unravel, isn’t it? And maybe the unravelling starts slowly, just a little bit here and there, now and then, but how easily it picks up speed . . . and your life unravels. It’s easy to hit the brakes when you’re going slow; how hard it is to stop when you’ve built up a lot of momentum . . .
I think that’s what happens to many people. Things meant to enrich my life have taken over my life, and going faster and faster, anything that slows me down has to go, or gets run over - even other lives that might get in my way. Lives like babies in the womb, the elderly, the disabled, the needy, even my own body, for some. And we become like Ninevites on the road to destruction.
So the readings we heard today, and especially the Gospel we heard today, where Jesus calls these disciples to become fishers of men, is perfect for Sanctity of Life Sunday. For as I said, in becoming disciples, followers, there is a two-fold purpose: to show them who they are, and to teach them who Jesus is. And for us, too. Sanctity of Life Sunday can show us who we are - folks who sometimes, or maybe often times, don’t see others as valuable and precious and important, so that we’ll repent; and to teach us who Jesus is - the one who does, and who forgives. So that when we begin to act like Ninevites, our Jonah comes to us - our Jonah who was swallowed up in death, but then three days later came out of the tomb alive! - our Jonah comes to us with His life for us, and sends His Word and His Word of life to us, and raises us to life again. For actually, He didn’t relent of the disaster He said He would do and that we deserved - He actually carried it out, on Himself. That’s what the cross is. And then He gives us the life and forgiveness He said He would, so that we live. Not flip-flopping back into the sea of sin and evil, but live the new lives He has given us, in the boat of His Church.
Which is what Jesus wants for all people, and what, I think, a lot of people are looking for. Maybe even you. They don’t want run away lives, they don’t want to run others over, they know this isn’t good, but . . . what else can they do? What choice do they have? The world is telling them to hit the gas! More! Faster! But then comes the crash. The abortion is regretted, the marriage falls apart, loved ones die and time missed you can’t get back, and then you become the one getting run over. Then who is there to help when the world has moved on?
You know, of course. The one who came for you. The one who stopped and cared for those nobody else would. The one who saw the carnage of humanity and said, I’ll trade My life for theirs. And He did. And the one who called those twelve then, and countless others since, and said, you do the same. Be fishers of men with My Word - My Word which heals, which restores, which calls to repentance, which forgives, which cares, which stops at the crash scenes of life and says, let me help. That’s what Jesus has done for you and your life. That’s what others have done for you and your life. And that’s what we can now do for others and their lives, too. It isn’t easy. This isn’t some affirm-everyone-in-whatever-they-want-to-do thing. Not at all. Jonah called out Nineveh and we need to be called out, for when we have not regarded our life and the lives of others as valuable, precious, and important. But then also to hear that Jesus thinks YOU valuable, precious, and important - no matter who you are or what you have done. And He has life for you.
So bring your resume - your sin resume, that is - to the altar with you today, and let Jesus tear it up. And in its place, He will fill you with His life. That’s what you were; this is who you are. You were dead; now you are alive. You were a slave to what took over your life; now I set you free. You were “that guy;” now you are My child. And in the midst of an out-of-control world, a dog-eat-dog world, an anxious world, a Ninevite world, that’s worth an awful lot. So be this, not that! And live in love and joy and peace.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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