The Long, Slow Work of Fishing

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This Sunday we enter into the first exchange between Jesus and Simon Peter, this encounter that will turn into a journey of discipleship and a shared life with Christ. I do enjoy Peter. He’s that unfiltered guy at the party who says all the awkward things – but sometimes he gets it right. This is one of those times. Despite the fact that he’s an experienced fisher who’s had an entirely unsuccessful night, when Jesus asks him to throw out his net again, he does it. And he’s swamped with fish. His boat can’t even hold them all, and so another boat has to help out. Peter’s reaction is pure, unrestrained awe. That kind of success in fishing, well, probably doesn’t happen in that lake. It is a miracle.

This is a story of abundance. It’s a story about trusting Jesus and finding success. In performing this miracle, Jesus amazes Peter and his compadres so much that they leave everything and follow him. From now on, they’ll be fishers of people. I wonder if their work at fishing for people was as abundant as it was on this day when they were such successful fishers of fish. I don’t know. Jesus drew large crowds, which he occasionally fed, but much of his ministry had a person-to-person element to it. He may have taught lots of people, but his healing was one-on-one. It was personal and relational. Likewise, he had lots of followers, but he seems to have focused his mentoring on a small group of people, and he shared his life with them. I don’t know if I would say his ministry was easy and plentiful, at least not like the catch of fish that wowed Peter into discipleship. And later, after Christ’s ascension, Peter proves himself to be a decent preacher and a good leader, but it seems like hard work to me – not like tossing out a net and dragging it in full. So, in implying that ministry with people would be just like a big catch of fish, was Jesus giving him a bait and switch, so to speak?

If Peter was in fact a lifetime fisher of fish, he would know how uncertain, slow, and tedious this work could be and that the same would likely apply to fishing for people. He followed Jesus anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I take heart from this story. I’ve had experiences of God’s abundance, but connecting with people has been more of a slow process than a pleasure cruise. As I think about my years of ministry so far, I’ve done a lot of fishing for people. As a campus minister, mostly what I did was to go over to the giant state school where I served and try to be a Christ-like presence to students and staff. I mean, I wasn’t trying to catch them, like proselytizing, but I did welcome them if they wanted to connect. And now here I am in vocation ministry. It’s kind of the same thing. It’s not about proselytizing single women into becoming nuns. You can imagine how successful that would be! But it is about trying to be present to those who are discerning God’s call. It might be single life or marriage, or it might be a call to enter my community, and I’m here for it. There are some life-giving moments, but it’s not easy. I wish I could just throw out a net and have them jump in the boat, like Peter did but metaphorically, but that’s not how it happens. Miracles aside, I do believe God works, but it’s in very slow ways. A life of faith demands patience. If I expect instant gratification, well, my empty boat is sunk. However, if I both work and wait, God usually shows up and fills it in some way.

When I first started God Space, I was inspired by a book called Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus. It’s about the gradual work of God in our lives and communities. It's by C. Christopher Smith and John Patterson, two guys who are not ministers but rather churchgoers who are very involved in their communities. “Slow Church is a call for intentionality, and awareness of our mutual interdependence with all people and all creation, and an attentiveness to the world around us and the work God is doing in our very own neighborhoods” (16). Slow Church is personal and relational. It’s a movement against what the authors call the McDonaldization of church, that is, the industrialized approach that some churches have adopted. In these kinds of churches, everything is standardized and professional, but also generic and impersonal. That’s not to say that some people can’t find God in a church like this, and those churches seem to be growing, although are they really catching people or just pulling them out of another boat?

I can say for me that I need church to be a little folksier and unpolished, genuine and personal. Slower. As a Catholic, I can say that my church sometimes tries a standardized approach, but we’re better when we live our faith in the context of particular communities. The mission of Christ is personal and universal, and so a world-wide church but be that too. Like a synod, a word the church is kicking around now as it embarks on a kind of fishing expedition into the thoughts and hopes of people in the church. The process feels messy to me, but the church is a little messy right now. People are leaving in droves and the future is uncertain. And here we are, still fishing for people. Is that crazy? I guess it’s as crazy as spending a whole night catching nothing but then agreeing to toss that net out again because Jesus says to. Who knows what God will do? Whatever it is will likely be slow, though. Slow Church. Slow vocation. Slow work of God.

So, I guess here’s the part where we let Peter give me – and you – a discipleship pep talk. Our mission as Christians is not about success and numbers. It’s about following Christ. That’s not usually easy. It involves connecting person-to-person, trusting the slow work of God, and lots and lots of walking. In fact, I seem to remember something about having to pick up my cross in order to follow Christ. On the other hand, discipleship promises unexpected abundance, a life of community and communion with God, and witnessing God’s slow but sure reconciling of all things.

So, what do you think? Do you have the hutzpah, perseverance, trust, and surrender to God to keep throwing out that net?

Jesus tells us too, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

 

For reflection:

  • When you think about your own faith journey, who’s the one who caught you? Who showed you the face of Christ and invited you to come along on the journey of faith?

  • Who supports you in your faith today?

  • Who needs you to catch them and help them into the boat? Who needs a word of hope for you, a truth told, a little support?

  • If you could envision a church community of abundance and hope, what would look like? What would it take to bring this about?

 

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, dancing, and meaningful conversations.


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