Busy Cleaning Nets

 A sermon for Provoking Faith in a Time of Isolation,

the online gathering of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

24th January 2021

 

Luke 5.1-11

Listen to this sermon here: https://soundcloud.com/bloomsbury-1/busy-cleaning-nets

I have a friend who has, over the years, occasionally invited me to go fishing with him;

            telling me of the excitement of the catch

            the thrill of the chase, and all that!

 

            He’s shown me some of the many photos that he has round the house,

                        of him standing proudly displaying yet another record-breaking carp

 

            and he speaks eloquently of the wonderful peacefulness

                        that comes through sitting for hours in God’s creation

                        with time to think and reflect and receive from God

 

Well, I have to say I can’t see it myself!

            I may be speaking from a position of ignorance,

            but it all sounds to me like a lot of time

            and not a lot to show for it.

 

Certainly, this had been the experience of Simon, James, and John

            fishing partners incorporated,

                        Sea of Galilee, Founded 18AD.

 

They had spent the best part of the last decade

            learning their profession as fishermen.

 

Night after night, they would set out in their boats,

            making their way into a sea brim-full of fish

            in the hope of bringing home a reasonable catch.

 

Their nets were always carefully cleaned,

            and the holes were just the right size:

                        big enough to let the tiddlers through,

                        but small enough to catch the fish worth catching.

 

They had years of theory behind them

            gleaned from their own personal experience

coupled with a careful study of

            “The theory and practice of deep sea night fishing” by Rabbi J.R. Hartley.

 

These guys knew their stuff:

            they had the kit,

            they had the theory,

            they had the lake.

 

What they didn’t have, on the morning Jesus came along,

            was any fish.

 

Doubtless they had had a wonderful time

            communing with the God of creation,

and they had been deeply spiritually blessed

            by a night on the lake and nothing to show for it.

 

But they still didn’t have any fish.

            They could bask in all the tranquillity they liked

                        but with no fish to show for it

                        it was all a bit of waste of time.

 

And then along comes Jesus,

            and he’s brought a crowd with him,

            who are all longing to hear him speak to them.

 

But the problem is, there isn’t really anywhere to stand

            where he can make himself heard.

 

So when he spots Simon, James & John

            sitting on the shore, some way from the boats

                        cleaning and mending their nets after their hopeless night’s fishing,

            he asks Simon if he can borrow his boat.

 

And having put out a little way from the shore,

            Jesus takes the opportunity to teach the crowd.

 

After he’s finished teaching the crowd,

            Jesus turns to Simon,

            who by this point must be exhausted:

                        He’s spent all night fishing

                        he’s cleaned the nets

                        and he’s sat through a sermon

                                    he wasn’t expecting;

            And then Jesus turns to him,

                        and suggests that they set out into deeper water

                        and have another go at the fishing.

 

Bear in mind, this is Jesus the carpenter

            Jesus the teacher and preacher,

            not Jesus the fisherman.

 

And here he is telling Simon, who has been fishing since he was a child,

            to give it another go.

 

You can just imagine the thoughts that went through Simon’s head…

            It’s time for bed

                        The fish are all hiding today

            Who does this know-all think he is?

                        My nets are just nicely clean,

                                    if I let them down again now I’ll have to clean them again,

                                    and then I’ll never get home for lunch!

 

So actually, when you think about it,

            Simon is quite diplomatic.

            (Although it is entirely possible that Luke has exercised

                        some degree of censorship over Simon’s language here)

 

Anyway, Simon politely points out to Jesus

            that they’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.

 

I imagine then a very long pause,

            before Simon gives in with a huge sigh

            saying, despairingly, “if you say so, I’ll let down the nets again”.

            Subtext: “what a complete waste of time this is going to be!”

 

And we all know what happens next:

            the catch is so huge

                        that the nicely cleaned nets start to break.

            So Simon shouts for his partners on the bank to come and help,

                        and then the catch is so heavy that it starts to sink the boats

 

We’ll come back to Simon’s reaction

            to this incident in a little while.

 

What I want to do now, is to think for a minute about

            what lessons we might take from this passage.

 

I said at the beginning

            that I’m not a great fishing fan.

But in many ways, the image of fishing

            can be a useful metaphor,

for us thinking about why we exist as a church,

            especially with regard to how we relate

            to the world around us.

 

As with all metaphors,

            we need to be careful not to push it too far

We’re not talking here about an evangelistic policy

            where we try and snare unsuspecting people

                        in order to use them for our own purposes,

            or so we can keep records of the size of our catch.

That would be to push our interpretation of scripture too far

 

However, there are many parallels

            between the story of Jesus, Simon and the catch of fish

            and our own situation as a church in the world

 

The key to understanding the parallel,

            is to think of the fishing boats

            as a metaphor for Christian congregations.

 

And boats can either be safely moored at the bank,

            protected from harm, and nice and easy to get in or out of.

Or they can be out at sea,

            where violent storms may occur, and danger lies round every corner;

            but where they are also surrounded by millions of fish.

 

And so it is with Christian congregations.

            who can either be the kind of church

                        which safely protects itself from the snares of the world:

                                    never running any risks,

                                    never putting themselves on the line,

                        the kind of church that it’s easy to opt in or out of…

 

            Or the kind of church which is out in the world

                        facing the storms that may threaten from time to time, taking risks,

            but also engaging with the culture of the world

                        surrounded by the millions of people

                        who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

 

And don’t forget,

            the crowd on the shore in our story wanted to know Jesus:

They were queuing up to hear him,

            crowding round him in their desire

            to have their spiritual needs met.

 

But before Jesus could minister to them

            he had to get into the boat

            and put off from the shore.

 

And we are never going to share in Jesus’ mission

            to a world that is still desperately in need of his good news,

if, when he gets into our boat

            we remain moored safely on the bank.

 

One of the problems we can face here, though

            is that sometimes we fall into the trap

            of thinking we know more about the task of the church than Jesus does!

 

I mean, let’s face it, we’ve been at this game for a while now.

            Between us, we have a lot of experience of how to do church.

And we’ve certainly invested in having all the right kit:

            we have an amazing building,

                        on which a lot of money has been spent over the years,

                                    to keep it in good order,

                                    and make it look and feel such a lovely place to worship.

 

            Compared to many churches around the world, in boat terms,

                        the Bloomsbury yacht wouldn’t look out of place in a harbour regatta!

 

And we’ve also got the theory

            I mean, forget Rabbi JR Hartley,

                        we’ve got a long tradition of preaching,

                        and we’ve got Bible studies, home groups, and personal devotions.

            We know our stuff…

 

And we’ve also got the lake: London is a huge sea of opportunity.

            Millions of people with spiritual needs,

                        yet to encounter the joy, and peace, and love

                        that a relationship with Jesus can bring into their lives.

 

But what we don’t have,

            and don’t take this the wrong way

            is all that many fish.

 

We might have a wonderful time in our wonderful boat, communing with God,

            and being deeply spiritually blessed by the time we spend here

But it’s not worth a lot if at the end of a night’s fishing

            we don’t have many fish to show for it!

 

And we can’t live our lives

            on the memory of successful fishing trips in the past.

 

That wouldn’t have kept Simon, James and John in business for very long

            and it won’t do for us either.

 

We can’t exist on mere memories

 

George Carey once famously said

            that the church is only ever one generation away from extinction.

 

If we stop being a fishing church,

            if we spend our time thinking about our successful catches in the past,

and if we moor up at the shore and get out and start cleaning our nets,

            eventually, we’re going to die through lack of fish.

 

‘Church-growth’ is not a dirty word,

            it is the business of the kingdom of God.

 

And I think we need to ask ourselves the question:

            of where are we now, as a church?

 

Are we out in the middle of the sea

            with all the dangers and risks and excitement that involves:

casting our nets into the deep,

            waiting for Jesus to fill them with a catch?

Persevering even beyond the point

            where it looks like we’ll get anything?

 

Or are we moored comfortably by the shore,

            nipping in and out of the boat as it suits us,

                        spending our time cleaning our nets,

            making sure that we look all nice and tidy,

                        tinkering with our own internal structures.

 

Have we forgotten what it’s like to actually put out into the sea?

 

Many churches spend much of their time anchored in the shallows

            Perhaps not at the stage where the boat has grounded on the bank

                        and all the people have got out

            But not out in the middle of the sea either

 

Most churches in the UK, I would suggest, are anchored in the shallows.

            Catching the fish that come their way,

                        hauling on board those people who come along actively seeking Jesus

            But still close enough to the shore

                        for people to splash in and out as they see fit

 

So if we get a situation where if people don’t like something

            If the boat starts to rock a bit, off they go…

            to find a boat that’s more to their taste.

 

Does this ring true?

 

The thing about being in the middle of the sea,

            is that it requires absolute commitment

            from the people on board.

No ship is going to put out to sea with a crew that can’t really be bothered,

            and would rather have the option of nipping ashore

            if things all get a bit awkward.

 

And, of course, sometimes storms do indeed come along,

            it’s never all plain sailing.

 

And it may well be that fear of the coming storms

            keep us from setting off too far from the land

            in case it gets too difficult to get out.

 

It may well be that it is fear of risk-taking

            that keeps churches anchored in the shallows.

 

There’s a sweet spot of comfort,

            which we need to be aware of:

 

Far enough out to catch just enough fish

            to ensure that we don’t starve and die,

but close enough to the shore

that if the weather looks threatening,

            and the boat starts to rock,

we can jump ship, splash to the shore,

            and find somewhere more comfortable.

 

But there’s another problem with putting out into the sea:

            the problem with going out there and letting our nets down

            is that we don’t know quite what we’re going to catch!

 

You see, if we’ve got our nets are all nice and clean,

            and our church is just the way we like it

                        because we’ve spent a long time getting it that way,

            and we’ve spent a lot of time discussing how we can make it even better

then the problem with chucking our nets into the sea

            is that they will get dirty again,

            and they might catch lots of dirty fish!

 

And the problem with dirty fish in our boat

            is that they might just muck it up,

            so it’s no longer the way we like it.

 

Many congregations decide that it’s much easier to wait in the shallows,

            taking the fish on one or two at a time,

            cleaning each one carefully before letting it on-board.

 

Look at what happens in our story from the Bible

 

Simon sets off with Jesus on board

            and goes out into the deep water.

He lets down his nice clean nets

            that he’s put so much effort into,

and Jesus gives him a catch

 

But the catch starts to break the nets.

 

I should think at that moment Simon was furious:

            His nets were his livelihood,

                        without them, he couldn’t catch anything.

 

He was quite happy catching a few fish here and there,

            enough to keep the business going.

He certainly wasn’t prepared for a catch

            so great that it threatened to wreck his nets!

 

And then it got worse, and the boat began to sink

            under the weight of the fish

 

So he called his partners, James and John,

            and they came over to help ,

            and Simon’s catch threatened to sink their boat as well.

 

Simon was no longer worried about keeping his catch for himself by this point,

            he was more concerned about keeping afloat

            and getting back to a place of safety.

 

So at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,

            we might consider how willing are we to work with other churches?

How prepared are we to see ourselves

            as part of a greater fishing partnership in the cause of the gospel of Christ?

 

I think we need to put division and dis-unity behind us,

            and to recognise that in the task

                        of reaching the community around us

                        with the good news about Jesus,

            we will need to work in unity with other churches,

                        and indeed with those of other faith communities,

                        and those of no faith.

 

This is what our partnership with London Citizens is all about,

            working with others to bring good news to our city.

 

And it can all seem very threatening, can’t it?

            I mean, what if they steal some of our fish?

 

Are we willing to take these kinds of risk with our boat?

            The boat we’ve spent so long cleaning and tidying,

            the nets we’ve spent so long getting pristine.

 

Are we willing to obey Jesus,

and risk everything for the sake of the catch?

 

This poses for us a fundamental question:

            What do we gather together for?

            Why do we exist as a church?

 

Is it to clean our nets, and make our boat look great?

 

Or is it to risk everything,

            to cast out from the place of safety into the deep

            and to be ready for whatever catch Jesus sends our way?

 

Are we prepared to take the risk of doing things differently?

 

What we’re talking about here is the nature of our church community

 

Are we an inclusive or an exclusive place?

            Do we truly welcome, or are there occasions where we still exclude?

 

Are we willing to take the risk

            of welcoming the stranger amongst us,

even when doing so threatens to break the nets,

            and sink the boat.

 

Part of the problem of course, with setting out fishing like this

            is that we have no control over who Jesus sends us.

And we only have to look at the gospels,

            to see the type of people Jesus said he came to save

 

If we take this risk,

            of being an inclusive and welcoming community,

                        casting our nets into the deep,

            and taking on board whatever catch Jesus sends us,

what is to stop him sending us people we will find challenging???

 

I ask again, what type of community are we going to be?

 

If we simply come to church because we like the product,

            and if we’ll stop coming the moment someone dares to mess with it,

then we are condemning our church

            to remaining anchored in the shallows,

because no ship can put out to sea

            with a half-hearted and non-committed crew.

 

Or, are we prepared to trust the security of the boat to Jesus,

            to be more concerned with fishing for people,

            than we are with painting the boat and cleaning the nets?

 

So how will we respond?

            Maybe, like Simon, we will initially respond

            with a “Tried it before, it doesn’t work”.

 

But eventually, hopefully,

            we come to a realisation of our own sinfulness,

we come to see that we’re actually no better than anyone else,

            that we have no moral high ground on which to stand,

that we are just sinners saved by grace,

            and that all our net-cleaning is irrelevant,

because already we’re just as in need of cleansing,

            as anyone else God may send our way.

 

So, will we join with Simon,

            in confession and a sense of our own sinfulness?

            and a profound awareness of the grace of God

                        who has called us to be part of this crew, of this ship,

            so that through us, Christ can set out into the world

                        and bring many more into his kingdom?