We see before us today another miracle of our Lord that bears particularly and personally on our faith, and on our church. Christ once again reveals Himself as God incarnate in this calling of His foremost disciples: Peter, James, and John to become “fishers of men.” And it’s noteworthy that Christ doesn’t call these fishermen in the Synagogue but on the water, in their boats, while fishing! In other words, He calls them where they’re at, where you’d expect to find a pious Jewish fisherman—on the sea, fishing! The Gospel is brought to them. He then calls them to follow Him, that is, to grasp hold of Life—the life that He is; but it’s not enough for them to change their own lives , becoming followers of the truth, of Him who is Life. Part of what it means to follow Christ, is to share that Life with others. Christ God says to them, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be fishers of men” (Luke 5: 10).
The same energy and passion they’ve devoted themselves to in order to become proficient fishermen, they are now to wholeheartedly devote to ‘catching’ men and women for the Gospel, new life in Christ. But even more so: because “catching men” is about saving lives, calling people to recover their “first beauty,” to be born anew by water and the spirit.
And what faith: Having just seen the miracle of the great catch of fish by Him who called those fish into being where there weren’t any before, the disciples are ready to leave all else behind to follow Christ. Christ God gives them a miracle that, as fishermen, they can truly appreciate and which gives them the courage they need to follow Christ.
All of us as baptized Orthodox Christians are certainly likewise beckoned to follow Christ, to become inheritors of true and everlasting Life. The reality is though, that this journey of salvation, what we call deification or theosis in the Church, our increasing participation in the Life of the Holy Trinity, means by definition that we are never just saved on our own, but as part of the Church in communion with Christ and also the faithful where God has us now; it is never just about ourselves and our own salvation. If we think that the Christian life is just about Jesus and me, well, we’ve missed something vital of what it means to be a Christian.
In other words, part of that growth in participation in the life of the Holy Trinity is achieved only by coming outside ourselves to love and to serve Christ by witnessing to His truth in this world around us, by becoming a ‘martyr’, in the original sense of the word, a “witness” to the truth of Christ in our own age and culture and by strengthening our local churches through the gifts of our time, talents, and treasure. Christ repeatedly models before us what it means to become a disciple. His greatest miracles and teachings are always done with these three—Peter, James, and John—or before all twelve or even the Seventy disciples and Apostles.
Christ reminds us of this truth, that our life in Christ is never just about ourselves, our wants and felt needs when He imparts to us the Great Commission, His final instruction to His Apostles, saying, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all things that I have commanded you…” (Matt. 28). This isn’t an ‘optional’ part of being a Christian, but a command of the Lord.
By virtue of our putting Christ on in baptism, becoming a new creation in Him, we’re made His ambassadors, or representatives, to the world around us, His “fishers of men”. For this reason also, this Gospel reading from Luke 5 is read every year to remind us of what our calling is in Christ to evangelize, to witness to His truth, to re-prioritize our life in Him and our calling to make disciples, to help others to come to the knowledge and love of Christ.
Our living out of our faith is our response to that calling as ambassadors, “those fishers of men” Christ calls us to be. So, it’s incumbent on us to examine how we live our lives, how we speak, how we think, what we do or don’t do, how we prioritize our communal life together, but also how we perceive our fellow man and woman. Are we in any way indifferent toward their spiritual plight? Do we fear witnessing or being open about our faith for fear of rejection? Are we ashamed of Christ and His Church in what He calls, “this sinful and adulterous generation”?
What compels us to model our faith, to come outside of ourselves to boldly witness to Christ and strengthen and grow the Body of Christ? The Lord gives us the answer, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and all your strength and your neighbor as yourself … On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:37, 40)
This truth, this summary of the Law and the prophets, is the basis of our evangelistic efforts. It’s for love of our fellow man that we strive to be a good witness of what it means to be a Christian, even if it costs us. It’s part of denying our ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following Christ, which Christ says is necessary if we’re to follow Him. St. John’s Gospel also urges us to such love: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” Love means we desire for others what God desires for them, that all may come to the knowledge and love of Him, put Him on in baptism, to become His disciples too.
St. Tikhon of Moscow asks in this regard, “But who is to work for the spread of the Orthodox Faith for the increase of the Orthodox Church? Pastors and missionaries, you answer. You are right; but are they to be alone? St. Paul wisely compares the Church of Christ to a body, and the life of a body is shared by all members. So it ought to be in the life of the Church also…The spread of Christ’s faith ought to be near and precious to the heart of every Christian. In this work every member of the Church ought to take a lively and heartfelt interest.”
You are not to be here just for yourself, but for the brother or sister, the person who stands next to you. It is this selfless love of God land love for the people of Alaska that compelled St. Juvenal, whose memory, together with St. Peter the Aleut, we commemorate this day, to embark on the long, treacherous journey from Russia to Alaska to bring the Good News of salvation to the native peoples there. St. Juvenaly was the first martyr of Alaska, killed by the people he came to love. St. Peter was martyred by Roman Catholics off the coast of San Francisco, refusing as a young boy, even in the midst of torture, to recant of his Orthodox faith.
How strong is your faith and your love of God and neighbor? Are you willing to deny yourself, your worldly priorities, to put Christ and the Church first as Christ calls us to? If you find yourself indifferent or your love wanting because of the evil around us in the world today (Matt. 24:12), or have let yourself be convinced that evangelism is someone else’s job in the Church, then repent. Begin to pray that Christ will give you more of His love, to look with compassion on those who don’t know Christ or the fulness of life in Him found in His holy Church, or who need to be strengthen by your presence at worship.
Every time we prioritize the worship of Christ at Church, our daily prayers at home, our witness in the world, we help make disciples of others. As St. Paul admonishes Timothy, “Preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season” (II Tim. 4:2) and St. Peter reminds us to be ready to “give a defense of what you believe.” (I Pet. 3:15).
We are participants in this work and in its fruit and glory: those who grow in their faith in Christ, those who return to their faith in Christ, those who come to the fullness of faith and life in Christ through the evangelism of His Church. Those before us were not afraid or ashamed to witness to the truth of Christ in their generation, even to the shedding of their blood, like Saints Juvenaly and Peter the Aleut: May we, likewise, love to such an extent that, the spread of Christ’s faith may be near and precious to our hearts. Fear not, Christ reassures us, for “I am with you to the end of the age.” May our love for God cast out our fear of man.
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Church
September 24, 2017
Fishers of Men 5
Epistle: II Cor. 6:16-7:1, Rom. 8: 28-39
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11, Luke 21: 12-19
