Christ calls Peter and Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and immediately, they leave their nets to follow Christ. They willingly sacrifice everything in order to follow Christ, to serve Him, and become the “fishers of men” that Christ has called them to be. Their response is astonishing, childlike in its innocence and manly in its ready and courageous response.
These disciples, all fishermen, left their homes and families, their livelihood, everything, to follow Christ. Often, they didn’t know where their next meal would come from or where they would lay their heads to sleep. After Christ’s resurrection, they were imprisoned and persecuted, tortured, and, eventually crucified, for sharing the Gospel, the Good News that Christ the long-awaited Messiah, had come to give new life to all, a new identity to us fallen sons and daughters of Adam. In fact, just like Simon and Andrew, all of the disciples except John were martyred for that “Yes!” to Christ’s calling.
In other words, in calling them to be “fishers of men,” Christ God was not calling them to a life of ease, of power through their leadership, of earthly riches, but rather, of self-denial, of service, of dying to self—even at the cost of their earthly lives. He called them to put Christ and His Church above all things. Fishing for men was not what the disciples did on the side, it became their whole lives because the love of God compelled them, motivated them, to live life for Christ God and desire that life for others above all else.
In last Sunday’s Gospel Christ proclaims, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me… and he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt. 10: 37, 38). We also hear St. Peter’s response, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
Through their communion with God, they grew in love for their fellow man. This is the natural fruit born from growing in relationship with God. By the power of the Holy Spirit outpoured on them, these simple fishermen became great fishers of men, just as Christ said they would—just as we hear in the prokeimenon for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, the prophetic words of St. David in Psalm 18: “their proclamation went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” and at great cost to themselves, they brought the world to the knowledge and love of Christ and His salvation through their witness, their leadership, their martyrdom.
Christ God says, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mk. 9:35). Our godly bishops aren’t lords in any political sense; they are shepherds, guarding and guiding their flock, loving enough to speak the truth in love and protect the flock from the “wolf of souls.” We see this example today in this time of confusion and change; our bishops strive to articulate with fresh zeal and relevance the timeless truth of Christ that frees us from the hold that the passions have on us and enables us keep the faith in continuity with the Saints and our forefathers and mothers that have come before us.
The same example of selfless service that we see in the Apostles, we also see in the Saints of North America whom we commemorate today. They ‘risked’ their lives as “fishers of men” on this continent to bring the Gospel and the Orthodox Faith, the life in Christ, to this spiritually barren land; all suffered—some even martyrdom just like the Apostles—to preach the timeless truth of Christ to a nation newly born; they reassured their scattered, uncertain flock that it is in their grounding, their identity in Christ in His Church, that they (and we) find our true home—beyond any ethnic or national identities. They didn’t come to make good Russians; they came to make men and women true Christians, to introduce them to the knowledge and love of God. But two of them went from being missionaries on the frontier to being two of the greatest Patriarch Saints of modern Russia. We celebrate their legacy today and ask for their prayers in our own efforts to share the Gospel and the Orthodox Faith in this dry and thirsty land.
Being “fishers of men” isn’t just a calling for the Apostles and the clergy, but for all baptized Orthodox. By virtue of our Chrismation, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and empowered to live this life to God’s glory—if we are willing, if we are willing to live out our baptism and serve God, compelled by love for our fellow man and woman.
Christ calls on us in today’s Gospel to be “fishers of men” too, to serve and evangelize in His name (this is what it means to witness and share the Gospel). It’s a common mistake to think that it’s the priest’s responsibility alone to evangelize and witness the faith or it’s the priest’s job alone to be a servant. In reality, the priest is here to equip the people of his flock in discovering, growing, and using their gifts and talents to serve God and build up the Church. But all of us as baptized Orthodox are called to evangelize, to witness to the truth of the love of Christ. This is what it means to be “fishers of men.” St. Tikhon puts it this way, “The spread of Christ’s faith ought to be near and precious to the heart of every Orthodox Christian.”
What motivated the disciples and the Saints of North America to give up so much in order to follow Christ and be ‘fishers of men’? There was no threat in Christ’s call, but simply an invitation. There was no earthly reward, but rather one heavenly and ethereal, and there was certainly a price, a cross, for many, martyrdom for others. What’s clear is that love for God and their fellow man was the primary motivating force at work in their lives, and this love of God compelled them to proclaim the Good News, the Gospel of salvation, to work tirelessly to bring others to that same knowledge and love of God. Our love for God and our fellow man has to be our motivation too if we are to witness effectively and help change the lives of those around us.
As we struggle and strive to live out our faith daily, in our prayers, our repentance, our yes to God and no to sin, our participation in the worship of the Church, our offerings of fellowship with others, the use of our gifts, talents, and treasure, we create an environment where we can come outside ourselves to share Christ’s love with others. And this desires grows in us, it humbles us, makes us more like Christ, and enables us in turn to serve even more.
Our life takes on real purpose when we take our Christian faith from inside and reflect it on the outside. St. Theophan asks, “when we come outside ourselves, whom do we meet?” The answer is, God and our neighbor. As fishers of men we witness to the truth of the reclamation, the healing of the human race. We take what God has done and is doing in our lives [healing us, growing us] and share it with those around us, living out our faith (however imperfectly but sincerely we do so) in witness to the Truth that Christ alone is.
Authenticity speaks, our witness speaks, but it costs us something: it costs us our time, coming to worship even when we don’t feel like it, serving, singing, coming to Vespers more often as well as Divine Liturgy, seeking for ways to help grow the church so we can provide more opportunities for people to find us and growth and heal with us. It means praying at home and on our own even when we don’t feel like it, making confession, preparing for Holy Communion, staying for trapeze and fellowship, even when we don’t feel like it or have work to do, AND, being willing to bring our faith with us into the world, the grocery store, work, wherever God takes us, fearing God and not man. The Scriptures remind us, “perfect love casts out fear.” Love is something we can and do grow in; it’s the natural outgrowth of our increasing faith in Christ: Like begets like. As we grow, we heal, as we heal, we grow in love and faith. As we grow in faith, we naturally desire to love and serve more.
If we want to see our church grow, if we want to see Annapolis changed into a God-loving city, if we want to see others experience the healing in Christ we have, if we want to see and experience strong families and our children growing confidently in the knowledge and love of God, then we come to see ourselves as “fishers of men,” as Christ’s servants, striving above all to live this life for God’s glory in authentic witness to the truth that He is. May each of us pray for such love to be His true witnesses, fishers of men! And may we beseech the holy Saints of North America to pray for our efforts to glorify God with our lives!
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Church
Sunday, July 7, 2013
All Saints of North America (and Russia)
Epistle: Hebrews 11:33-12:2 (Saints); Romans 2:10-16
Gospel: Matthew 4:25-5:12 (Saints); 4:18-23
