In my church office, I have a framed poster on the wall, which says, “There will be peace in the world when there is peace among the world’s religions.”
The poster also shows the symbols of all of the world’s major faith traditions.
It shows the symbol of Islam, which is a star and a crescent moon, representing the Light of the Divine. It also shows the symbol of Judaism, which is the Star of David, also representing the Divine Light.
It shows the symbol of Buddhism, which is a wheel, representing Oneness. The poster also shows the symbol of Taoism, which is the yin/yang symbol, representing Balance.
And, it also shows the symbol of Hinduism, which is the AUM symbol, representing the Divine Sound of Creation.
All of these symbols are such beautiful representations of Light, of Oneness, of Balance, and of Creation.
And, then, of course, also on the poster, there is our Christian symbol, which is the cross.
Now, that may seem like a strange choice for the symbol of a religion, for the cross is an ancient torture device which was used to brutally crucify people.
But, Jesus, of course, transformed that symbol of death into a symbol of resurrection and new life.
That’s what our Christian faith is all about.
It’s important for us to know, however, that the cross was not the symbol of Christianity for the early followers of Jesus. The fish was the symbol the early followers of Jesus used.
It dates back to the 2nd Century. The early Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire for following the Way of Jesus, for trying to bring about a new Kingdom (a new world order) where, Jesus said, the last were going to be first.
That was very threatening to the powers-that-be, and so they imprisoned and sometimes even killed the early Christians leaders in order to silence them and stop this movement.
Because of this persecution, many of the early Christians were fearful of being so open in public with their faith. And, so, the “fish” symbol was a way for them to communicate with one another in a coded way.
The fish symbol was used above doorways to mark safe meeting places and to distinguish friends from foes.
Often times, one person would make one arch in the sand with his fingers, and the other person would make the other arch to form the fish symbol.
And, why did they choose the fish?
Well, Jesus spoke of fish often, didn’t he? We know that in one of his miracles, he multiplied the loaves and fish.You may also remember that – after his death – Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he shared a meal of fish with them.
And, of course, there’s the miraculous catch of fish that we hear about in today’s gospel reading for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany.
In this passage, Jesus is 30 years old, and he is beginning his ministry by calling the first apostles. These fishermen became Jesus’s very first followers.
Now, when I was kid, I was taught not to be a follower. Followers are people who don’t think for themselves. They just blindly follow the crowd.
Jesus wasn’t seeking that kind of follower. Jesus was calling leaders.
That’s why he said in today’s gospel reading, “Come, follow me, and I will make YOU fishers of men.” He’s empowering them.
This is one of Jesus’s most famous lines, but I believe it is one of his most misunderstood. Christians for centuries have taken this statement as a call to go out and to catch people for Jesus and convert them to Christianity.
But, think about what fishermen do. They get a hook, and they put bait on it, to entice the fish. And, then, once it’s hooked, they snatch the fish out of its natural environment.
Over the centuries, there are shameful stories of Christian missionaries going into foreign lands (place where people already have beautiful faith traditions of their own) and baiting them by building houses and schools for them, but there was always a catch: the people were forced to become Christians.
There are terrible stories, for example, in our own country’s history of Christian missionaries whipping and beating Native Americans into submission, in order to get them to become Christian.
I find it hard to believe that Jesus wanted us to catch people for him and to convert them to Christianity.
For Jesus, you see, wasn’t a Christian. Jesus was Jewish. He was a devout Jew. He loved being Jewish. Judaism was his religion. So, if you want to convert people to the religion of Jesus, then convert them to Judaism.
Jesus never wanted to establish a new religion in his name. And, he never wanted to be worshipped and praised.
The contemporary Christian writer, Richard Rohr, says, “Jesus didn’t want fans. He wanted followers.”
When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he means follow my Way of Life. Do as I did.
Follow my way of living and loving and forgiving and being.
Follow my way of service and peace and justice and inclusive love for all people.
That is how we “evangelize”… not by converting others to our religion, but by converting our own hearts and minds to the Way of Jesus, so that we can that we can show God’s love to ALL people…without expecting anything in return from them.
So, it’s not about ‘catching people’ for Jesus. It’s about converting ourselves (transforming ourselves) so that we can be the change we wish to see in the world.
Richard Rohr says, “We worshipped Jesus instead of following him on his same path. We made Jesus into a mere religion instead of a journey toward union with God and everything else. This shift made us into a religion of “belonging and believing” instead of a religion of transformation.”
Simon and Andrew in today’s gospel reading were transformed. It said, “They left their boats and their nets behind them” and “they immediately starting following the Way of Jesus.”
That same is true for us, my friends: As we continue to follow more nearly in the Way of Jesus, we, too, will continue to transform: to leave behind old ways of being, old ways of thinking.
It’s not that we’re not becoming somebody else. We’re becoming more and more of ourselves…becoming more and more of who God created us to be.
One of our UCC pastors, Rev. Kari Nicewander, put it this way: Maybe Jesus only invited Simon and Andrew to be “fishers of men” because they were fishermen. Maybe if they were carpenters, he would have told to them to be “builders of the Kingdom.” Maybe if they were physicians, he would have told them to be “healers of people souls.”
In other words: God is calling you where you are to serve the world in ways that fit who you are.
Notice, when Jesus is his calling his team together – his first apostles – he didn’t go to the rabbinical schools and the temples, trying to find the best theologians and orators and scholars.
He chose poor, uneducated farmers, shepherds, and fisherman…regular, working class people.
All of us, my friends (no matter what our lot in life) are called to use our uniquely God-given gifts in service of the world, so that we can be instruments of transformation…so that we can be the change we wish to see in the world.
And, so this week, I’d like to invite you to find time each day to go fishing. Not literally, but metaphorically.
Henry David Thoreau once said: “Many men go fishing…but it’s not the fish that they’re after.”
What are they after? The quiet. The stillness. The peace. The leaving everything behind and feeling connected to everything that is.
For, as Jesus says, “Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.”
So, my friends, I’d like to encourage you each and every day this week to put a “Gone Fishin’” sign up on your door, so that you can find alone time with God…to be still and know.
In the Silence, dive deep within. Open up your net…and “catch” the abundant peace and joy and love of God that is always with you and within you.