Fishernen and Repentance

Fishing is really fun and exciting when you catch a fish. The fishermen who Jesus called didn’t fish with a rod and reel but with nets and it was hard work. In some churches you can see boats hanging from the ceiling as a reminder to pray for those who are out at sea and to remind us that we are all fishers of people. Fishermen and Repentance In the late 1980’s a drought lowered the Sea of Galilee and two fisherman brothers found a boat in the mud. It was 27 feet long and 7 feet wide and made up of 10 types of wood. It has been called the Jesus Boat. http://www.jesusboat.com/boat.php “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe in the good news.” That is it brothers and sisters. The men Jesus called were not religious leaders or leaders of any kind. They were hardworking illiterate men. Why did he call these people? Perhaps it was because their lives following Jesus was going to be hard and he called people who were used to hard work. Perhaps it was because he knew that his message was going to be harsh and we need to get away and fishermen could get him away from the crowds and danger. In the First Century there were the few, the many and the beggars. Jesus is showing that the Kingdom of Heaven is fro everyone, the many not only the few rich who could afford sacrifices. The real outsiders were the Gentiles, which is us, who were not worthy of forgiveness. Repentance: Confession and Forgiveness always go together. Last year during Lent I invited everyone to come and see me for confession. Two people came and they did not confess anything juicy. It was very much like what a priest said about taking confession in the monastery—being stoned with popcorn. There is nothing that we confess that cannot be forgiven. John the Baptist began preaching repentance of sin for the many. It was a letting go of what we are hanging on to. The Gospel of Mark begins with the Heavens being torn open; they are irrevocably changed. God is present with us and the Heaves will not close again. We are forever changed through the transforming power of Christ’s presence. This applies to us! Jesus is our leader. Illiterate fishermen are as good as if not even better leaders than the pre-existing leaders. We are all workers in the Kingdom of Heaven. Today there is no spiritual or moral center in our culture. God is not very important to have a reformer like Martin Luther today. It is rather like the First Century. There was an interest in God, but what they thought was God wasn’t God. Jesus begins to move the spiritual and moral center into the world. There are people who are ready to move into that center. What we have here exists truly, it is the message Jesus brings is the true center of spirituality and morality.