What associations come to mind when you hear the word net?
Fish? Safety? A trap? A great goal? Net worth? The world wide web? …
Today’s reflection is inspired by a reading that features fishing nets. We invite you to use them as a symbol; let them represent whatever best fits.
Photo from Negative Space
Here is a paraphrase of a passage found towards the end of Chapter 4 in Matthew’s gospel:
“Jesus walks the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Two brothers - Simon, called Peter, and Andrew - are casting nets into the lake. They are fishermen.
Jesus says, ‘Follow me! I will make you fish for people’ and they leave the nets where they are, to follow him.
Next, Jesus sees two more brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee. They are in the boat with their father, mending their nets. He calls them. They get out of the boat, leaving their father, and follow.””
If you wish, spend some time with this.
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Imagine you are there - either observing or in the role of one of the characters mentioned. Simon, Andrew, James, John, Zebedee - or Jesus.
Maybe the sun feels warm on your skin; the sand soft between your toes.
You can hear the sound of the water; the splash of fishing nets cast out; waves breaking on the shore; voices and activity.
What else is happening, for you? What are you feeling and thinking?
Advent starts next week. It is a time of waiting and testing what comes next. Jesus might be pictured calling some of us to leave ‘nets’ behind on the shore so we can follow a call elsewhere. Our net might be busyness that tangles us up and burns us out. It might be a familiar ‘safety net’ of routine that is blocking us from something.
Image from Pixabay.
The swift responses of those called by Jesus in this scene imply they felt sure and safe about making what might appear, to an outside observer, to be a foolhardy choice.
For Christians, Jesus’ call is always compatible with unconditional and eternal love. Responding to it can look crazy but the experience is of a natural and attractive progression - not entrapment! That does not mean it is easy… invisible nets of doubt, fear, ambition, can mean it is hard to hear and trust.
George Herbert wrote,
“Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back”
Spend some time pondering on the different nets and calls in your own life. Towards what are you most drawn? How do you differentiate between invitation and coercion? How might God be summoning you towards a deeper sense of freedom and peace? How might you be drawing back - perhaps influenced by less benevolent invitations that you have received?
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Lastly, we ask what it means to ‘fish for people’? Few want to be ‘evangelised’. Communication may be very sophisticated in the Western world - but that does not always give us confidence. At Whirlow, we sometimes feel bewildered by the multitude of platforms we could use to invite people to engage with what we are doing. Perhaps it is reassuring to consider that Jesus did not call expert speakers and influencers; he felt moved to entrust ordinary, working people who had little religious or social clout with his life and truth.
Jesus wasn’t a fisherman. His chosen friends do not seem to come from his circle or social net-work. Something about him captivated people who were strangers.
Had you been called to follow in this scene, what might have gone through your mind? What would it have taken for you to drop everything and change direction? What is it about Jesus that speaks to you? What concerns might you feel or voice? How might Jesus respond?
Imagine that you wake up tomorrow having escaped a net or scored a goal you have been aiming for.
How does this feel? What is your day like, now? Do you communicate your experience to others you encounter - and, if so, how?
Use the music below, by Salt of the Sound, if you wish: