LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Concordia Lutheran Seminary

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106 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XII Jesus equips us for His fishing. The Holy Spirit who comes into us in our Baptism gives us the equipment, handed on to us by our pastors through the proper teaching of the Word. And God’s equipment works! The equipment Jesus gives us is made in heaven, it’s fool-proof, top-of-the-line, miracleworking equipment. He gives us the strength, wisdom, and skill to carry out His fishing. He continues to care for our equipment when we read the Word, come to Church, and receive Holy Communion. The key piece of “equipment” given to us is the bait: the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. It is the tastiest bit of food; there is nothing else like it. It is so different from that which the world has to offer that a hungry fish cannot resist. When people grasp what Christ is all about, they can’t resist but to bite: to follow Him. God equips us with this Gospel which is at work in our lives, drawing people to Him. Over Christmas during my vicarage, my wife and I went ice fishing with some friends. We drove out onto the lake, drilled some holes, set up a hut, put some bait on the line, and almost immediately after dropping the line, I caught a fish! I had barely sat down. It surprised me how easy it was to catch a fish when you have the right equipment (mainly the right bait). Professional fishing is a different story, or sport fishing does take a lot of skill. But the process of catching any old fish is not that difficult. There’s not much that you can really do once the line goes down. We can’t control what’s going on down there. Yet God can, and He brings the fish. It’s Him and His equipment, not us, that succeed. His equipment works well. Even the little things we say and do are His fishing equipment at work. “I’ll pray for you”: a fishing line is dropped. “Call me if you need anything”: another line is dropped. “I forgive you; God forgives you”: another line. “Welcome to Church this morning”: fishing lines dropped all around the boat! Now I realize that my ice fishing experience was exceptional; catching a fish doesn’t usually happen that fast. Fishing takes a lot of patience, wisdom, even courage. And even though God equips us with these things too, the lack of seeing results discourages. It makes us want to give up. Trying to lead a loved one to the Lord, or back to the Lord (whether that be a sibling, parent, child or friend), is often frustrating and heart-breaking. Our experience is often like a bunch of nibbles from that same fish, but no bite. Year after year, no bite. However, even though the bite may not come on your pole, there are other poles out there, other Christians that God is using to reach out to that same loved one throughout his or her life. And then one day, somewhere, there is that bite! You see, net fishing was the kind of fishing that the disciples did, which works best when you have a couple of boats: fishermen working together. God promises that all Christians are at work using the same divine bait for
RISTAU: WE ARE FISHERS OF MEN 107 the same divine task: pointing people to the net of salvation who is Christ our Lord. Fishing can often be a lot of work. There comes a time when there is not much you can do but merely wait. Evangelism is a lot of work and when you don’t see many results, it can be draining. But the results are there. Fish are being caught. And you are part of it! God has made you His disciple and promises that He is using you as a fisher of men, of both strangers and loved ones alike. Even though you may not always see it, your work is never in vain. Although you may not always feel like much of a fisher, God is using you to bring dying fish into living water, dying people to the living Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Candidate Harold Ristau is Graduate Assistant at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary during the academic year 2000-2001.
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LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Concordia Lutheran Seminary

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