Fishers of Men: A Meditation on Matthew 4 for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany

 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers,

Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother,

casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 

Then He said to them, 

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

 

St. Matthew notes in the 4^th chapter of his Gospel a prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled, which was that people who sat in deep darkness had seen a great light.  That Light was not just a general enlightenment or sense of progressive social improvement, but the Word of God Incarnate walking, talking, and teaching among them. The Light of Christ broke through all forms of darkness to reach the individual mind and soul of everyone who would listen to Him, liberating them from their demonic fetters to sin, death, and hell which the devil held over them after their Fall.  Jesus was not just a philosopher or political activist, nor was He a revolutionary.  On the contrary, Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David by human ancestry and heir of the Davidic Throne, yet also the Son of God begotten of the Father before all ages, and through whom all things were created.  The Kingdom of the Son of God is eternal, His throne unassailable, and His power absolute.  When the Light of Christ entered the world as the Word Incarnate, it was the greatest Light the creation had witnessed since the dawn of creation itself, veiled in the humanity received of His blessed mother, which he assumed into His divine Person, for the salvation of the world.

 

As the Light of Christ is never separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit, who together form the divine community-in-unity as the Most Holy Trinity, so the Light of Christ in the world does not dwell alone.  Jesus knew and ordained His disciples from before the foundation of the world, yet in the fullness of time, He walked along the lakeshore and called two to Himself:  Simon, who would later be called Peter, and Andrew his brother, both fishermen by trade.  Jesus’ calling to them rings out:  Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.  Recognizing the Light which had come to call them, both Simon Peter and Andrew left their fishing tackle on the shore, and followed Jesus into a mission that would become the pivot of the ages.  While the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses would prepare and safeguard the people of God in the ancient world, they were ultimately preparing His people to receive the fullness of salvation in the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.  Peter and Andrew were now conscripted into that monumental series of events.

 

Even so, it was Christ alone who satisfied the wrath due to mankind for their fall into sin, and Christ alone who rose victorious over sin, death, hell, and the devil on Easter morning.  Only Jesus was and is and ever shall be the Eternally Begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth, and only Jesus would stand before the Father on behalf of the world as Prophet, Priest, Sacrifice, and King.  Only Jesus was the Master to His disciples, as only Jesus was the True Vine into which all living branches must be grafted.  The disciples were not called to accomplish or re-accomplish the unique work of Christ and share His glory, but to live in the gracious victory Christ’s work provided to them, receiving the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation from every enemy of man.  Living in that salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, they were raised up to make disciples of Jesus from all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything that Jesus first taught His disciples.  The mission was not to add to Jesus’ work for the salvation of the world, but to bring others to the Savior while living in His Salvation.

 

Many ages past, and our age in particular, can lose focus of these truths.  To be made fishers of men is not to dream up new initiatives, new methods, new persuasions, new doctrines, or new political structures, as if human ingenuity would add anything to the Eternal Word or the Gospel Testament He wrote in His own Blood.  Rather, to be made fishers of men by the King of the Universe is to bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus; to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His most holy name alone; to be good and faithful stewards of the Mysteries of God given to the Church as His Word and Sacraments; to live and to love one another as Christ first lived and loved us.  Jesus’ disciples become fishers of men because they abide in Christ and His Word, and that Word moves through them with the power of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the salvation Jesus offers to everyone who will turn and follow in Him.  The fishers of men whom Jesus raises up are not merely engaged in political, economic, or sociological enterprises, but like the holy angels, are sent to show forth the wonders of God’s love and grace to a dark and dying world, each according to his vocation.

 

And that is the beauty and mystery of the Church’s history across the ages, despite her sins and failings:  it is Christ who dwells in her as He dwells in every baptized Christian, His Word and Spirit raising them up into a newness of life which cannot help but testify of what great things God has done for them.  Some He makes pastors and teachers, others evangelists and missionaries; but most He makes into faithful fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters of every good and noble trade or profession, each singing out with their unique voices the love of God which has saved them.  Thus by the grace of God in Christ Jesus alone, are we all made fishers of men, that the world may see that great and eternal Light, believing and living in Christ unto ages of ages in eternal His Kingdom.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.