God is making us into fishers of people - By Bishop G
Dear Friends,
The Greek word for good news or gospel means “news that brings joy”. And it didn’t just mean daily news, it meant history-making, life-shaping news. In Jesus’ day, the gospel was news of some event that changed things. I read that one difference between Christianity and all other religions, including no religion, is that different religions offer advice. Christianity is essentially news.
Other religions tend to say, “This is what you have to do in order to connect to God… This is how you have to live in order to earn God’s favor.” But the gospel says, “This is what has been done for you in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to make a way to God for us.” It’s joyful news. When Jesus calls Andrew, Simon, James, and John, all they know is that he says, “Follow me”. And I’m pretty sure they had no idea what fishing for people would look like. But they instantly threw down their nets, symbolic of leaving their family business and all they knew behind.
I was amazed when I learned that traditionally, Rabbis did not choose their pupils. Instead, pupils pursued the best Rabbi, hoping he would think they were worthy of study with him. Only the smartest, best, and most dedicated could convince a famous Rabbi to let them follow him. Jesus chooses his pupils one by one, and if he discovered them as they were fishing with the family business, that most likely means they’d already failed to find a Rabbi. They were the least qualified, least capable, most ordinary leftovers. I’ve always loved that. Jesus first announces the good news and then calls and recruits the ones no one else would choose to follow. He thinks we can do it, even when we think we can’t. That’s always been a sign to me of how much God loves us.
I believe God calls us to our true purpose, or telos. Namely, to be his children and live our lives repenting, that is, turning away from the things that God hates and turning toward the things that God loves. But most of us don’t just throw down our nets and leave everything. We get up every day and try to follow Jesus from right where we live and work. Someone told me long ago, “If you can, do what you want to do every day, but remember whose you are.” Scripture tells us that while they leave their nets in this story, James, John, Andrew, and Peter will fish again. But their identity will never be the same.
Scripture is filled with stories where Jesus meets us right where we are and loves us to a better place. That is the good news. This past nine days, I’ve had the privilege of representing our Diocese among the other bishops in our House of Bishops. What I always find each time I meet with this group is a sense that Alabama is extraordinarily blessed in our ministry together. We are richly blessed and urgently called to share our faith and our good news.
As I write this to you today, I thank God for your ministry. As we’ve worked with each other for many years to help each other through sickness, COVID, gun violence, theological differences, hardship, political division, even wars and rumors of wars, I am grateful we’ve prayed for healing and hope, trusting Jesus through our challenges. I am grateful that I have consistently sought to love each other above everything else. We’ve struggled to hold up the “good news” that Jesus has done for us what we can’t do for ourselves.
Jesus is our hope, our light, and our salvation. We’re blessed with gifts and talents meant to be used in serving each other and the world. Please join me in giving thanks for all God has done with us and for all God will do with our common life together. I am incredibly grateful and blessed to be your Bishop and to serve with you every day. Through each of you, God is bringing justice, healing, and life. God is making us into fishers of people, even as God saves us.
And I hope I see you at church soon,
Blessings, +G