Drawn to Jesus

"Drawn to Jesus"--January 15, 2018

“As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” [Mark 1:16-18]

The nets are the key.

When we picture Jesus calling disciples, quite often we picture the wrong kind of fishing accessories, and it messes with our theology in all kinds of unexpected ways.  They used nets, not reels and hooks.  That’s a whole different picture of fishing.  It’s not a literal bait-and-switch, where you have to lure a fish in, get it to chomp down on the bait you are offering, and then trick it and catch it with the hook that had been there the whole time.  With nets, you pull the fish in—you grab a hold of them and draw them in with one great sweeping motion.  And there’s no trickery—just the scooping, sweeping draw of the net.

That detail helps us to get the scene right for the story with Simon Peter and Andrew there at the shore.  But more than helping our sense of historical accuracy, the nets are part of the picture of what Jesus is all about.  Jesus himself is drawing these two ordinary guys—who were just inheriting the family business of fishing—into a new life as his followers.  His voice alone—his calling to them—is what compels them.  And so, in just one fell swoop, Simon and Andrew’s lives are changed forever by the call of Jesus, with no trickery or deal-making. 

There is no carrot and no stick.  Isn’t that interesting?  Jesus doesn’t threaten and Jesus doesn’t lure—he just summons.  There is no “if-then” condition-making:  he doesn’t say, “Follow me, and there will be a prize in it for you,” and he doesn’t say, “If you have been good enough or will promise to be good enough, I will let you follow me.”  He just up and calls them, “Follow me,” and they cannot help but do exactly what he says.  Jesus is compelling that way.

He speaks, and his word by itself calls them forward, the same way God spoke the Word in the beginning, “Let there be light…” and the universe simply came into being in a flash.  God never has to bribe the sun to shine or threaten the earth to turn—the world simply obeys God’s creative Word.  And so Jesus’ Word has the same power.  Jesus himself is like a net, drawing Simon and Andrew in before they have earned it, before they have proven themselves, and without waiting for them to work up the nerve to move first, either.  Jesus just draws them in.

In fact, Jesus uses that very idea, the picture of being “drawn in,” himself when he talks about the cross.  In John 12, Jesus says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth [a reference to the cross], I will draw all people to myself.”  The verb Jesus uses there for “to draw” is the same verb used in Greek to describe hauling or dragging in a net.  Interesting—Jesus doesn’t have to do a soft-sell or a bait-and-switch, just to speak, and his compelling invitation pulls these two men in to be Jesus’ followers.

But of course, that’s not where things end.  Jesus doesn’t just draw in one round of disciples like a net and then leave the next generation of Christians to be “tricked” in with rods and reels (or Power Point screens or church coffee shops or promises of material wealth or whatever else it is that churches sometimes use to try and make themselves look good and sound relevant).  Jesus tells these first disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew, that they will now be “fishing for people,” too—but again, remember the image they all have in mind is nets that haul in all sorts of fish together, not the sneaky, deceptive, worm-on-a-hook approach we usually think of.  They will now be part of God’s great sweeping motion, too.  They will now all be a part of God’s compelling call to others who haven’t heard it yet.  They will be part of how Jesus keeps on “drawing all people to himself”. And so will we.

You and I have been called, summoned, drawn by Jesus to be his followers.  He did not use any bait and switch trickery to get us—he simply calls us as we are to be his own. Jesus seems to think that his offer—of a life lived at the meeting point of God and humanity—is worth it, just like that. And like the light first shining at creation, how could we do anything other than answer Jesus’ call?  For people who have come to know the compelling love of Jesus, you look back on your life and think, “How could I have not answered this call?”  You and I have been drawn to Jesus.  But it is also true, then, that Jesus uses us to draw others.  We become fishers for people, too—called to call others, caught up in the motion so that others will be caught up with us, too.  We don’t have to trick people.  We simply echo the compelling call of Christ.

Lord Jesus, call us again and make us to answer.  Let us be your faithful followers and fishers.