Being Caught and Chosen

The 3rd Week of Epiphany, Year A

Theme: Being Caught & Chosen

Scriptures: Psalm 27:1, 4-9; Matthew 4:12-23

Key Verse: “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

This is the third Sunday of Epiphany! I spent my first two Epiphany weeks differently this year. Instead of being the person proclaiming God’s Good News and sharing my own reflection for the past two weeks, I heard and experienced God’s Good News while attending the Assembly of the Association of Asians and Pacific Islanders of the ELCA and the Asian Lutheran International Conference in Thailand.

I was rejuvenated by all the stories I heard from the people I met, the stories of being caught and chosen by God like today’s Gospel story – fishing for people. I was also touched and comforted by their stories, the stories of being healed and transformed because of their positive response to be part of God’s saving plan. The hymn, ‘Christ, Be Our Light,’ which we sang in our closing worship, stayed with me during the 36-hour journey home from Thailand to Seattle. I was in good spirits because of its tune and its lyrics along with the singing voices of over 130 participants from the U.S., Canada, and Asia.

What is your story of being caught and chosen by God? And how is your response to be God’s saving plan going?

In order to answer these two questions, we might begin to recall a time when we felt being caught and chosen by God. Did God catch and call us at our baptism or our confirmation? Or did God catch us and call us when we were formed in our mother’s womb or at our birth? And is God’s catching and calling a onetime event or an ongoing event whenever we drift away?

To me, God’s catching and calling is an on-going event throughout our faith journey. God keeps catching us whenever we drift away from God’s direction and keeps calling us to be the light to those who need to hear the Gospel.

In my early ministry, people liked to ask my call story. I normally had a tough time telling one immediately. It wasn’t because I didn’t have one - I actually had so many stories that I had to process which one was better to tell the person who was asking. There were several questions that came to me such as: Why did that person want to know my call story? What was that person’s context? What part of God’s doing in my life might speak to that person? And am I equipped enough to speak a language that is meaningful enough and makes sense to the person?

For example, we heard today from Matther 4 the call story of Simon, Andrew, James, and John that Matthew told his audience in the first century. Jesus caught them like fish, called them to follow him, and taught them to do likewise – fish for people. They were fishermen. Catching fish was their profession. Fishing for people was the language they understood and was meaningful to them. But does that fishing language speak to most of us who are not fishermen nowadays?

A short story to share! After being dropped off at the hotel in Thailand, my husband and I were hungry. Since most of our meals would be provided in the hotel during the conference, we thought we’d better venture out for lunch to enjoy authentic local food. I googled a couple of restaurants and took screen shots of the food that we were interested in trying.

We walked by several restaurants and saw one that looked interesting but couldn’t recognize or name any food on the counters. Since no one could speak English and menu wasn’t written in English, I took out the phone and showed them two photos that people posted online. They said, “Ahhh~!” and something else that we couldn’t understand, then they nodded their heads with smiles and said a friendly, “Ok.” Without knowing what exactly we would get, we paid the amount that they typed on a calculator before proceeding to a table. Without knowing Thai, we managed to have an unbelievably delicious lunch.

At our closing worship of the conference, the preacher, Pr. Giggie also preached on ‘fishing for people.’ I appreciate her thoughts on the usage of all the professional languages that she developed in her sermon. I was reminded that Jesus was a carpenter. Instead of using the building language, he used the fishing language to fishermen. To farmers, he pointed out the importance of the soil that holds roots. To bakers, he pointed out the purpose of using the yeast to grow and multiply the people of God. With this understanding, what language would we use nowadays so that God’s calling may make sense and be meaningful?

We don’t have to know all the details of every profession. But we may say to bankers, God has called them to invest in people by creating opportunities for them to grow, to learn and to be equipped. To chefs, we may say to them that God has called them to season the lives of people with love, hope, joy, and peace.

To managers, we may say to them that God has called them to walk alongside others as they discover their own giftedness and uniqueness which have nothing to do with competition. To social workers, we may say to them that God has called them to lend an ear to listen to their stories wholeheartedly and unveil a life-giving path that God has prepared for them. To lawyers, we may say to them that God calls them to defend liberty and justice when prejudices and biases cause skewed judgments and decisions. To teachers, we may say to them that God has called them to discern people’s learning styles and coach them to use God’s wisdom in their lives. To technicians, we may say to them that God has called them to figure out bolts and nuts to clear the path to God’s kingdom.

To public relations or communication specialists, we may say to them that God has called them to clarify why we are doing what we do while facing chaos, getting stuck, being confused, etc. The list goes on.

From today’s story, we are reminded that Jesus didn’t stay in one place and wait for people to come to him. He went to people and said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Please keep in mind that the meaning of the word ‘repent’ in this context is asking people to turn around not against God but toward God who is here with us now and is in charge of our lives all the time if we let God be God. It is not so much about having the feelings of sorrow or remorse, but having a willing heart to change mind that is the same as Jesus’. God is ready for us at any moment. God sees us and notices us before we drift away. God loves us before our repentance. God catches us while we fall.

God forgives us before we feel remorse.

May we always be ready with repentance and faith each day when we mark the sign of the cross with water which reminds of us to whom we belong, to whom we respond to be part of God’s saving plan. Let’s do likewise, fish for people, root for people, grow for people, invest for people, season for people, walk alongside for people, defend liberty and justice for people, and build for people, etc. The list goes on.

Let us speak the language that is meaningful and make sense to people so that they know God calls them and invites them to be part of God’s saving plan. Let us proclaim the same message that Jesus did, “Turn to God for God is with you and believe in God who loves you.” Amen.