Last Summer Karisse and I visited the Tsachi Christians, friends of mine from my childhood. We found a church slowly being paralyzed from within. Long-time missionary co-workers with my parents had been loved and respected until they got embroiled in a scandal that broke the vision and energy of the group. Now the Tsachi people have a cultural heritage called “lu” a sense of shame that keeps people from talking idle gossip or developing allegiances that were not good for the community. But it has hampered them as well, for in the past it was nearly impossible to settle their differences unless loosened up by copious quantities of home-made beer, which, of course, did not always yield the best results. They were ruled with an iron hand by the “pone,” or shaman, whose word was backed by a fear of his spiritual power.

One of the most liberating things about the message of Christ for these people was that God forgives them. The Church, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was a more effective context in which to settle differences. So when this missionary overstepped his bounds they were tempted back into the safety of “lu.” They stopped talking with one another about anything serious, the divisions entrenched themselves, and they slipped into a fear-driven uselessness to the Kingdom.

Perhaps the disciples felt similarly after Jesus died. The angels had told the women at the tomb to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, and there they would see Him. Now they are in Galilee, and Peter says, “I’m going fishing.” Fishing was their livelihood, what they were doing when Jesus called them. It was a new kind of fishing to which Jesus called them, the fishing for the souls of men and women. Fishing was the baseline, the bottom line, a post-resurrection depression, comfortable and known, but useless to Jesus, as useless as their nets that night.

All night long they caught nothing. In the morning they looked out across the shifting water that has disappointed them to the unmoving land. There they see Jesus but they don’t recognize Him. “Have you any fish?” Jesus, why do you embarrass them so? Perhaps they need to see just how useless they have been, and Who makes the difference.

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat.” I can hear Peter saying back, “Are you telling us that we’ve just spent the night fishing on the wrong side?” YES! They’ve been casting the net on the side of their own self-preserving idleness and not where there is work for the Kingdom. On the right side, the side of work for the kingdom, there are many large fish to catch, so much so that their efforts will hardly be enough to handle them. Afterwards, Jesus says, “Come, and have breakfast.” How hungry they must have been, not just from their work but from the events of the last several days, so they bring of the fruit of their obedience and celebrate, together with the Bread of Life.

Now Jesus stands on the shore and calls to us, not from the sometimes chaotic life within the parish, but firmly from beyond it. “Have you caught any fish?” St. Christopher’s has been casting the net of the Gospel into the waters of the greater Killeen area for 50 years. For the last 16 we have toiled and toiled without much measurable growth. Our potential is still around 4000 between St. Martin’s and us; we’re still at 7%. The truth is it’s been a long, hard night. “Cast your net on the right side of the boat” Jesus says. I believe He is going to grow our Church. He provides the fish, but we must cast the net. We cast the net by putting into place structures that we need to handle the people God is bringing.

Christ said to the disciples, “Come and have breakfast. We cast the net by developing a spirit of hospitality. We are in the process of putting together a comprehensive Newcomer’s ministry, a path from our door into the vital life of our parish. We want people to want to walk that highway, not just because we’re wonderful people, though we are. Jesus promised that when two or three are gathered in His name, He would be with us. If Christ is among us, then US is our most powerful way of sharing Him! The Newcomer’s Ministry will need volunteers for this exciting and rewarding ministry, and all of us need realize just what we’re doing when we make friends with someone new to the parish. We’re not just sharing our life with this new person, we’re sharing OUR life in CHRIST, just by being friendly! And beyond that, every one of us has those we know and love who do not have any sort of faith. We can create our own visitors by inviting them! Again, think of what we’re sharing!

But there is another kind of welcoming we need to do: As we grow it gets harder and harder to know everybody. We do not want to get impersonal and cold, that betrays our Lord. Instead, each of us needs to embrace a section of the whole as our vital Christian community—the people with whom we minister. Think of it as a cell making up part of a larger organism. It is into these cell groups that we ultimately want our newcomers to integrate. Here is where we dynamically share the presence of Christ. This new way of relating lets enjoy the intimacy of a close group of friends with whom we worship and minister, and benefit from the quality programs possible in a larger church.

Finally, there is one more kind of welcoming we need to extend: We must be welcoming to all of God’s creation. When the disciples fished all night they were depending on creation. When Jesus told them where to fish He told them how to interact with creation. When they obeyed they discovered that there was a correlation between obedience to God and the way creation responded. The created sphere is more than just a stage off of which we will one day step, it is an integral part how God and we communicate. How we treat the earth is a reflection of how we treat God. On this Earth Sunday I call us to a renewed effort to make a green St. Christopher’s, to use renewable resources in our activities, to see it as an act of stewardship to reduce, reuse and recycle.

The disciples hauled in 153 big fish. Perhaps there are 153 big fish for us: Maybe there are 153 different kinds of folks out there who are not yet here who need to be. Maybe there are 153 different kinds of ministries we need to be engaged in to minister to their needs. Right now that looks like more than we can handle! But by obedience we will cast a net on the right side of the boat, and our nets will not break. We will struggle to haul in our nets, but we will do it. And in the end we will all feast with our Lord!

Fr. Paul Moore+