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Lenten Devotions: Week Five
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"Fishy - Beautiful!"
by Joyce Zimmann
We Hunger for Mission
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Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea-for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
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He said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people."
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Matthew 4:19
My husband and I heard the call to mission long ago and thought we had answered it. At seminary, he studied his huge and heavy theological tomes, and I was summoned weekly to the Dean's home where his dear wife--truly a saint--showed us how to entertain the ladies of prospective congregations in the preferred dignified ways. This was our vision of "mission."
Deep in my heart I thought, "I can do this stuff and raise babies, but will I ever be that one to help someone find Jesus?" There was a hunger for mission present, but not fully understood.
Matthew 4:20 says, "I
mmediately t
hey left their nets and followed him." My heart was in the right place; I wanted to serve. I shudder to remember the stupid ways I tried to catch fish--or sometimes felt like giving up on catching fish altogether.
But Christ never gave up on me or my husband (or all of us) in our calling. Luther tells us that "We are the baptized." Somewhere in those decades that husband and pastor became inspired--obsessed--with the simplest, most profoundly complicated words Christ ever said, "Love one another." It became my mission, too. This became quite a bit more important than reading heavy tomes or serving the proper cookies!
We hunger for mission. We hunger deeply in our efforts. Sometimes we get off track, we fall away, we try harder. "Love one another" is still the most effective way to catch fish--or to touch other human hearts!
"You need my hands, my exhaustion, working love for the rest of the weary,
A love that's willing to go on loving.
Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes,
Kindly smiling, you've called out my name.
On the sand I have abandoned my small boat.
Now with You, I will seek other seas."
(Hymn 817, ELW)
It's so beautiful, so simple, and sometimes, so difficult.
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Lord, to whatever sea you lead us, help us be able to serve your loved ones with a smile and a warm heart, and offer, "Come with me to Jesus." Amen.
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Lenten Resources for Families
From Priscilla Stapleton and Sarah Richter
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Ritual/Tradition: Begin your time together in your family worship or devotion space. Light your candle and have a family member open with prayer. One way to think about your prayer time is to use the word PRAY as a guide. (P-is for Praise, praising God; R-is for repent, asking forgiveness; A-is for another, pray for another person; Y-yourself, pray for yourself).
Share: After praying, share your highs and lows for the week. Allow each family member to share his or her thoughts, feelings or observations from the week. Be mindful that sharing in a loving, safe and non-judgmental manner is important, so your child will feel comfortable opening up about thoughts and feelings.
This is also a good time to read the entries in your family's 40 Day Lenten Journal. Hopefully, everyone had a chance to write down something that can be shared during this time together.
Read/Reflection:
Matthew 4:19 (Fishers of People)
Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee and noticed two men fishing, Simon (renamed Peter by Jesus) and his brother Andrew. They were casting their nets into the sea because they were fishermen. Jesus approached the men and told them to put down their nets and to follow him. He would make them fishers of men. What do you think these men did?
They put down their nets and walked away from their fishing. Fishing for "fish" seemed less important than fishing for men. Mark 1:16-18 recounts this story and in Mark 1:18 it says that, "And immediately they left their nets and followed him." The power of Jesus' calling is pretty remarkable.
Just as Jesus called Peter and Andrew, he calls us to be "fishers" of men. What do you think that means? You might be thinking, "I don't even know how to fish or don't really like fishing; it's too boring." What Jesus is asking of us, is to step out of our comfort zone, reach out and tells others about what it means to follow Jesus. As we meet and interact with others in our community, in our school, and at work, we have an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with others through our words, actions and deeds.
You may be the only Bible that a person will ever read! It is our job to bring people to Jesus through our actions of kindness, compassion and hospitality.
Activity: Fishing for Balloons
What you will need:
- Bag of balloons (12-24 balloons)
- 2-4 large plastic trash bags (depending on the number of people in your family)
- 2-4 plastic nets (like the ones used to catch butterflies, can be found at the Dollar Tree store)
Blow up as many balloons as you can, and place them around your family room or wherever you have your family altar or devotion space. Next, give two people a plastic net, and two people a trash bag. Once you are ready to start, have the people with nets run around and capture as many balloons as possible, and put them in the trash bags. After one minute, switch places. See who can capture the most balloons.
The idea is to recognize that the balloons represent the number of people or "fish" that you caught. Now think about how you can actually "catch" people for Jesus. Perhaps your child can invite a friend to attend a youth function at church, or invite a family to attend church with your family and then go out for dinner or lunch afterward.
Another idea would be for your child to ask a friend to attend an Epiphany event with him or her, such as Vacation Bible School, Day Camp or Theater Camp. In addition, your child might consider asking friends to gather their slightly used clothing, toys or household items to donate to the Pantry, or friends could make cards together and give them to Bethany Village residents to let them know that they are thought of, appreciated and loved. There are so many ways to reach out to others, and by doing so, connecting them to Jesus Christ.
Whatever your family chooses, catching fish for Jesus is what we are called to do by sharing the love of Christ, being a witness, and teaching others that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light of this world.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time together to learn more about your word. We ask that you forgive us for not taking the time to share our faith with others. Please guide us this week as we seek to catch "fish" for you. Give us wisdom and grace to share our faith with others. We pray that you will bless our efforts and keep us in your loving care. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Blessing:
"Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." --Hebrews 13:1-2
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We love Jesus by serving others
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