Nets on the Right Side

As I write this I know I’m weary. I have concern for many people, some from ongoing situations and some recently added to the list. And after weeks of non-stop Covid-19 updates, extension of closures and flattening of the curve but still no seeming end in sight I’m just tired. People I talk to are also getting weary. As a nation we’re still coping with the horror of the mass shooting just over a week ago in Nova Scotia where proper community funerals can’t be held.

It’s a long haul that we’re in. The Stronger Together event across all television networks on Sunday night and the Friday night vigil for Nova Scotia gave a reprieve and reminded us to rely on each other and to step up and help as we are able. Still, it can feel like our efforts to get back to normal haven’t mattered much and we’re stuck in this strange time. Preaching yet again to an empty sanctuary just echoed this.

Ironically, I’m gearing up to preach about the disciples being out in a boat fishing in the dark early hours of morning. They’d been out all night, no doubt cold and exhausted, and despite their work they’d caught nothing. They’d returned to what they knew, despite having seen the risen Jesus not long before. They were struggling to understand what this new normal meant for them, so they sought comfort in the familiar.

Lots of us, particularly on cold and rainy spring days, are eating mac and cheese, pizza and other comfort foods. We’re struggling to find answers, to keep on keeping on, and grappling with just how much our lives have been permanently changed. And even though we may feel that we’ve seen the risen Christ, those may have been fleeting glimpses which, in the midst of our current reality, don’t seem to have changed much.

But Jesus sees them toiling out there in that boat and calls gently to them and says it’s okay, just put your net on the other side of the boat. And suddenly it’s full to bursting with fish and they have to all work together to haul it in. Jesus not only was compassionate with them as they laboured but He provided a gaping net of fish and breakfast on the shore. He spoke to them again, reassuring them, and challenging them to do what was needed to care for the people He so deeply loved.

Someone from my church sent an e-mail in response to the worship service on Sunday. She sensed that I was discouraged and reminded me that what I was doing was important and that people were watching and to not be a doubting Thomas. Her message brought tears to my eyes. She and others have been the voice of Jesus to me spurring me on. I hope that others have been speaking to you from shore as you toil in this continuously surreal environment.

Perhaps the most important question is whether we are listening and hearing where we should be putting our nets in this crisis to maximize our impact for Jesus. Our intentions might be good, and we may be willing to share our gifts, but it’s certainly easy for us to disconnect from how and when we’re supposed to use them for the kingdom. Fishing throughout the night with no result and continuing to do the same thing is not helping, but how much of us are doing that, or longing for when things will be ‘back to normal’?

Pivoting and re-aligning with the loving voice of Jesus from shore may give us almost more than we can handle. There is risk because we will have to all work together to deal with what happens. But how much better is that than to sit in a circle in the dark with no bites and nothing happening. How much better to see results and to join a joyful feast because we allowed our choices to be directed by Jesus and not what we’ve always done and think we know. How much better to spread our nets wide and offer transformative hope for people.

May God make us bold, even as we are weary, to listen for the voice of Jesus calling to us from shore. May we be willing to put our nets wherever He directs us and to work together to deal with what happens out of our obedience. Let’s follow where He leads and use this opportunity to bring Him glory. Because we do love Him and are called to feed His sheep.