Mark 1:14-20 “Fishers of People”
Revised for Sept 27, 2026 as “Fishers’ Families” @ Northwood UC
Today’s reading starts with the mention of the consequences of speaking truth to power- John the Baptist has been arrested by Herod Antipas(anté-puss). This was because John challenged the status quo - the price of prophecy. Soon after this passage, John was condemned to death by Herod. This could foreshadow Jesus’ death. It serves to remind listeners of the dangers men such as Jesus and John risked by speaking out. These prophets paid a high price.
Strikingly similar to John’s arrest, activists speaking out about injustice and in favour of equity are still arrested and jailed today. Arresting leaders of a movement is still a tactic used to silence dissent and send a message. We know this happens all over the world.
In scripture, Jesus leaves the area where John preached, the place where Jesus himself had been baptized by John. Jesus committed himself to a radical faith and an alternative way of living. He joined alongside a tradition of others who went before him, in claiming an unusual set of beliefs. He followed a long line of prophets that included John.
In this passage, we can see that Jesus was already an outcast, even before his departure. He had also rejected the familiar. He was already considered a threat to ruling powers. Was he already an outlaw? Regardless of the danger he was in, people followed him. Jesus inspired
those he met, changed lives, and turned worlds upside down. His followers recognized the risk and chose to follow the radical rabbi anyways.
Jesus was unusual in how he called his disciples. The tradition at the time was for students to approach teachers, for instance, to ask if they could learn from a Rabbi. Only the most radical of leaders would approach a student and ask them to follow. Yet it should not surprise us that Jesus inverts this practice by selecting his disciples. He chose followers he found promising, rather than wait for students to request to follow him. I wonder if
Jesus may have expected that his life might be cut short, that he did not have all the time in the world. Did he feel pressed to be expedient in his recruitment of followers, to choose those he believed in, those he knew would spread his Good News. Jesus is a proactive leader. I believe he chose each follower for a reason, even if that reason is only known to him.
Jesus calls us. He does not wait for us to come to him. He summons us to answer, because he knows what we are capable of. A non-cannonical recording, the gospel of the Ebionites, was recorded within the work of Epiphanuis. It tells us about the active role Jesus played
in selecting his followers, “There was a man named Jesus, about thirty years old, who chose us. Coming to Capernaum, Jesus entered the house of Simon… and said, “As I passed by the lake of Tiberias, I chose John and James, sons of Zebedee, and Simon, Andrew, Thaddeus, Simon the
Zealot, Judas Iscariot; and you, Matthew, sitting at the tax booth, I called and you followed me. You, therefore, I desire to be twelve apostles, as a witness to Israel.” Jesus was a bold leader. His brave leadership inspired others.
Jesus seeks to empower the disenfranchised, and wastes no time in finding them. The fishermen he seeks out are not waiting for or expecting him, but they agree to follow him right away. They drop their livelihood and uproot themselves, seemingly without hesitation.
Seeking to understand why this might be, I learned more about the fishers in Galilee this week. Allow me to set the stage. Herod Antipas was a ruler who constantly sought approval. His main drive was to amass more power. He was building the city of Tiberius in order to
glorify Roman influence, and expand the reach of the Roman empire, by strengthening the Hellenized military and administration. Because Jesus travels to and from many port cities, Biblical scholar Ched Myers supposes that Jesus could have arrived in Capernaum as a laborer,
working as a carpenter in construction of nearby Tiberius. Travelling from port to port, Jesus was also been familiar with fishing practices. Capernaum was not only near the construction of Tiberius. It was also central to the fishing trade. Being familiar with fisheries, Jesus was aware of the challenges faced by fishers. This week, I was disappointed that many of the same challenges remain for traditional fishing practices today. We’ll
get to that in a minute.
According to historian/s (KC Hanson), during Jesus’ life and ministry, the fishing industry was being restructured to maximize export. Rather than locals retaining their fill of local fish, their catch was processed for travel and sent throughout the empire to distant markets. This traditional livelihood, this staple of the local diet, was in danger, controlled by those affluent enough to be unaffected by local shortages and markets. Fishermen and their families were suffering, while urban elite profited from the imposition of fishing leases and taxes. These new restrictions disrupted kinship-based traditions and local economies. By removing fish from local markets, wealthy urbanites endangered whole economies, as well as the traditional balance of local trade with the local ecosystem. This balance had been maintained and enjoyed for generations.Reading up about modern fishing industries, I learned a bit about the struggles of the Mi’kmaq people, and their fight to continue in their traditional practices off of the East Coast of Turtle Island, which we call Canada. The Mi’kmaq assert a traditional right to catch a small fraction of local fish, with a long-term vision. This sustainable use of resources does not truthfully provide a threat to industry, and represents a way of living that is more in touch with seasonal changes, and the ebb and flow of natural resources. These communities face an uphill struggle to be allowed back
INTO their resources, which are also their roots, and a significant part of their culture. These fisher-people are connected enough to the land to prize its flows above their catch. There is a deep cultural gulf in their being bound away from it. This creation of a gap between local traditions and emerging legislation was enough for Biblical brothers to abandon their traditional trade altogether. The disconnection from the land is so strong that some East coast indigenous fishers report feeling like different people when they are free, in
touch with nature, and participating in traditional harvesting. In comparison, the constant worry of compliance with licensing requirements enforced by colonizers is devastating. The consequences of the violence used to enforce these laws is brutal, and disrupts what First People have always historically practiced. Their way of life was migratory - living in the rhythm of the land and staying in touch with each action and reaction, noting both
their impact and anyone else's’. Biblically, traditional fishing practices used nets. They were not ones to use a bait and switch lure, which is based on trickery. They were
straightforward practices, without artifice. They too would have been in touch with the ecosystem, and the effect the emerging government controlled export industry had on fishing stock and both their own local markets and environments. In teaching them to fish for people, Jesus also promises to use ways to draw people in, and to help restore balance with wisdom and an openness, with love streaming forth, their ministry speaking for itself.
Traditional fishers have been forced to set down their fishing, while trapped in long term battles about legislation and title. Both today and in the ancient world, what was needed to disrupt harmful, legal, commercial over-fishing is a challenge, issued to the greedy industry which was killing sustainable livelihoods. Just as these brothers joined Jesus, the traditional people of our lands are set up to take up a battle against empire, against what is today a worldwide export. They too risk being demonized, and are suffering at the hands of outside powers who try to capitalize on and profit from a traditional practice which was healthy and functional, until colonizers like myself came alone. Captain Cook, an early explorer, reported pulling up fish by the bucket. This is an abundance which we have not tended to. Without balance, traditional fishers face a shortage of what should be their right and what is their livelihood. Elton Brown writes about how quickly Jesus’ disciples seem to turn their backs on all they ever knew, and set off on an adventure. He explains that
yes, this is a quick decision, but that living into their call is a lifelong commitment. What is our commitment, I wonder, to fishers, and to those we draw in with our faith? If we, too, like the ancient fishers, dedicate our life to Christ, do we owe that same longstanding commitment to our community,and to live in right relations with one another? If Biblical call is bound up in balance, and a challenge issued to oppressive regimes, it seems to me that we have our work cut out for us. How do we live more sustainably, in touch with our surroundings? I am sure that you know more about the local ecosystem than I do. What is it you and your families have yearned for, and what work have you had to set down? I wonder if the ancient Isrealites, like the modern Mi’kmaq people, hoped to return to their fishing, the familiar life they once knew, and the practices of their ancestors. Did they plan to go back? Was there any going back? Jesus’ disciples abandoning their family inheritance of their fishing tradition would have had dire implications for their whole family, and further upset
what was already under threat: tradition, balance, harmony. Today I wonder what small steps we might take back towards that balance. What approaches we can take in our sharing of the gospel to make sure it is done in the way of our ancestors in faith - to draw people in, and not trick or tempt anyone with a shiny lure. I think of the ways in which the United Church aims to operate - people are engaged and involved, not lectured,and behavior is not enforced. Instead questions, playfulness, humour, study, and guidance are used to inspire, and invite more questions. How can we bring that care into our connections with each other, with first
nations people, and with traditional ways of living? I hope we are each able to live out our calls with the same lifelong commitment those early disciples made. May we each go forth, share kindness and love, and be fishers of people.