From the Pulpit: Jo Owens on Casting a Wide Net

When our Pastor for Digital Ministry, the Rev. Jo Owens, learned to fish as a young girl, she didn't know what to do with her catch.

And maybe, she says, that’s partly why the church struggles with evangelism. It isn’t about casting a line into the water and trying to catch one fish, but about throwing out a wide net and welcoming everyone who is caught up in the good news of Christ:

“Jesus invited those first disciples to fish for people. As professional fishermen, Simon and Andrew, James and John did not use my method of casting a single line with a baited hook into the water. No, they used their strength and skill to cast a net out into the water and then draw many fish in.

Jesus invited them to use their context and skills of casting as a metaphor for sharing the good news. By casting their net wide among the people, Jesus and the disciples did not discriminate among who was pulled in. 

If you were a fisherman, you were welcomed in. If you were a woman, you were welcomed in. If you were a tax collector, you were welcomed in. If you were sick or disabled, you were welcomed in. If you were a Roman soldier, you were welcomed in. If you were hungry or thirsty or lost, you were welcomed in. 

…

Perhaps my 10 year old self was more right than I gave myself credit for, because I still have that deep knowing that I am called to fish. You won’t find me standing next to a body of water casting a line and waiting for a bit. No, I’d rather buy my actual fish from the grocery store.

But you will find me casting out nets of hope, nets of peace, nets of love, nets of justice, nets of transformation. I’m not looking to trap or trick anyone in these nets, but I do hope and pray that the messages I cast out into the world will draw people to the Source of All Life, to the only One who can truly change the world by transforming each and every one of us with a message of love, peace, welcome, and justice for the world. “