Recently, the new CVS store had a grand opening in our town. The night before their opening day, I happened to stop by the store and see the managers busily training their newly hired employees. In our Gospel text for today, we hear that Jesus did the similar thing. At the outset of his ministry, the first thing Jesus did was recruiting his disciples and getting them trained. It is pretty much like the new president recruiting his cabinet members as President-elect. Jesus went to the Galilee Lake to find the candidates. Seeing Simon Peter and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, he said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And Bible reports that they immediately left their nets and followed him. He did the same with James and his brother John.

"Follow me and I will make you fish for people." In this simple statement, we find out who we are in God and what we are called for. As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus Christ and get disciplined in order to become the fishers of man. In other words, we are called for a mission. Being a Christian means that you make a big decision to change the way of your life in Jesus Christ. It means that you make a serious commitment to his call and say, "Lord, lead me. I will follow you." I encourage you to dream of following Jesus Christ daily and to take actions in your everyday life, as well as your church life.

Now, let's think about what it takes to become a good fisherman. Firstly, you need to go to where fishes live. A fisherman doesn't just sit on a comfortable couch in the living room and wait for the fishes to walk out of water and come towards him. Instead, you have to go to either a river or lake or sea and throw a fishing line. In my old town Pleasant Valley, I used to see some die-hard fishermen who dared to get into the river even in the midst of winter. That is what a committed fisherman does. I am also amazed by the way the grizzly bears in Alaska catch trout. They get into the river and stay right at the spot where trout are supposed to jump over the water. They know where to go and what to do to catch fishes. Here is the point: if you want to become a good fisherman, you need to get out of your comfort zone. You need to outreach those people who are in need of God and make contact with them where they are. Jesus himself had to go to the Galilee Lake to catch his fish, figuratively speaking. He made a trip from town to town to find the people whom he was going to introduce to God. He went to the lake where those fishermen cast and mended their net. Likewise, if you want to become fishers of man as Jesus expects you to become, you need to outreach those people even though their life style is out of your comfort zone. A second tip for good fishing is that you need to use the right bait. I've never been an ardent fisherman. When I went fishing, I used to buy fake worms at Wal-Mart. At times I encountered some fishes that thought those fake worms looked yummy. But more often the fishes outwitted me enough not to be lured by fake worms. I would change the color and shape of the fake worm, which still didn't work well. For sure, fishes are attracted easier to real worms. Most of them can tell real worms from fake ones. Likewise, as we outreach the people around us, we need to use right bait. I am sorry to use the term bait here but, after all, it is Jesus himself who compared his ministry with fishing. What is, then, right bait and what is not in our act of outreach? Fake bait is one's wrong motive and intention, whatever you identify them with, while right bait is the pure, humble, and caring heart you have for them. It is the love of God sown in your heart that God expects you to spread among the people beyond your own family, relatives, and close friends.

And the final tip for efficient fishing is patience. I think that patience is the main reason that differentiates those who love fishing from those who hate fishing. As for me, I love the electrifying feeling the moment a fish gets caught on my hook, but I hate to wait for an hour or two until my hands get electrified. However, that kind of boredom wouldn't bother a good fisherman at all. Likewise, you also need lots of patience in order to become a good fisher of man. When you pay attention to a person and pray for him/her in God's love, you need to be far-sighted. You need to be patient not for an hour or two, but for months and years. That is what Jesus exactly did with his disciples. It took the full three years for him to pour everything on behalf of them. Let's look at the way we often make our contacts with other people. We show God's love to a person and the person doesn't seem to respond promptly. We get tired of our try and say, "Why, bother? Enough is enough."

Here is the deal. If you want to guide someone around you to God, you need to show God's love for the person with patience in your prayer. You might feel like nothing happens. But remember this one thing: love never fails. You keep praying for the person and showing your care for the person in a way or the other, and someday he/she will see the integrity of your heart and come back to God. This is what I believe as a minister and I invite you to do the same if you are with me. There are tons of people in need of God's love in this world who expect us to prove the existence of God's love on behalf of them. God will draw them back to Him through your love and you will turn out to become a good fisher of man. God will be glorified through your life.

 Amen.