Fishers  of  Men

Many, many times in the bible we are told that Jesus went the  seaside with his disciples, that he got into their boats, that he told them where to lay their nets, and  when to haul them in.  And whenever he went fishing with his disciples they always caught a lot of fish.  
When they caught the fish in their big nets they landed those fish into their boats.  That is what this kind of net is for when you use a fishing
rod and tackle.  When the fish are brought near the boat you reach out and scoop the fish up in the net and then lift them into the boat.

When Jesus asked his first disciples to be his disciples he talked to them
about fishing - saying to them - "follow me, and I will make you fishers of people".
Ever since then that has been the primary image of what it means to be a follower of Jesus - that each of us is called not only to accept the lovethat Jesus has for us and to follow him - but to do what Jesus did - and help him to bring people into the Kingdom of God - which is symbolized by a boat.The secret sign for the church during the time of the Roman Empire when those who followed Jesus risked being killed by the government - when they were being arrested for believing in him and being forced to fight against wild animals in the Colosseum or were nailed to crosses and left to die -the secret sign for believers was a picture of fish - if you were a believer in Jesus and were looking for other believers so you could worship God with them - and you saw a fish like the one I have drawn on the wall of a house or deep in the caves and tunnels under the city of Rome - you knew that you were in the right place - a safe place. Being a Christian - a follower of Jesus can still be a dangerous thing in some parts of the world.   But even so we who believe in Jesus know that being in danger with Jesus is better than being without Jesus. Jesus asks us all to fish for people: to bring those who are lost and lonely - those who are sad - those who  are looking for a better way of life - all those people swimming around in lakes and oceans looking for a new kind of life - into the church, into the boat - into a personal
relationship with him where they can have all the good things that God wants to give them - and in turn - 'catch' and bring others into the boat -so that they might have what we already have and so that eventually the whole world might be a good and wonderful place - a place where no one is ever killed for what they believe and all people love one another in the way that Jesus loves us.
So today the boat and the nets are here to remind us of who we are - and what it is God wants us to do.  We fish for people - when we love them like Jesus loves us and are not afraid to tell them about his love and his goodness - how he died for them so that they might live forever.