The Holes in Our Nets

(Posted January 19, 2024)

“You are a human being and are allowed to be imperfect, and you are allowed to be flawed.
There is a lot of beauty in your imperfections, in your uniqueness.
There is always a 'but' in this imperfect world”.  --- Sam Keen

There’s one thing that stands out to me about the lakeside scene Jesus gives us in this Sunday’s Gospel Mark 1:14-20). He comes upon two groups of fishermen going about the fundamental things fishermen do:

• One group is actively trying to catch fish.
• The other group is onshore doing an essential activity before any catching can take place. They are mending their nets.

What’s the Hole in Your Net?

Our lives are a lot like those “hole-ly” nets. Like the real nets there on the Sea of Galilee, certain “things” happen that leave holes of certain sizes in our net of belief.

We get snagged and torn on the rocks of abuse, of being let down by a family member, a friend, a lover. It can rip a hole in the fabric of our trust.

When it comes to religion and faith, we cannot ignore the gaping holes left in our trust by the stories we hear of abusive people using their clergy positions to take advantage of the young and vulnerable. Likewise, we learn of people who claim to be Christian but whose behavior and attitude are anything but Christlike. When people seeking the love and healing of Jesus hear this about what this kind of “church” is, the very last thing they probably want to is to be part of a judgmental “church,” if that’s what “church” leads to.

And then there are the global rocks of war, hatred and violence that tear at our vulnerable selves, especially these days.

Repairing the Holes in Our Nets

This Sunday Jesus tells us he wants us to be “fishers of men.” People who gather in the “fish,” where those who want a place where they are safe to simply be themselves, without judgment can go.

But before we go fishing, we need first to mend our own nets. We’ll symbolically find those holes in our belief nets, remove the boulders that made them, and work together to talk about the ways we can introduce them to a mended church that can offer people a healing experience.

So, come with us – and bring a friend if you can – to this Jazz Sunday when we’ll mend the fabric of care for those who are seekers, and those whose trust needs healing.