A strange fishing trip
Good morning friends. My name is Charlie
Newcombe, I’m the minister at Christ Church Huntingdon. I have to say I’m slightly envious (if a vicar
can admit that) of some members of my family who are currently in the outermost
parts of Scotland on a fishing trip.
It’s become a kind of family tradition,
and I’ve been fortunate to join them on previous trips. Hours spent casting a
fishing line into a loch or river in bonnie Scotland, hoping that eventually
one of the elusive Scottish Salmon will take the bait. There’s nothing like the
excitement when you get a big salmon on the end of the line, as some of the team
experienced yesterday as seen on WhatsApp.
There’s a lot about fish in the Bible.
They come in the Old Testament in the story of Genesis and the creation of the
world. They come in the story of Jonah, who was of course swallowed up by a big
fish, and they come in the New Testament, in the story of Jesus miraculously
feeding thousands with one boys’ lunch (of bread and fish) and also in the
story of the calling his disciples, who their family business in order to join
the adventure of spreading the good news of the Kingdom, which Jesus called
fishing for men.
In fact, a fish has become a symbol
for Christians. You sometimes still see a fish on the back of a car indicating
that it’s driven (hopefully thoughtfully) by a Christian. The initials for “Jesus
Christ Son of God our Saviour” in Greek (the original language of the new
Testament) spell out the word Ichthyus, the Greek for fish, and that’s where it
comes from.
But there’s one fishing trip in the
Bible which is really kind of strange, which I’d like to tell you about today. It’s
the time that Jesus predicts Peter will catch a fish with a coin in its mouth.
The context was a debate about whether
Jesus and his disciples needed to pay the Temple tax. Two drachmas for each
person. Jesus said effectively that because he and his disciples were children
of the King they didn’t need to. But amazingly, he said to Peter “But so that we may not cause offense, go to
the lake and throw out your line, take the first fish you catch, open its
mouth, and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for
my tax and yours”. (Matthew 17:24-27).
Wow- a fish with a coin in its mouth!
Now I don’t think Jesus is promising to pay all your taxes or exempt you from
them. He said render to “Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto Gods what is God’s”.
But by sending Peter to go and catch a fish with a four drachma coin in it on
the first catch, I think he’s teaching us two things.
First of all, we can trust him to supply our needs. That’s
an encouragement for anyone listening today who’s worried about the future. Will
there be another lockdown, how will my finances go, will I get sick? Christians
are not exempt from suffering or sickness or financial difficulty. But we can
trust Jesus to look after us, to go with us through these difficulties, and to
provide just what we need, even if we have to walk through the valley of the
shadow of death.
Secondly, Jesus is pretty amazing isn’t he? He knows the future, and he
organises the future. The exact amount needed for two people’s tax- a four
drachma coin, found in the mouth of a fish at just the right moment when the
tax collector calls. If anyone is listening who is living life and facing death
through Covid without Jesus, I’d encourage you to think again. He knows the
future and he organises the future. A strange fishing trip.
Charlie Newcombe