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

https://christchurchhuntingdon.co.uk/Groups/312371/Other_Talks.aspx?show_media=258327&show_file=276871