This month I spent a day with fishermen in West Bengal. I travelled out of the city of Kolkata along
dusty and pot-hole ridden roads for about 2 hours, before boarding the boat
given by BMS to one of our partners involved in church planting. The boat enables teams of Christians to
travel to the myriad of islands and visit villages that have never heard of
Jesus. It was great to leave the bustle
of the city and to chug in a more genteel manner along the river where life has
changed little over many years.
On this particular trip I spent time with two particular
village men who were both fishermen by trade.
While they fished in the river and man-made fish ponds, I was aware that their context
was very similar to that of Jesus when he met with fishermen by the Sea of
Galilee. No electricity or modern
communications were available in either context but in this less rushed world
there was time to sit down, to enjoy hospitality and to talk about things that
really matter in life.
Many of the stories of the New Testament can seem far
removed from the setting in which I live in the UK and yet here the stories
came to life in fresh ways. While we did
not meet a lost sheep, we met a lost goat and carried it back to safety. We saw fishermen mending their nets and
talked about the catch of the day. We
stood in the fields where farmers prepared their ground and tended their
crops. And in this wonderful setting we
took time to share God’s love with folk who were keen to listen and respond.
Recently a friend said, “If you are not fishing, then you
are not following” – a reminder of Jesus words to the first disciples when he
first called them to follow him, “I will make you fisher of men”. What a great time to be with fishermen of
both types, and a challenge to me to do likewise.
