Homily Two for the Second Sunday of Matthew
(2nd Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
(2nd Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
These words were spoken, my brethren, by Jesus Christ to two fishermen and blood brothers: Peter, who later became the foremost apostle, and Andrew, who was subsequently called the First-Called. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men;” that is, "follow Me" in My footsteps, in the footsteps of selflessness, total love for God and for humanity, towards the true, heavenly, eternal homeland; in the footsteps of meekness, humility, patience, and gentleness, with complete self-denial: "and I will make you fishers of men," meaning that instead of fish, you will catch people, drawing them from the abyss of sin into holiness, from the turbulent sea of this life into the Kingdom of Heaven.
But why did the Lord say to Peter and Andrew that He would make them fishers of men? He said this in relation to their trade or their vocation, so that they might understand their future calling more easily from His brief words, and to make their transition from one occupation to another — from the similar to the similar, from catching fish to catching men — more convenient, so to speak. Today, we will discuss with you, brethren, what spiritual fishing for men is, what it should be like, what one we should aspire to, and what we should avoid.
You know, of course, that in the beginning there was the serpent, the wisest of all earthly beasts, or rather, the devil in the form of a serpent ensnared the first humans, Eve and then Adam, and through them entangled the entire human race in sin, the curse, and death; and even to this day we languish in these sinful nets, even to this day we die because of sin. After a long time, the promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the earth – precisely to deliver humanity from the nets of the ancient enemy, from sins and temporal and eternal death, into which the terrible hunter of mankind, the fallen angel of light, the morning star who became Satan, the apostate from God, the king of death, the ruler of darkness and the fire of Gehenna, had ensnared humanity.
But in order to extricate people from the nets of the ancient murderer of humanity, who has darkened their souls and defiled them with his malicious breath, it was necessary to enlighten them with the light of heavenly truth, to wash away their sinful impurities with repentance, baptism, and other mysteries, and to continuously guide them towards the Heavenly Kingdom throughout all ages. Therefore, the Savior, the God-Man, needed to choose helpers and continuators of His great work of saving humanity, and He chose such individuals from the common people, for their simplicity and humility. He called them apostles and sent them to enlighten people, lead them to repentance, baptize, perform other mysteries, and guide them to eternal life. In doing this, they became fishers of men, that is, they rescued those ensnared by the devil in the darkness of sin, bringing them into the light of God — from eternal ruin to eternal life.
And now, when we preach to you the word of God, conduct worship services and mysteries, what else do we do but the same as they? We cast the spiritual net, according to the word of the Lord, and we expect that at any moment someone, by the grace of God, will be caught in this spiritual, saving net; perhaps one or another of you will leave the path of sin and perdition and return to the way of truth and virtue, and receive eternal life. But this is a saving net, a divine net, and one must desire this net. One must abide in it. And there is another net – a destructive, satanic net, which we spoke of earlier; this net must be avoided with all one's might. Yes, my brethren, the wicked hunter, meaning the devil, daily ensnares each of us in his hellish nets!
And how many of these nets there are, and how many careless individuals fall into them! These are the more common nets that ensnare us: the net of anger and enmity; the net of greed; the net of indulgence in pleasures and entertainments; the net of pride, doubt in the truths of faith, the net of disbelief; the net of envy towards our neighbor and ill will; the net of stinginess or the passion for hoarding money; the net of gluttony and drunkenness; the net of lustful passion; the net of obsession with attire, when one only thinks about adorning the body, neglecting the adornment of the soul with virtues; the net of despondency and murmuring; the net of false shame, fear, laughter, the net of condemning others; the net of idle talk and slander. And there are many of these nets! Just look closely with spiritual eyes at this invisible spiritual trap set by the adversary, and you will see for yourselves how many nets the enemy of mankind casts for the destruction of our souls.
Brothers and sisters! Beware of the enemy's nets. Be ever vigilant for yourselves: diligently save your souls with the help of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; visit the house of God more often, this quiet refuge where the grace of God captures us with the saving net of the word of God, the Divine Service itself, and the Mysteries performed for eternal life. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
