A priest I know likened Anglican (Episcopalian) evangelism to, "Walking on the beach with a salt-water fish tank and hoping fish will jump in."
Ow. That smarts.
Truthfully though, we present our fish tanks as buildings of greater (or dubious) architectural appeal, hoping the cultural echoes lead people to crack the door open in curiosity, come in, and stay for the cookies after Mass. The corollary to this approach is that we also keep the lid off the tank so that fish continue to jump out.
Our Lord, when He commissioned the Disciples (see our Gospel today, Luke 5.1-11), said nothing about fish tanks. He told them they would be active fishers for souls. That meant getting out and actively telling people what this is all about, and if people accepted the message, to help them grow in their understanding and commitment. St. Paul clearly tells us what this message is:
"Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me." (1 Cor. 15.3b-8)
We are here not to offer an attractive venue and hope to God that someone sticks their nose in, possible hear the message by accident, and stick around. No, we are supposed to tell them.
How do we tell them? And how, if they receive the message, do we get them to stick around?
The answer is to live the Gospel. We live our lives as living proof we believe Our Lord has delivered us from the final, eternal sting of death. We live our lives proving that God's love has truly infected us. We live our lives in hope for things to come. That means walking humbly with our God, showing mercy to the downtrodden, and love to the loveless. Too many times we show our love and exercise acts of mercy, but tell no one why. Too many times, and sadly this sticks out starkly, we tell people about God but have no acts of mercy, love, or virtue to back up our claims. And way too often we have neither and are as dead as the stone or concrete foundation on which the building was raised.
The fish tank isn't enough. For it to be effective it needs us to actually go out and get the fish, then be broader than the ocean from which they came, and more nourishing. Otherwise we deserve to be holding empty tanks of salt water.
Fish mosaic from floor of pre-Constantinian church, Megiddo, Israel, 3rd. Century A.D.
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