I’d arrived early on that particular Sunday. As I walked into the church, it was impossible not to notice the activity on and around the platform below the pulpit.
Spotlights had been set up to illuminate two separate areas. One consisted of a small table with a swivel stool behind it. This dominated the centre stage. The second area also had a table, except this one was longer and narrower. On top of it was a long glass fish tank which two men were busy topping up with water.
There was a video camera set up at each table. Both were mounted on a tripod so that the camera pointed down at the table surface. Whilst the two men were busy with the fish tank, a third man was preoccupied with the first table, checking to see that the video camera was correctly positioned focused and zoomed. Seemingly satisfied he moved over to the second table and proceeded to do the same with the camera mounted there.
Just then our minister entered. He carried a small case with him. Placing it at the first table he turned, went over to the men busy at the other table and whispered something to them. Then he left.
Whilst all this activity was taking place, the church had filled quickly and was almost full. I noticed this at almost the same instant that the church bell started ringing. Slowly the lights started to dim leaving only the spotlights highlighting the two tables. The restlessness in the pews died down, slowly. Expectantly!
We didn’t have long to wait. The minister entered and proceeded towards the first, smaller table. Sitting down he opened the case that he had placed there earlier. The camera was on and we could watch what he was doing by watching the video image on the large screen. He started to take some items out of the case. I quickly recognised that he was taking out ‘Fly Tying’ tools and material.
“Many of you may be wondering what this is all about.” He had looked up and was addressing the congregation. He pressed a button on a remote control and the scene on the wall changed from the camera view of the table to a close-up of an angler tying a fly onto his line.
Inspecting the knot carefully, the angler then released the fly rod that he had clamped under his right arm. He shook out some slack line from the reel and with minimal effort, gracefully cast his fly into the stream before him. The camera watched the fly as it drifted with the current. Suddenly the angler jerked his rod upwards and the instant quivering bend in the rod indicated that he was fast into a fish.
‘Click.’ The scene returned to the camera view focused on the table.
“Fly tying for Christians! Just what are the elements that we have to use in the flies we make for catching people? What is it that we need to use to make an irresistible fly? Christ has called us to ‘go fishing’ with the Good News. So, what is there in the Good News that we can use to make this irresistible fly?
Whilst he had been talking, we watched as he went about setting up the fly tying vice on the table. He had clamped a fish hook into the jaws of the vice. We were riveted in fascination as he went about constructing a fishing fly. Little bits of fluff and feathers, tinsel, cotton and yarn were soon transformed into a work of art.
All the time our minister had been talking.
“First we need the hook! It doesn’t matter how appealing the feathers may be. If there isn’t a hook to catch them; all the other elements of fly tying, casting the line, presenting the fly, retrieve and so on, will be to no avail. The hook – the one thing that keeps everyone attached to God – is the Holy Spirit! Nothing else will do the trick for any length of time. All the elements of the Good News that Christ commissioned us to spread, are the different elements of the fly dressing These are the attraction. We can dress it anyway we want to. We can make it transform to fit any situation. We can look and see what the fish are feeding on and tie a fly to match it using the Good News. But, it is only the Holy Spirit that gets us hooked in.”
We all watched fascinated with the process. At the same time he stopped talking, he released the finished fly from the vice and held it between his thumb and fore finger. He got up from behind the table.
“The Good News: Christ died for your sins. The Good News: Christ rose from the dead. The Good News: We can have eternal life through Christ our Saviour. The Good News: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The Good News: Christ has overcome the world. All these and more were not sufficient for the disciples until they encountered the Holy Spirit.”
He walked over to the second table.
‘Click.’ The screen lit up again. This time we could watch a mayfly as it drifted on the surface of the stream. In fact the surface film was littered with mayflies. Every now and then I could see the faintest of ripples as a trout rose below a mayfly and gently sucked it in.
The scene dissolved slowly to be replaced by a close up of a fly in the fish tank on the second table. There was a thin strand of line attached to it and the minister had hold of the other end. The camera could give us a far closer view of the fly than we had seen in the previous footage. We could see every quiver of the feathers as he twitched the line, pulling it ever so gently across the length of the fish tank. It was easy to see just how a fish could be tempted into sucking the fly in.
The minister was not only playing the fly along the water. He was also playing the congregation. He had us all hooked!
The scene on the wall returned to the fly fisherman on the stream. This time we could focus on the fisherman’s fly floating in that sea of mayflies. It was trout feeding time, as they sipped their evening meal. Yet it was only the one that took the anglers fly that was caught. The rest of the trout in the stream just carried on sipping mayflies.
“If there is no hook – there is no way to bring the trout in. There is no way to fix him to God. Just like these trout, the broad human population will just carry on feeding. Today it may be mayflies, tomorrow they could be taking worms off the bottom of the stream. We need to make sure, that in our role as fishermen, we use a hook in our fly – the Holy Spirit that can bind our catch to God.
Just then angler’s rod jumped and we watched as he gently brought his catch to the net. He turned towards the camera and held up his catch as the scene faded away.
Our minister returned to the first table.
“You see all this material I have in my box is mostly meaningless. Without a hook, the fish will soon be free and off to other feeding grounds, where in some cases the food may seem to be a lot more appetising.” He paused for moment, then added; “for those of you that have been fishing, you will also understand the concept of making sure that the hook is ‘set’ properly. There is nothing more frustrating than a fish freeing itself just as you bring it to the net or hand. If we are not preaching the Holy Spirit, we are not fishing with hooks and we will not be able to set the hook properly.”
He opened one of the boxes that he had taken out of the case. He held it so the camera could focus on the wide array of flies it contained. “Bright or gaudy, winged or wormed, fluffy or dull. Nothing of these would be of any use without a hook.”
The scene faded as the church lights slowly brightened. I don’t think anyone saw our minister leave, but we did see the note he’d hung on the fish tank:
‘Gone Fishing’
