Galilean Fisherman

Justice Monsters There is a little monster living in each of us that goes by the name of "Justice." Mostly, we keep it safely locked away and out of sight. Then, somebody wrongs us - either intentionally or unintentionally. We hear of an offense that manages to escape the consequences we think it deserves. And with the words: "That's not right" the little justice monster is released and proceeds to unbind our tongues and harden our hearts and demand that "justice" be served. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I have discovered that this little justice monster cannot exist on a river or stream. Whenever I pick up a fly rod and head to either, the little justice monster in me retreats to the very back of my mind. Jesus once said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other." Luke 16:13. At the time, Jesus was talking about serving God or serv

This is Phase 1 of my new blog. The stated purpose of this blog is to share spiritual reflections that arise from fly fishing. Having just completed a two-year interim as pastor at Holiday Island Presbyterian Church, I have returned to retirement and the pursuit of fishing. Although I would never compare myself to the Apostle Peter, I remember a passage from  John 21:1-7a (NIV) Shortly after the death of Jesus, Peter returned to fishing.  "I t happened this way:   2  Simon Peter, Thomas  (also known as Didymus [ b ] ), Nathanael  from Cana in Galilee,  the sons of Zebedee,  and two other disciples were together.   3  “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  4  Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.  5  He called out to them,   “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”  “No,” they answered. 6  He said,