A fishing testimony
Anglican priests are asked to bless things. It is part of the job description. Every week I bless the bread and the wine, as well as the people that have gathered together to grow in their relationship with God. Occasionally
I’m also asked to bless a piece of cross jewelry, a house, or even a car. I’m always happy to do it, believing that God sees people’s faith and responds with his favor. Two Sundays ago, I had a uniquely Sierra-style request for a blessing.
A visiting father from Aliso Viejo named Max had come to church with his ten-year-old son. They were on a ten-day trek through the Eastern Sierra and doing a lot of fishing. Toward the end of service, I was surprised to see Max get up and leave before the closing song. I wasn’t sure if there was something that had bothered him about the service, or if he had another appointment to rush off to. After the conclusion of service, I walked out to the front of church and was happy to see Max and his son standing a with a grip of fishing poles. He jumped right into their request:
“Hi, I’m Max and this is my son and we’re on a father/son trip through the Sierra. I’ve been taking my son fishing for five years and he’s never caught a single fish. Yesterday we spent the entire day with a fishing guide at Convict and got skunked. I think we might need to break a curse. So we came here to ask for you to bless our fishing poles and prayer for our fishing.” Max was in good humor, and shared with story with a smile, knowing that it was a bit unusual.
Anytime someone is ready to ask for God’s favor in an area of their life, I’m happy to help encourage it, and so I blessed the poles, said a prayer for these men to embrace what God had for them, and to be in step with our Savior, who more than once in his life brought people to very successful fishing trips. I also asked them about what kind of bait they were using, and there didn’t seem to be any problems there.
Frankly, I didn’t expect to hear back from them, though I was curious. The next day I was camping up at June Lake and I asked one of the employees how the fishing had been this year. He referenced all the fish that had to be killed because of disease at the hatcheries this year, how little the lakes had been stocked, and said it had been, ‘really bad.’ I thought of Max and his son, and it made sense they hadn’t been catching. And honestly, I had my doubts about whether the blessing they received would turn things around.
I was delighted a few days later to get an email from them, full of wonderful pictures. Max wrote, “Later on Sunday after receiving the blessing we went fishing in Big Pine and Max caught FIVE good fish, and we kept on catching fish throughout our journey. Thank you for your prayer and your awesome service…” I was delighted, and a bit relieved, to get the email. I think it probably says more about their faith, and their willingness to set aside some time for worship even during their vacation than it does about my blessing. The Lord loves to bless his children as they come to him in faith, believing that there is no request too large or too small for Christ. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb 11:6).
Together in the Journey,
Father Cam Lemons
(Father Cam Lemons serves at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. Service is at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 700 Hobson St. in Bishop. He also serves at Trinity Memorial Anglican
Church in Lone Pine. The service there is at noon at 220 N. Lakeview Road. For more information, go to StTimothysBishop.com.)