Lord, When You Came to the Lakeshore

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-20 NIV)

We will sing the hymn “Lord When you Came to the Lakeshore” in worship this Sunday. This hymn was written by a Spanish priest named Cesáreo Gabaraín in 1979. He wrote it just after returning from a trip to the Holy land where he visited Galilee. This hymn has become very popular and has been translated into over eighty languages.¹

As Jesus came down to the lakeshore of Galilee, he found Peter and Andrew, James and John. Jesus was looking for volunteers. He was conducting his own job fair. For Jesus, a specialist in job placement, this was personal. The recruits would be working for, with, around and under his direct supervision. We do not know what conversation took place that day. Only the words of Jesus: “Come, follow me; I will make you fishers of people.” (Matt. 4:19 NIV)

Even today Jesus continues to seek out those who will follow him. It does not matter who we are — man or woman, child, teenager, senior citizen — or where we have been in our lives. Jesus calls us to follow. As common, ordinary people, we are called to carry the Gospel message, the good news of Christ, to all the world. And the greatest job benefit ever offered is in the words of Jesus: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20b NIV)

The call to discipleship, to follow Jesus, is for each and every one of us. Jesus is looking for personnel in a very personal way. “You have come to call me.” From the very beginning, the coming of Jesus was personal. The angel said to the shepherds: “I am bringing you good news, for to you this day is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” And, in the words of our baptism: “I baptize you.” And as Jesus comes to us in Holy Communion: “This is my body, my blood, given and shed for you.”

Jesus, still today, is personally looking, searching, asking us to follow him. The first disciples had no idea what they were getting into when they began to follow Jesus. Nor do we. So, will we say “yes”? Will we answer his call to “follow me”?²

1. Sing! A New Creation, Leader’s Edition. (Faith Alive Christian Resource: Grand Rapids, MI, 2002) Hymn No. 269.
2. Frank, Larry. “You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore.” Reformation Lutheran Church (Wichita, KS) Website: http://www.reformation-lutheran.org/lent/2008/lent-all.html Date visited: June 25, 2012.

Lord, When You Came to the Lakeshore

O Lord, in my eyes you were gazing, Kindly smiling, my name you were saying;
All I treasured, I have left on the sand there; Close to you, I will find other seas.

1. Lord, when you came to the seashore You weren't seeking the wise or the wealthy, But only asking that I might follow. REFRAIN
2. Lord, have you need of my labor, Hands for service, a heart made for loving, My arms for lifting the poor and broken? REFRAIN
3. Lord, send me where you would have me, To a village, or heart of the city; I will remember that you are with me. REFRAIN

Text: Cesareo Gabarain, tr. Willard Francis Jabusch