Sea Life

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, by Katsushika Hokusai

Matthew 4:12-23

 

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee... 

 

Besides Britain there are two considerably small nations that exert much attention from the world irrespective of their size. They are Israel and Japan. The interest that they receive seems to be categorized in different areas. You don't usually equate Jerusalem with Tokyo, Kosher with Sushi, Shintoism with Judaism or the ancient Ninjas with the ancient Zealots... but there are similarities in some things. As different as they may seem there are many comparisons to be made between 1st century Palestine and 18th/19th century Japan. They main point of comparison is hinged upon their proximity to great bodies of water. Israel's bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Japan being enclosed by three seas and the Pacific Ocean shaped it's livelihood, culture and history. Both were either coastal or island people resisting the influences of the Western Imperial forces of their time: Judea had Rome and Japan had Europe and later the U.S.. The waves brought in the blessings of food and trade but the curses of storms and invaders. This relationship with water shaped both people's imagination and view of life: having periods of calm but too often filled with turbulence. It inspired the woodblock images of Katsushika Hokusai in his series of prints 36 Views of Mount Fuji and it shaped Jesus' recruitment of his 12 Disciples. God uses those who have struggled with waves in their lifetime.

Whalling off the Goto Islands (Goto kujira tsuki). by Katsushika Hokusai

...And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”...

The Seacoast

Living on the seacoast may provide for beautiful beach views but it also provides for the dangers of what the sea may bring in. Katsushika Hokusai was born in Edo, Japan (the old name for Tokyo) during the years of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was during this period that Japan, concerned by the Western powers colonization in Asia, closed its borders to outsiders. yet there was still some local trade with outsiders through Edo. Through one of these small trade connection with the Dutch Japanese prints were spread to the world and prints of the European Master painters were spread amongst Japanese artists. Hokusai introduced some of the concepts and methods of European art to Japanese printmaking. His famous "Great Wave" gained its popularity by advertising its use of the newly available "Prussian Blue" color. Galilee in the time of Jesus seems to have been similar. It was not the center of national government or culture like Edo: that was Jerusalem. But Galilee was looked upon as the place where outsider influences (Gentiles) were felt the most. As far back as the Old Testament book of Isaiah it was commonly referred to as "Galilee of the Gentiles." This wasn't a good thing. Even though the Jews were under Roman rule, association with Non-Jews was still kept to a minimum. Just like the Japanese viewed the Europeans as Barbarians, the Jews viewed any Gentile as impure. Now all of Palestine (the Roman name of the region that included the Roman province of Judea and the remnants of ancient Israel) is on the Seacoast of the Mediterranean, but Galilee is on the coast of a different kind of sea... and when I say "different kind of sea" I mean "a lake." Yes, the Sea of Galilee is actually a lake. A really, really big lake. A lake that everyone from the area calls a sea, but none the less a landlocked body of fresh water... so yeah, a lake. I am not sure why the locals have always called it a sea but the locals there were kind of different. To the elite city folks in Jerusalem they would have been religiously "suspect" due to their association with Gentiles, but they also would have just viewed them as country bumpkins. They had discernible accents and most carried rural, manual labor jobs like shepherds and fisherman. They were not especially learned men.. which may be why they called a lake a sea. So this is not only the region that God chose to birth His Son into, but also the region that His Son chose several of his notable disciples from. After Jesus learned of John the Baptist's arrest he didn't go to preach and chose disciples amongst the great rabbis of the holy city Jerusalem but rather amongst the outsiders of Capernaum. Characteristic of the rest of his ministry Jesus chose the outsiders, the non-accepted and the humble to lead his kingdom. Just as James 4:6 rephrases Proverbs 3:34 “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” It is only these desperate souls who may be courageous enough to go out and fight the waves to live.

Self-Portrait as a Fisherman, by Katsushika Hokusai

...And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him...

The Sea Men

In the above posted print we see Katsushika Hokusai depiction of an old fisherman. Clever art historians have discovered that this image is actually Hokusai himself in costume. Hokusai, like many other artists, would insert himself into some of his scenes and characters. Maybe he knew several fisherman and related to them. Maybe he saw a correlation between the life of the printmaking artist and the fisherman: both providing staples of the Japanese palate. Dealing with the consumer's "taste" they also could feel the wrath of the finicky market: ever desiring something new. Hokusai was older by the time that he produced the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and had been driven from retirement by the gambling losses of his grandson. Their were two pairs of disciples who left the fishing trade to follow Jesus. James and John are stated as having been involved in a family business when they left their father to take the gamble of the Good News. I do not take the Good News lightly (in that I just made a joking association of it with a gamble) but their was a definite risk involved. All of the disciples except for John would one day die as martyrs. But in defense of my joke, Jesus actually introduced the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter and Andrew with a joke. His "fisher's of men" was a play on words, yes a pun, on "fishermen." There is no detail given in the Gospel as to whether Jesus' pun was followed by a rim shot or a sad trombone, but it seems to have been successful enough to convince his audience to be his followers. If being a Galilean fisherman was anything like the crew on The Deadliest Catch, then having a sense of humor was necessary. It was hard labor where you risked you life. Maybe this is where Jesus and Hokusai connected: Jesus related to fisherman as well. His job of preaching was dangerous and his task of bringing salvation to mankind would cost him his very life. But Jesus would not shrink from hard work. Jesus didn't just relate to the fishermen but he also related to me and you for scripture says "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Jesus understands struggling with the waves of life. Working with his fishermen/disciples also displayed his concern for the fish.

Carp fan, by Katsushika Hokusai

...And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people...

The Sea Life

One of the great things about this printed fan by Hokusai (just like those Martin Luther King fans in your local Black Baptist church) is the realistic depiction of fish. One can imagine that his exposure world art gave him an insightful advantage over other Japanese print makers. Likewise Jesus' familiarity with all of mankind gave him a realistic depiction of his "fish." He went about all of Galilee healing all types of physical and spiritual sickness. That is where nuance comes into the picture. Most physical illnesses are obvious to the patient, however, spiritual sickness may be more subtle. Jesus had success with the publicans and prostitutes that he ministered to. They were aware of their sinful nature. Society screamed it at them. But Jesus wasn't as successful at converting the Pharisees: men who studied and judged others based on the Scripture, yet they had missed the greater themes of love, justice and mercy in God's Word. This is where pride come into the picture. It may not have been that Jesus was "unsuccessful" as much as Jesus was never asked to offer his services. Jesus once said to the judgmental Pharisees “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” God resists the proud because only the humble see and admit the sickness of their soul. These are the fish that Christ searches for: the humble, the meek, the sinner, those that tired of being battered by the waves of life. 

Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Koshu Kajikazawa), by Katsushika Hokusai

Casting Your Net & Calming Your Sea

This wasn't the only time that Jesus used fishing terminology to explain the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a fisherman's net... not a fishing pole. What's the big difference? Well a net catches a swath of everything in its path, not just one individual fish. The term for casting your net in this way is termed "broadcasting"... a word that we also think of when we speak of television and radio ministry. Both involve spreading the message of Christ to all kinds of people and the most people. From the Apostles to St. Francis of Assisi to Billy Graham to Francis Chan many Christians have answered the call to spread the Gospel to total strangers. Yeah, I know that it seems foreign and distasteful too many. And I am not saying that everyone does it right. Remember that guy I know whose relative evangelizes while dressing up like Batman? There are many ways to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the greatest of these are through acts of kindness, service, forgiveness and love...especially those last two. Some of the greater interpersonal witnesses come from a personal testimony. When others see your life changed and saved they will see God's salvation in action. Remember the story of Jesus' calming the storm or Jesus' walking on water? Yes they both involve miracles but more specifically they involve unstable waters and facing storms. They both involve mastering the waves that rock us in our lives. They both end with the onlookers growing in faith. They both show that God uses those who have struggled with waves in their lifetime.



Ocean Waves, by Katsushika Hokusai