Sermon for March 2010
“Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” (NRS Luke 5:1-11)
With many occupations you know that if you do A and B the result is most likely going to be C. Fishing has never been like that. Fishing is not something that is an exact science and sometimes it is a hit and miss proposition. Successful fishing requires a good amount of skill. First of all, you need to know where the fish usually hang out. You also need the right equipment and you need the expertise to use it. You also need a fair amount of luck. Fishing is sometimes a question of being in just the right place at the right time. Simon Peter and his companions were good fishermen.
On most nights they were successful with their catch. There was an abundance of fish to be found in the Sea of Galilee. Fishing was hard work but it provided one of the main food sources for the people of Galilee. It was also a source of income for many of them.
But on that particular night it seemed that Simon Peter and his fishing companions had a most disappointing fishing trip. Luck had completely eluded them. They had been fishing all night long and had come up completely empty handed. When morning broke they dragged themselves to shore and began cleaning their nets.
That morning Jesus was also on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He had gone there to preach to the people. A large group of people had gathered to hear Jesus. As he began to preach, they surrounded him and pushed ever closer. The people had heard of Jesus’ mighty works in Capernaum and they crowded around him anxiously waiting to hear him preach the healing words of God. Simon Peter and the fishermen had other things to do. They were busy washing their nets before going home to sleep. They were all exhausted and disappointed. They had spent the night tossing out net after net only to bring them in empty. As the crowd continued to press in on Jesus he stepped into Simon’s boat.
Jesus asked Simon to move out into the water so that he could preach to the crowd. Simon was tired. He certainly would have preferred to go home and sleep. Nonetheless, he took the boat out into the water again. Perhaps he felt a sense of obligation to Jesus and more than a little admiration. This is, after all, not the first encounter that Jesus has had with Simon. Simon had recently been with Jesus in Capernaum. After listening to Jesus preach in the synagogue Simon had invited him into his home for the evening meal. When they entered the house they had discovered that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill. Jesus went to her and healed her (Luke 4:38-39). Most likely Simon told his friends about Jesus’ amazing healing power.
There is little doubt that Simon and his fellow fishermen were glad to have Jesus in their presence. Jesus sat down in Simon’s boat and preached to the crowd. After he was through preaching, Jesus told Simon to go out into deeper water and let down the fishing nets. At first Simon was reluctant. After all he had been up all night.
He and the other fishermen had been sailing all over the Sea of Galilee and had come up empty handed. Simon figured this was just another exercise in futility. This was really not the way he had envisioned spending his morning.
Simon was exhausted. All he and his fellow fishermen wanted to do was go home, get a decent meal, wash up and go to sleep. But, perhaps Simon remembered how Jesus had gone out of his way to bring about the healing of his mother-in-law. So out of respect Simon rowed out into the deep water and dropped the nets. The end result must have quite a shock for Simon, James, and John. They had no sooner dropped the net over the side when it was filled with so many fish that Simon had to call the other boat to help with the catch.
The catch was so overwhelming that it threatened to sink both boats. Clearly there was something extraordinary happening here. Simon’s initial reaction to this event was awe but also fear. This is twice that Jesus had been present when something unusual and miraculous has happened. Simon realized that God was somehow acting through Jesus. Simon also knew that he was a sinful man and was not worthy to be in the presence of Jesus. So Simon gave the only response that he could. He fell to his knees in front of Jesus. Simon said to Jesus, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
But Jesus did not leave Peter. Instead Jesus response was to call Simon Peter to him and to tell him not to be afraid. Jesus called him to a new life in Christ. Jesus invited Peter not only to transform his life but to work with Jesus to help transform the lives of others.
Jesus brought Simon and the other fishermen the good news of God’s abundant love, healing and grace. The fishermen were about to become fishers of people. Why do you think that Jesus picked these ordinary people to help him fulfill God’s mission?
There was certainly nothing special about Simon, James and John. There was nothing extraordinary that qualified them to the disciples of Jesus who would lead others to God. They were not the smartest or the best educated people in their village. They were not leaders in the religious community.Jesus called them anyway. Jesus looked at them and said, “I want you to follow me.” And Luke tells us that Simon, James and John showed no hesitation. They left everything that day to follow after Jesus. (Luke 5:10).
Just who is it that God picks to do God’s work in the world? Who is it that God declares good enough to carry God’s Word to others? Of course, the answer is that none of us is good enough. But that has never stopped God from picking us anyway. God always meets us just where we are, in the midst of our sins, our flaws, our mistakes, and yes, our incompetence. God tells us that we too can be part of the realm of God. God will give us what we need to do whatever job God has in mind for us. What God is looking for are hands that are willing to serve and eyes that are willing to look outside themselves and their own world. God wants ears that are willing to listen to God’s call and hearts that are open to loving and caring for God’s creation.
Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand why God chooses us for a particular job. Sometimes it is because we think we lack the qualifications or the expertise to carry out what God is asking us to do. The bible is filled with people whose initial reaction to God’s call was one of denial and doubt. Jeremiah told God that he was too young for the job. Moses told God that he had a speech impediment that prevented him from being God’s spokesperson. Sometimes our reluctance to answer God’s call comes because we know we are sinful people. Peter told Jesus he was a sinful man and Jesus should just go away from him. Isaiah initially said he was a man of unclean lips. The apostle Paul was a man who helped to murder Christians. But God called each of them to do God’s work.
The fact is that there is no perfect disciple or perfect time. There is only God’s time and the perfect love and grace that God has for a very imperfect creation. God chooses us because God sees qualities in us that, perhaps, we are unable to see. Jesus didn’t pick disciples because of their extraordinary qualifications for service. They did not possess exceptional character or have unusual potential for doing amazing things. The people who followed Jesus were just ordinary people doing the ordinary routine acts of their day.
If Jesus had told them ahead of time where they were headed and what they were going to do I doubt that any of them would have thought that they were capable of the job.
We can all find excuses as to why we can’t serve God. There is an endless list. We are too old, too young, not experienced enough, not the right person for a particular job, we don’t have enough time, we are afraid that we don’t know what we’re doing. When God calls us it is because God has a job for us. God wants us to answer that call in humility and trust. When God calls us, God will also be present with us to help us to do what we are being called to do. God will not leave us alone and abandoned. God gives each of us the opportunity to leave the world better than we found it. When we get to heaven, God is not going to care about how much money we made during our lifetime. God isn’t going to ask us about our stock portfolio. God will ask us what we did for others. When God calls us we can answer, “How can I serve? Here I am, God, send me.” Amen.