What a Difference the Lord Makes! Luke 5. 1-11 February 6, 2022
Hickory Street Presbyterian Church, Scranton, PA
Everyone who has had a long day
of fishing with nothing much to show for it has heard some-one tell them: “That’s
why they call it ‘fishing’ and not ‘catching!’” My brother-in-law Steve and I
have had many of those days over the years. Before he and my wife’s sister
moved to North Carolina we spent quite a few days fishing from the jetties
along the Jersey shore or out in Raritan Bay after he bought his first
boat. Some days we came back to our wives
and children with fresh fish for dinner.
On others, all we had to show for a day by the water was a sunburn.
A
couple of years back when we went south to meet our niece’s baby boy, I got a
North Carolina visitor’s fishing license so Steve and I could go for Striped
Bass as they made their spawning run on a river two hours from Raleigh. For a
couple of days before, Steve would call me into his home office and show me
videos on his computer of the spot we were going to fish…or read a report by
one of his fishing buddies about which spots were hot and which ones were not,
complete with GPS coordinates or landmarks above or below the boat launch we
would be using.
Wednesday
arrived, sunny and warm. We drove to the Roanoke River and found it running
high and fast due to recent rains. We
unloaded the boat from the trailer, set-off and fished all morning with barely
a bite. Noontime came and went as we floated downstream, ran back upstream, and
let the current take us down again.
Nothing. Then, just when we were
about to head back to the launch we began to boat some fish. Since it was catch and release, we didn’t
bring anything home…but at least we had some pictures to verify that we had
been “catching” and not just “fishing.”
I’m liking Luke more and more all the time. What I like about Luke is the way he tells the story of Jesus. Though he tells some of the same stories as Mark and Matthew, when he tells them, and the way he tells them is less magical and mystical and more realistic. Take the call of the Galilean fishermen to become his disciples which comes after a time spent teaching the crowds and that very successful fishing trip.
When Matthew and Mark tell of Jesus coming upon some fisherman as he walked beside the Sea of Galilee, there has been no prior contact between them. Matthew and Mark report that Jesus had begun preaching his message, and next thing you know he’s addressing Simon and Andrew, then James and John, inviting them to “fish for people.” They leave their nets and follow. Bing, bang, boom.
In
Luke, by the time Jesus invites the fishermen to seek a different species, they
have had an opportunity to see him in action and hear him speak. Between last week’s report of the visit Jesus
made to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and this week’s story by
the sea, Luke reports a series of events which would have given Peter and the
others a basis for their vocational change.
In
what some have called “a day in the life of Jesus,” we join Luke and follow
along as Jesus makes his way to Capernaum, a seaside village on the north shore
of the Sea of Galilee (which Luke calls Gennesaret.) It is again the Sabbath,
and Jesus is again found in the synagogue, and, as elsewhere, )at least
everywhere but Nazareth), the people “were astounded at his teaching because he
spoke with authority” (4.31-32).
While he was teaching that day, a man with what Luke describes as “an unclean demon” cries out, having recognized that Jesus is the Holy One of God.” Jesus rebukes the demon, which is banished, and the man is restored to health and wholeness. The people are amazed and spread the word of Jesus and the healing power he brings. What a difference the Lord makes.
When
the Sabbath observance at the synagogue was over Jesus went to Simon’s house.
We don’t yet know who Simon is or what he does for a living. What we soon learn
is that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a high fever and members of the
household ask Jesus about her. Now he rebukes
the fever, and the sick woman gets up and starts helping to serve dinner.
After
dessert there is a knock on the door and the street is filled with people
bringing people to be touched and healed by Jesus. They’ve heard what he has
done elsewhere and earlier that day in synagogue. Healings abound and more
demons are sent packing before Jesus calls it a day.
Come
morning they’re looking for more of the same, but Jesus has found a deserted
place, presumably to pray and gather his thoughts. They find him and urge him to stay in Capernaum…but
he makes it clear that he must go and teach others about the kingdom of God,
and off he goes. Chronology is never a big concern for Luke, so when we get to
the story read today, it is not clear how much time has elapsed since he left
Capernaum behind. Luke’s concern is to describe what happened, not when.
What is clear is that Jesus has learned something about crowd control and minimizing the risk of being crushed by those who came to hear him or to seek his healing touch. There is a place not far from Capernaum that today is called “Peter’s landing”. It is a nice little spot where boats can be easily beached. The land rises up from the side of the lake forming a natural amphitheater. When you stand there it is easy to picture today’s story taking place. All you have to do is block out the sight of the lovely little chapel someone built on the site in tribute to what tradition says occurred on that spot.
With
the crowd pressing in on him, Jesus steps into Simon’s boat, and asks the
fisherman, who is over washing his nets with his partners, to put out a ways
from the shore. Here is what is special about that scene. Luke has preserved a
precious moment, capturing the fishermen doing what fishermen need to do. On an episode of the television program “The Last Alaskans,” a
couple who spend part of their year fishing and trapping in the northeast
corner of Alaska were doing something similar.
The Selden’s were preparing to redeploy their net to catch salmon during
their spawning run in order to provide food for their sled dogs. But first, they had to clean their nets of
the debris that had collected in them the previous day.
As
with any other occupation, or avocation for that matter, there are things that
need to be done in order for that work or that play to be successful and
enjoyable. It is worth noting that Luke shows the soon-to-be-disciples doing
the preparation and follow-up their work required. Soon they would be learning
the tricks of a new trade which would be just as necessary if they were to do
their tasks well.
Simon sets the net-cleaning aside and responds to the request of Jesus. He and the others row the boat from the shore. Jesus sits down in the posture of a teacher and class begins. The content is not mentioned. By the time we finish Luke’s gospel we’ll have had some examples of the kind of stories he told and the lessons he imparted. For now it is important only to notice this: his teaching, which began in their synagogues, is not confined to them. All the world becomes his classroom, and those invited to hear are not limited to those who feel comfortable or welcomed in the official holy places. He is model-ing the movement for God’s people, who are to go out into the world to serve.
When
the lesson is done, Jesus provided himself with an exit strategy that avoids
making his way through the crowd. That,
and it turns out he is not done teaching. He turns to Simon and says: “Put out
into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
Not,
“let’s go fishing,” but “let down your nets for a catch.” Now we learn that
those nets Simon and the others were washing had been out all night with only
the seaweed, flotsam and jetsam they were shaking out to show for it. Read into Simon’s first words what you wish:
no doubt he is tired from the fruitless night; and maybe he’s skeptical that
the carpenter turned teacher knows anything about fishing; or maybe he’s hoping
to change the mind of Jesus when he says, “Master, we have worked all night
long but have caught nothing.”
Yet,
Simon doesn’t stop there, as if to say, “please, let us call it a day!” He goes
on: “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” Tired or not, skeptical or not, reluctant or not,
there is in Simon’s words and the actions that followed, obedience. He said he
would do what Jesus said, and then he did. Over the side went the net, down
into the deep. Then, the nets began to fill and stretch and the strings were
beginning to break, so they signal the Zebedee boys to come over and help, and soon both boats were a teeming mass of
fish so heavy the boats were nearly swamped from the weight. What a differ-ence the Lord makes!
The
difference started to add up in Simon Peter’s mind. The healings he witnessed,
the teachings he heard and the abundance spilling out of the boats causes Peter
to recognize that he is witnessing the power of God unleashed through Jesus. Like Isaiah in the temple, Simon is over-come
by the contrast between the extraordinary nature of God and his own
ordinariness as a human being. As others in the gospels will do, he seeks to
put some distance between himself and goodness in the flesh. “Go away from me,
Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
This expression, one scholar notes, “is not a moral confession of a sinful life; it expresses awe in the presence of a manifestation of Jesus’ identity as agent of God’s rule and empire.”[i] When we step back and remember that this is part of a biblical call story, we are able to check off the steps in the process. Our scholar points out that Simon Peter and the others have been witness to “an epiphany or revelation of the Divine,” they have reacted with objections in the form of pointing to their all night empty nets, and now Simon speaks of unworthiness.[ii]
Next
there will be reassurance and a commission. Jesus says to them: “Do not be
afraid, from now on you will be catching people.” The final step in the call
process is acceptance or obedience: “When they had brought their boats to shore,
they left everything and followed him.”
The nice thing about that last phrase in Luke is this. There is reason for them to drop everything and follow. They’ve seen the works, they’ve heard the words, they are experiencing the abundance that comes to those who follow. It makes sense. And though the story is not asking everyone to literally do the same, it does, as another commentator puts it, “raise the question of what we are to do with our lives.”[iii] Will we or will we not follow Jesus?
In
the book that has challenged and inspired generations, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Only he who
believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes. The first step of obedience makes Peter leave
his nets, and later get out of the ship; it calls upon the young man to leave
his riches. Only this new existence, can make faith possible.”[iv]
In
just a few minutes we’ll be singing a hymn that has become a favorite of mine. Jane Parker Huber’s first line sums it up
nicely: “Called as partners in Christ’s service.”[v] It
summons us to come and follow Jesus. Yet it is not a summons to leave behind
who you are and what you do, but to put who you are and what you do to work for
Christ. Your call is to be God’s agent where you are. Since none of us cast nets, that means we are
called to do what we can in the midst of our daily lives—
So do what you do for God: interact with your co-workers and customers; let your volunteer commitments become your mission field; teach your students, learn your lessons; make the gifts you give away, counsel your clients, answer those e-mails, choose wisely the Facebook memes you like and share; keep serving those meals to your hungry neighbors. As the Paul told the Colossians: “…whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”[vi]
As
you do, like Simon Peter and the others, discover what a difference the Lord
makes when we trust his word and obey his commands. Amen.
[ii] ibid.
[iii] Blair R. Monie, Connections – A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship, Year C, Vol. 1, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018), p. 238
[iv] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, (New York: Touchstone, 1959) p. 63-64
[v] Jane Parker Huber, “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service,” Hymn # 343, The Presbyterian Hymnal, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)
[vi] Colossian 3. 17
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