Musings from Fr. Brad

“From now on, you will be catching people”

February 23rd, 2010

The balance of the sermon preached Sunday, February 7, 2010 – Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

And now, let’s look at the gospel story.  This is the real sermon, if you want to set your watch.

Here is a summary of the story. Jesus is being surrounded by camp-followers, admirers, and other assorted members of “the crowd.” Wanting to preach to the largest number possible, he boards a boat and moves out from the shore. He lectures from the boat for a while, but senses that it’s time for one of those actions-that-speak-louder-than-words moments.

He asks Simon Peter to put his net in the water to catch some fish.

Now, Simon Peter said that there weren’t any more fish to catch–he’d tried, but failed at fishing that day. “Pretty slim pickins, Lord,” he says.

I wonder if this wasn’t Simon Peter’s way of saying that he thinks he’s not a very good fisherman. He was a good fisherman; maybe he needed an excuse.

Jesus doesn’t take that as a suitable response. In fact, Jesus never did take “no” or “maybe” for an answer; have you noticed that?

What’s more—on a side note—the people Jesus calls are usually in the midst of doing something else, totally unrelated—like making a living as professional fishermen. They generally aren’t the ones wildly waving their hands saying, “Pick me, Jesus!”  (Maybe you are not crazy about Jesus calling you this week either)

Maybe…Jesus wasn’t wild about volunteers. From the gospel of John, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16) Jesus was looking for commitment and an open heart.

Jesus asked Simon to continue to do what they had been doing, but this time, the catch is abundant.  And with that, Jesus had their attention, didn’t he?

“From now on you will be catching people.”

Actions speak louder than words. Instead of just increasing the number of fish caught, Jesus makes the catch so abundant that the fishing nets break under the weight!  Soon the boats are overflowing with freshly caught fish.

Hmmmm….

If you recall any of Jesus’ miracles, there seems to be a pattern of abundance.

• He doesn’t just cure the sniffles for Lazarus, he raises him from the dead!
• He doesn’t just change a single chalice-worth of water into wine; he changes over 120 gallons of water into wine. More than enough for two or three weddings!
• And now, he doesn’t just produce a few large fish; he makes sure that the boats are sinking under the weight of all that fish!

What is the pattern here?  

Actions do speak louder than words. God’s abundance is deafening.

And have you ever noticed that in every instance of the good news being proclaimed to someone, there is almost always someone saying, “Do not fear.” And then, each finds his/her voice.

What does God have to do, for you to find your voice? 

What more can God do before you abandon your speechless side and take on that side of you that is waiting to proclaim the goodness of God?

Jesus still calls people to follow him today, of course, so it’s helpful to look at what Luke’s account tells us—that Jesus’ call came to unlikely people who were in the midst of other things and who had no thought of volunteering.

And then, when Jesus made his wishes known it was for real work in new fields that furthered God’s kingdom.

It’s important to understand all of this because it helps us to recognize what is going on when Jesus calls us, calls a whole congregation!

The stories remind us that Jesus is not impressed by our natural abilities, appearance, talents or what we think we’ve made of ourselves.

His call does not await the completion of our education or the completion of our work schedule, or the advent of retirement, or the size of the church’s endowment, or the economic health of a community. His call comes on his time schedule, not ours.

And no matter whether we answer the call…our God just keeps movin’ on. Whether we are ready or not, no matter how many excuses we can give, our God is movin’ on! 

My friends, we are knee-deep in fish!

Like Paul, our most grievous sins have been forgiven. The hem of God’s robe is so vast that it is wrapped around each of us. And if you look up, you can see one of God’s angels comin’ at you with a live coal.

Maybe that coal will take the form of the communion wafer today. Maybe it will take the form a miracle in your life tomorrow. Maybe it will take the form of a helping hand from a friend later this week. Maybe later this year it will take the form of freedom from whatever is holding you or us down.

But rest assured that God has no need to check your Episcopal ID because he knows you as his own child. No resume is necessary for the job of Proclaimer in God’s kingdom. And there is no chance of being downsized, for this is one industry where there will always be openings–until such time that we are reunited in that heavenly palace where all sing Holy, Holy, Holy.

Today, ask God for that coal on your tongue. Ask for TWO coals! Tell Jesus that you want to choose the right path and that you’ll take his hand and that you’ll take him at his word to lead you wherever God needs you to go, because… “from now on, you will be catching people.”

Amen.

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