Luke 5:1-11
1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 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." 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
It was a long night of fishing... a long night with no results... tired and worn... frustrated from a night useless struggle... the fisherman put in to shore to do the repairs and preparation for another day... But this day will be different than all others.
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Does the call of God bring relief or increase terror and instability?
We hear this story and have to wonder... is Jesus bringing relief to the fisherman or increasing the terror of the people?
Simon Peter, a first hand hearer of the events of the day says: Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
Jesus says: “I’ve got a great project to work on... we’re going to do some amazing things... change jobs and follow me.
God is on the move and Simon says: “Go away.” “I’m not worthy” I’m too sinful” “You’ve got the wrong guy” “I don’t really want to”.
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Simon Peter would have fit well in Edson. You can see those burly fisherman shoulders and the calloused hands of a hard working manual laborer. You can see that great hospitality he has when he allows Jesus to use his boat... and not just use the boat, but take it out to deep, into the unsafe waters.
Simon is a professional fisherman and if you listen closely you can hear the snickers of the other fisherman as this carpenter turned Prophet tells them how to do their job...
This would make a great movie moment as some people are rolling their eyes, some people are softly snickering, and a few others don’t even help out.
Today we see how meeting Jesus turns out to have not made Simon Peter’s life any better... in fact... the safe shallow water where he could make a living were just fine. Oh sure, no fish some nights but... there is safety in the familiar shallow waters. There is safety in staying with what you know to be true. And in a place like Canada... where most of us have disposable incomes, and at the very least food, shelter, and water... changing and trying new things is a dangerous thing to do.
So when Jesus speaks of an abundant life... when small miracles nudge us to look at life from a new perspective... when the risk or success makes us hesitant to try new things... it is much easier to say “Get away from me Lord.”
Jesus increases the complexity of life.
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For some like Simon Peter this is the day when everything changes... he takes on a new vocation and his life becomes incredibly complicated. God uses him to found an entire church. His lack of faith at key moments become legendary, and God’s willingness to use him anyway becomes the foundational understanding of God’s Graceful acceptance for all.
God’s movement to declare people righteous even when they have failed in every way is shown in Simon Peter. Simon Peter will flee the cross and not stand with Jesus in the end. Simon Peter will eventually die a martyr on his own cross.
Most assuredly Jesus increased the complexity of His life.
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In December of 2006, at the age of 18 Katie Davis traveled to Uganda for the first time. On what was supposed to be a short term mission trip. She was immediately
captivated and fell in love with the people and the culture. While in Uganda, Katie met Pastor Isaac Wagaba who implored her to come teach Kindergarten at his orphanage in Buziika,
Uganda, called Canaan Children's Transit Center.
This is from her blog last December:
I am 20 years old and have 13 children and 400 more who all depend on me for their care. Who are all learning to love Jesus and be responsible adults and looking up to me. The reality of it all can be a bit overwhelming at times. However, it is always pure joy. There is a common misconception that I am courageous. I will be the first to tell you that this is not actually true. Most of the time, I am not brave. I just believe in a God who will use me even though I am not. Most mornings, before I even get out of bed I am overwhelmed with His goodness, with His plan for my life; I stand in awe of the fact that He could entrust me with so much. Most days, I don’t have much of a plan. I don’t always know where this is going. I can’t see the end of the road, but here is the great part: Courage is not about knowing the path. It is about taking the first step. It is about Peter, getting out of the boat. I do not know my five year plan; even tomorrow will probably not go as I have planned. I am thrilled and I am terrified, in a good way. So some call it courage, some call it foolish, I call it Faith. I choose to get out of the boat. To take the next step. Sometimes I walk straight into His arms. More often, I get scared and look down and stumble. Sometimes I almost completely drown. And through it all, He never lets go of my hand.
These are deep waters to be fishing in...
So again, does God cause relief... or increase the terror?
The answer is truly that God brings both.
For Simon Peter, and all who heard Jesus and saw the fish that day, they were shown a truth about how the world really is and what God wanted to do with it.
And each step of Simon Peter’s life from that day forward was lived with an awareness of God Kingdom breaking into the world. He was lead to deep waters and amazing catches of fish, he was lead to be part of the movement of God in the world.
For Katie Davis, she seems to blog a lot about trust and fear both being increased.
And this is what we are doing here today. Hearing just a little more about what it is to be a follower of Christ. Being challenged to the Grace and the Fear of change and moving into deep waters.
In Worship we often think that we are doing something for God but in fact... God is not that needy.
As we Worship and heap praise on God, we are also being told who we are... we are being pointed away from ourselves in the Word and the meal we share... we are pointed back out into the world.
Worship is a safe place to land... it is in this place that we hear the words of forgiveness spoken and we are fed...
and it is here that we don’t have to be afraid of our sin and failings because it is also here that we know that forgiveness and grace have the last word.
Jesus brings comfort.
But the same Word that comforts also points us to go to the deep waters and drop down our nets. To leave the familiar and safe shallows of our lives, and boldly sail out to where we are lead. To see what God would have this church do and become.
This is the place where we come to be told who we are...
Comforting? Not always... but from here... having been told who we are... we are sent out.
And so thanks be to God that we have witnessed the promise that God’s grace for us... for all... May we have the courage to move into deep waters. AMEN


