February 6, 2022 Sermon

Sermon title:  "Fishers of  People"

Scripture:  Luke 5:1-11

(Other lectionary choices include Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 138, and I Corinthians 15:1-11.)

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

1Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He 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. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So 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. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and 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." 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

(This next scripture is one of the lectionary choices and Pastor Skip is also reading this scripture during the service.)

Isaiah 6:1-8

A Vision of God in the Temple

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

          It is always interesting to me how Jesus gathered his disciples. In what we heard from Luke today, Simon Peter and others (including James and John, the sons of Zebedee) left everything and followed Jesus. But what happened earlier is important, too.

          Jesus tells Peter (that's Simon Peter) to let down his fishing nets in a certain place. Peter tells Jesus that they have been working all night long and have caught nothing. BUT IF YOU SAY SO, he seems to say. we will do what you ask. And what happens? A whole bunch of fish are caught - in fact, so many that BOTH boats are filled to the gunnels and so full that they start to sink! This story tells me two things:  first, with the Lord there is much abundance. You need fish? You'll get fish, and not just a few fish, but a LOT of fish! The second thing is the faith of Simon Peter. He tells Jesus that they have been fishing all night and have caught nothing - but - Peter seems to be saying, I trust you Jesus, and I will do what you say. Peter trusts Jesus and look what happens:  more fish than they know what to do with! I think that passage is for you and me:  trust the Lord, no matter what situation in which you find yourself. You just may be amazed at the abundance that the Lord will provide.

          And there's another thing:  look at the response of Peter:  "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." It seems that at that moment Peter realizes that Jesus is no ordinary man. And maybe that's another reason that Peter was so highly regarded by the early Church. He knew, perhaps sooner than the others, that the difference between him and Jesus was like the difference between him and God. Perhaps Peter's experience is similar to Isaiah's. The Old Testament prophet said, "I have seen the king, the Lord of hosts." The Big Fisherman perhaps saw something of the Lord of hosts in the man from Galilee.

          Sometimes people see Jesus as a magic man, and we are told that he did perform miracles. However, today's story of Jesus doesn't have to be a miracle story. It's just possible that Jesus saw a bunch of fish that had just shown up. I have read that the Sea of Galilee is like that:  no fish for a long time and then suddenly a whole bunch of them! This Sea is also called the Lake of Gennesaret and the Lake of Tiberias. It's also almost 700 feet below sea level. And when Jesus put out in a boat so that people could hear him, that was no miracle, either. The geography of the place is such that a person sitting in a boat can be heard more easily than someone standing on the shore. It's something about the natural acoustics of the place, which, I have read, is still true to this day.

          Do you think the fishermen who decided to follow Jesus that day, actually decided THAT VERY DAY? I know that Luke's Gospel is written that way, trying to make us think that they decided that very day. And maybe they did. However, James and John were the sons of Zebedee, and we are told that they were partners with Simon. I'm going to guess that they were partners with their father Zebedee, too, and to leave him in the lurch with no warning doesn't seem quite fair. So, I'm going to guess that Jesus had spoken to them before, and they were ready when Jesus said it was time. That's only a guess on my part, although I have read at least one scholar who has said essentially the same thing:  Jesus had done some groundwork before he called them to be his disciples. And think about it:  would Jesus call just ANYBODY he bumped into to be a disciple? I personally think that with such an important mission before him, Jesus would have wanted to have some idea about the men he had chosen. So, I'm going to guess he had some "vetting" process to be sure he got the right people for the job..... and even with that "vetting" process, one of them did NOT pass muster, and that was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

          Are those important issues? Maybe yes and maybe no. Regardless of how it happened, those choosing to follow Jesus were courageous enough to change their lives, and that had to be hard on all sorts of levels. What did they tell their friends and families? How many times did they look at themselves and say, "What have I DONE?" But how does Luke end today's passage? "When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him." I think that pretty much says it all. Amen.

Pastor Skip