People came in droves to see Jesus. Jesus got into Peter’s boat to escape the crush,and be visible to the crowd from the little boat just offshore.
When Jesus had finished teaching the crowd, he told his disciples, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
Peter was a guy who typically said what popped into his head. The reality here is that Jesus was trained as a carpenter, and Peter is the fisherman. I can imagine a number of things went through his mind to say. He did as Jesus said.
They caught more fish than they could handle. The load threatened to break the nets. They called the second boat, and the load threatened to sink both boats. The disciples were amazed.
Peter realized at this point that he was in the presence of God. He knew that he was not worthy to be in the presence of God. He told Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”
In the presence of Christ’s holiness, Peter was overwhelmed at his own lack of holiness. I have talked of epiphany moments in the last couple of sermons. Peter had one of these flashes of insight. He sees things as they are, and he sees the difference in what God created him to be and the person he was.
In this morning’s reading from Isaiah, the prophet found himself in God’s presence. He cried out:
“Woe is me! For I am undone,
because I am a man of unclean lips.”
When Peter and Isaiah found themselves in the presence of God, they were overwhelmed.
I wonder what would happen if we were to come into the presence of God. I wonder what would happen if Jesus were to work a miracle in our presence. How would we respond?
Today, I think we may have become accustomed to seeing terrible things in the news. We see it around us. What does it take to shock us these days? Asked another way, what would Jesus have to do to get our attention?
What would happen if Jesus came to Plymouth today? I am guessing most people would probably ignore him.
Peter in the reading did not ignore Jesus. Peter obeyed Jesus. Jesus asked something of Peter that was, at the same time, both big and small.
Jesus asked Peter, a professional fisherman, to go out into the deep water and to let down his nets. That was a small thing. Peter had done that a thousand times. In fact, Peter had done it that very night.
At the same time, Jesus asked Peter to do something big. Peter and his friends had been fishing all night, and had not caught anything. I can believe Peter was tired, and discouraged. He might have been worried about paying his rent or having fish to sell so he could put food on the table. I am sure that after fishing all night, he was ready to go home.
Jesus was really asking Peter to believe that his presence would make a difference. Jesus gave Peter an opportunity to show faith.
Peter responded by saying, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing.” Then he said, “But if you say so, I will let down the net.”
“If you say so” has been the response of God’s people throughout history.
• “If you say so” was Noah’s response when God asked him to build the ark.
• “If you say so” was the response of Moses when God called him to lead his people out of slavery.
• “If you say so” was what Isaiah said when God called him to be a prophet.
Remember if you will, that each of these people had a good reason NOT to do what God was asking.
• Moses said, “I can’t speak well.” He finally said, “Yes” to God.
• Isaiah said, “I am a man of unclean lips.” He finally said “Yes” to God.
• Peter said, “We already tried that, Jesus,” but then he said, “If you say so.”
Not all of us can respond with the grace of Mary. She responded to the message from the angel with “Let it be with me according to your word.”
One way or another we have to say “Yes” to God if he is going to be able to use us.
Do we hear of heroes and saints of the Bible who said “Maybe”? Do we know any who said, “Not right now”? We have Jonah, the reluctant prophet, but he finally came around after a little time out.
St. Augustine wrote:
“Jesus Christ will be Lord of all
or he will not be Lord at all.”
The choice here is to do things our way or God’s way. God has a plan, and the sooner we can come around and say “Yes” to it, the better.
Before he moved to New York, Reggie Jackson played for the Baltimore Orioles. The manager, Earl Weaver, had a rule that no one could steal a base unless given the steal sign. This upset Jackson because he felt he could judge when to steal. So Jackson got a jump off the pitcher and beat the throw to second base. He shook the dirt off his uniform, and smiled. He had proven that he knew when to steal a base.
Later Weaver took Jackson aside and explained why he had not given the steal sign. First, the next batter was Lee May, a great power hitter. When Jackson stole second, he left first base open. The other team walked May intentionally, eliminating his chance to hit a big run.
Second, the next batter wasn’t as good, so Weaver had to use a pinch hitter to try to drive in the men on base. That left Weaver without bench strength later in the game when he needed it.
The problem was that Jackson saw only his piece of the game. Weaver saw the whole game.
We, too, see only a piece of the game, but God sees the whole game. When God sends us a signal, we need to obey, no matter how smart we think we are.
Once Peter said, “If you say so,” he began to work by God’s power. God turned him into the disciple we know.
Instead of takeaways today I have the big questions.
What does God want from your life?
How is he calling you to demonstrate your faith?
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth
February 10, 2019 Epiphany 5
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30