Loving God, you have never called the equipped, but instead you equip the called.  Help us to hear your call to us this day and to trust in the power of your Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Imagine, for just a moment, that you are Simon, who is also known as Peter.  You live in Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and you catch fish for a living.  It is the family business, and you conduct it in partnership with others.  However, lately things have not been going so well.  You have not been catching enough fish to pay the bills and to provide for your family, and the stress and exhaustion are growing.

    One day, a man named Jesus comes to town and begins teaching in your synagogue and healing people.  At the time, your mother-in-law is sick with a very high fever, and Jesus comes to your house and heals her.  He proceeds to heal many other people, and pretty soon he starts to attract some pretty large crowds.

    This is when he asks to use your boat.  You are washing and mending your nets, but the boat is empty.  And so you put it out a little way so that Jesus can sit in it and teach the people who have gathered on the shore.  As you continue to work on your nets, you also listen to what he has to say.  You can tell that he speaks with great wisdom, and he obviously has an intimate knowledge of the ways of God.  However, you are also still worn out and worried about the lack of fish.

    In fact, this is what is on your mind when Jesus suddenly is finished teaching and tells you to head out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.  You tell him that you just worked all night without catching a thing.  Still, if this man is telling you to do it, it’s definitely worth a shot.  And so you head out into the deep water and let down your nets.

    No sooner have you done so and the water is quite literally jumping with fish.  You soon realize that you can’t even begin to pull them all in, and you signal to your partners to come and help.  Pretty soon you have two boats that are so full of fish that they are almost beginning to sink.  Realizing what has just happened, you let go of the net and fall on your knees before Jesus.  You ask him to please go away.  You are aware of your own sinfulness, and in the presence of such divine power, you are afraid.  You are painfully aware that you do not deserve this abundance that has just been given to you.

    It is a moment of great humility, when you are aware of your own shortcomings in the face of the divine power at work through Jesus.  You are not sure why he would ever want anything to do with a person such as you.  However, Jesus does not just go away.  He says to you, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (Lk. 5:10).  And you leave everything behind, and follow Jesus.

    It is interesting to note that none of this is at Peter’s initiative.  It could have happened differently, after all.  Peter - after having seen Jesus heal people and heard him teach and having seen the miraculous catch of fish - could have said: “Lord, I can see that the power of God is at work in you, and you teach with incredible wisdom.  I would like to come and follow you!”  However, his response is the exact opposite.  He asks Jesus to go away, for he knows how sinful and imperfect he is.

    However, as it turns out, that is exactly the kind of person that Jesus is looking for.  “Simon is not called to ‘catch people’ because he will be good at it, but because Jesus can do it through him” (workingpreacher.org).  Simon Peter knows that he was not the one who caught all those fish.  It was Jesus, working through him.  On his own, Simon had caught nothing, but with the power of Jesus, the boats were full.

    I can’t help but think of the stories later in the gospel where people come up to Jesus and offer to follow him (Lk. 9:57-62).  One of them thinks that following Jesus might give him some worldly power, but then he is reminded that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  One of them offers to follow Jesus, but wants to go home first to say good-bye.  In response Jesus talks about trying to plow while looking back.  It doesn’t work, and those who try to do it are not “fit for the kingdom of God.”

    I’m wondering how many of you have ever heard the term “decision theology.”... If you’ve ever heard the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” that’s a good illustration of decision theology.  It is a theology that tells people that they have to make a decision for Christ.  All of the emphasis is on me and what I have decided.

    However, in the gospel that we heard today, it is a theology of grace that is reflected.  God is the one who acts first, and who initiates the relationship.  God is the one who pours out grace and love before Peter or James or John have done anything.  That miraculous catch of fish is pure grace - an undeserved gift that God gives in order to get Peter’s attention.  Not only that, it is a gift that will provide for their families for many days to come.

    As Lutherans, we believe that God approaches us in the same way.  It is God who acts to save us and who welcomes us in baptism.  It is also God who calls us to come and follow and who says to us, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (Lk. 5:10).  As with Simon, God does not call us to this task because we are particularly good at it, but because Jesus can do it through us.  This happens when we allow God to be the one in charge rather than relying on our own abilities and our own wisdom.

    It is also worth noting that catching people does not involve entrapment, or baiting them, or cornering them as in a net.  That has never been how God operates.  Rather, catching people is all about the kind of example we set and how we live and the things that people see in us that draw them to Jesus.  It is also about allowing God to work within us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, for we do not have the power to convert anybody.  It is only God who changes people’s hearts.

    For our part, let us then give thanks for the salvation that God has already given us - an undeserved gift through Jesus Christ.  We are saved and redeemed and called - given the Holy Spirit and empowered to live in God’s love.  Let us then open ourselves to the power of that same Spirit, allowing God to work through us as we become ambassadors for Christ.  For, “do not be afraid,” says Jesus.  “From now on you will be catching people.”  Amen.

Epiphany 3 (NL 3)                                    Luke 5:1-11
January 22, 2017
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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