Scripture/Sermon of the Day. February 6, 2022

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

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.

Reflection/Sermon:

I. This morning Jesus is giving instructions. As if any of us needed more things to add to our to do list. Don’t we have enough to keep us busy? And here’s Jesus telling fishermen how to fish. From what we know, he wasn’t a fisherman. There’s a verse — one tiny verse — in the Gospel of Mark that suggests Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3). People said of Jesus: “Is this not the carpenter?” In Matthew (13:55) the people asked: “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” But there’s no reference anywhere that says he was a fisherman. So why’s he telling fishermen how to fish?

II. Did you ever watch Jeremy Wade’s show, “River Monsters”? I’m not a fisherman, but I like to watch them. Every time Jeremy went fishing, he did research. He interviewed the local fishermen and took notes about: the best places to catch the fish, the best bait and tackle, the best month or season. And here’s Jesus the carpenter or carpenter’s son telling fishermen how to fish? Doesn’t this sound — fishy — to you? Even Simon said, “You know — the fish aren’t biting now. We spent all night trying —not one bite.” Jesus said, “Try again in the deeper water.” You could tell Simon didn’t want to but he said: “OK — if you say so….” Under his breath he probably mumbled, “For Christ sake, what does this preacher/healer/exorcist know about fishing? Nothing!…..”

III. Of course, whenever Jesus says something, there’s always multiple meanings. When he says, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch,” he’s talking about more than fishing.

IV. There is a suggestion, in this story, that maybe we — like Simon and the Zebedee brothers, are fishing in waters that are too shallow. Like Taylor Swift was doing until she heard Jesus tell her — “put out to the deep water.” Annie and I were watching a documentary/movie about her last night. She started becoming aware of the people she worked with and their lives and how their lives were impacted by the politics of the state she lives in, Tennessee. Many people close to her, especially her father and publicist, told her to stay out of politics. “It’ll be terrible for your career,” her father said. “You’ll make a lot of enemies and you don’t need that,” said her publicist. Neither of them was interested in right or wrong, but money and record sales.

V. Taylor said that the person running for senator wanted to pass laws that would hurt and discriminate against Taylor’s friends and colleagues who were gay and lesbian. She said she had to speak out and encourage people to vote for the other candidate who did not discriminate against people because of their race or sexual orientation. People warned her — “Look at what happened to the Dixie Chicks when they criticized George Bush and his decision to go to war in Iraq. Their careers were ruined.” Taylor said, “As a Christian, I have to do this or I can’t live with myself.” She cast her net out to the deeper waters, risked her career and spoke out against homophobia and racism .

VI. It’s just what Jesus did in the previous chapter when he preached in Nazareth. He told his Jewish congregation that God loves the widows of Zarepath in Phoenicia where the people were enemies of the Jews for thousands of years. Jesus said God loved the Syrian general Naaman as much as them. It almost cost Jesus his life — and eventually it did. But that was the Good News Jesus came to proclaim. He didn’t cast his net out to just his race of people, the Jews. He cast it into the deepest waters of the whole human race. And he told his first disciples, and us, that we need to do the same. Love everyone, and share the good news that God loves everyone deeply and intensely and more than we can imagine. So Republicans must love Democrats, and Americans must love Russians and our other enemies. And not just our families — but all families. Why? Because Jesus is taking us fishing — to the deep waters.