Trinity
5 – Luke 5:1-11 – July 3rd and 4th,
2021
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit +
“Master, we toiled all night and took nothing.” Consider what had been going on in Peter's life going into that one occasion of which our Gospel speaks today. There's a simple little note there, that Jesus is standing by two boats, but the fishermen had gotten out of them. They were washing their nets. Their day was done and over. And Jesus just gets into a boat – doesn't ask permission, doesn't say, “Permission to come aboard captain.” Just hops onto the boat and looks at Simon Peter and asks him to carry Him out a bit. So there's Peter, after a long night of work already, tired and worn... and now he's playing ferryman to Jesus. And then Jesus teaches, preaches – while Peter is already tired and worn out from the previous night's work. Things just keep getting longer and harder for poor Simon Peter. And then Jesus is done... He's finished His preaching, and Simon Peter will finally, finally be able to go home, see the family, get some rest. Or maybe not.
Jesus says to Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus wasn't done yet. Simon Peter wasn't done yet. And do you hear the resignation and despair? “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing.” It's worse than just the end of a long day – it's the end of a long day that was utterly unproductive. That trip home would have been a trip of failure, it would be the farmer having to tell the missus that the crop in a field failed. Peter's day had been utter failure... and now, just more work. Stupid work. Utterly foolish work. Fishermen fished at night because you didn't catch anything during the day. Well, except seaweed and junk, so the nets would have to be cleaned again. But no, Jesus doesn't seem to care about Simon Peter's day – go do more work. “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.” That sounds so formal – it's someone saying, “If you say so, boss.” I think this is a grade A dumb idea, but if you say so.
And then there's a massive catch. So big they have to summon out the other boat – James, John, get over here, we can't haul this catch in. There's the the frenzied action of the fishermen as they rush to haul in the catch, to divvy it up. But Peter stops while the crew runs around frantically. They hit the nets while Peter hits the deck. And when he speaks, there's something new in his voice. Fear. Utter and abject fear. Do you hear it? “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O LORD.” Did you hear the fear? Maybe not – we're sort of used to hearing the bible in a nice and proper, polite fashion. I mean, how many of you said the word “depart” this week? Maybe if you went to the airport – we hear “depart” as a nice, organized dismissal. I'll say it later – Depart in peace. But that's not the flavor of what Peter is saying here. This is “get up and get gone.” This is “run away”. This is “retreat”. It's an emphatic word – it's not just saying “go” it's saying “go away.” Why? Please just get away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord. There's fear there. There's fear because Simon Peter understands his own sinfulness, his own flaws. He had just done a “yeah, sure, whatever you say Boss” to Jesus, and Simon Peter has just really started to figure out who this Jesus is, that there is something miraculous, something divine going on here – and you don't act all blasé about God. And in reality, that's what our sin is. We know what we are supposed to do, we know what God wants us to do, and we blow it off. Or even if we do it – even if we shove off into the deep so that He can shower abundant blessings upon us, so often we do so half heartedly with resignation – sure, whatever. Sin to insulting to God – Simon's sin was insulting to God – your sin insults God. Your sin takes blessings that God has given you and disdains them, cheapens them, ignores them, breaks them, defiles them. And we can ignore the fact that this is what our sin is easily enough when we are all caught up in our own wants, desires – our desperate searching for some sort of happiness over against the resignation and despair we see. But when Jesus is right there in front of you, when God Himself is sitting in your boat, then there's fear. You want God gone. Get away from me.
And Jesus says no. Yeah, no Simon, I'm not going anywhere. Well, okay, actually Simon, I will be leaving, but when I do you're going to be coming with Me. “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Oh, and James and John too, and Andrew your brother. You're all coming with Me. And as I am preaching and teaching now, you'll be preaching and teaching soon enough. So, no more of that fear there – you're with Me, and in Me it's all good.
At first you can hear a lot of resignation in Simon, then you can hear an understandable fear in Simon. You can see these things shape Simon Peter's actions – but they don't shape, they don't define Jesus, nor do they define how Jesus treats Peter. Jesus is not driven by fear or shame or guilt or any of the things that drive us. Jesus loves. Jesus is determined to rescue and redeem Peter. Even when Simon Peter is having a lousy day and ignoring Jesus' preaching, Jesus just saunters on up – come on, into the boat fish-boy, push on out. Hear my preaching, and you want fish, well, I'll give you fish. But I'm going to give you something greater. I'm going to give you Myself, I'm going to give you the Church, and you'll get to be part of the place where instead of being defined by your fears or your sins or your desires, you'll be defined by the fact that I am your Savior, that you are baptized, redeemed, forgiven, saved, bound for life everlasting beyond fear and sin and foolish desires. Simon Peter didn't have to do something to get ready for Jesus... Jesus just walks up and saves Him. Dare I say, Jesus catches him, for Jesus is a fantastic catcher of men.
So, how often does fear and resignation shape, drive our lives, my friends? I'd wager quite often. I'd actually be inclined to be utterly honest and say all the time. Think on the Small Catechism – every meaning to a commandment starts “We should fear and love God...” and every sin really can be boiled down to fear, fearing something other than God. Thinking something is bigger, more powerful, more important than God. I'm inclined to say that all sin is driven by fear... I'll allow for some false and misplaced loves to drive some sin, but even there, I don't know. So much fear. Fear of rejection driving people to do anything to gain acceptance. Fear of failure driving people to do anything to succeed. Fear of emptiness driving people to do anything to try to fill themselves up by what they consume or purchase. And by people, of course, I mean us. I mean me. And all around, so many things playing off of our fears, our insecurities, our desperation – “triggers” if you want to use the hip lingo. And at times it's so easy to be overwhelmed by them. And they always push us, sometimes we don't notice, and sometimes we do and we become keenly aware of it and we become resentful and angry and afraid.
And Jesus says no. No, all that junk, all that stuff doesn't define you. It doesn't determine who you are. Your life is more than just that. God gets to define you. Jesus says, “You're mine. I forgive you.” Seriously. That's what defines you – you are a baptized, forgiven child of God. Period. End of story. Well, but what about this... yeah, well what about Christ Jesus, God Himself, becoming man, taking up your sin, going to the Cross, dying and rising, all to rescue and redeem you from all your what abouts. You are baptized. You are forgiven. You are bound for eternal life. And even if the worst happens – even if, even when you die – Jesus says no. Jesus didn't make you to be dead, so He will raise you from the dead. Period. Because while there are so many things, so many fears and troubles that try to cling to you, and that most certainly seem to in real, lousy ways, the truth, the ultimate truth is this. You are loved by God almighty, and He does not cast you aside, and He will not abandon you or leave you. You are His own – Jesus has purchased and won you from all sins and from the power of the devil – from Satan's despair and Satan's fear - not with gold or silver but by, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that you will be His own and so you will live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. That's what catching men means, it means catching them into eternal life, and that is what Jesus has done to you. His Word, His Spirit have been poured out upon you, and He's not just going to let the world, let Satan have you. Not even death gets to keep you – you belong to Jesus. Therefore forgiveness, life, and salvation are yours.
Sometimes in this world things just suck. They stink on ice. Peter had been having a lousy day – it was obvious. We understand his resignation – we toiled all night and caught nothing. Seems like it could be the story of our life sometimes. But it's not. It's in the story, but it's not the story. The story of your life is this – Christ Jesus has come to be your Savior, and He has done so, and so you are safe and secure in Him. Yes, there are things that are bad and fearful – but none of them top Jesus Christ for you, and Jesus remains for you, even now, even today, even unto all eternity. You're baptized, redeemed, and forgiven – that's the real, full story. And that's precisely why I'll end the sermon like this. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
