Rev. Charles Lehmann + Fifth Sunday after Trinity + Luke 5:1-11
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
Most of the time we don't know what we're saying when we pray. We ask for
all sorts of things, but we don't have any idea what would happen if the Lord
gave us what we ask for in the way that we ask for it. We don't know how it
would affect us, our families, or our communities. Though we might have an
opinion on the matter, most of the time we don't even have any idea if what
we're asking for is even a good thing.
This is why we pray as the Lord has taught us to pray. We ask for His will
to be done. All of our prayers are tempered this way. We do not know what is
best. We do not know if what we are asking for is for our good. We don't know
what the Lord has in mind for our day to day life. But we trust Him. We know
that our Lord is good. We know that He will give us what is best. We know
that even if what we receive doesn't match up with what we ask for that we'll
still be getting the best that we could possibly receive.
But it's even better than that. You see, sometimes we sin in our prayer.
Sometimes God has made it clear in His Word that what we are asking for is not
for our good. These prayers are frightening. What if God were to say “yes” to
those prayers? The answer, dear Christian friends, is the same. God is good.
He will give what is for our good. Even when we are evil, God is not. Even
when we are asking for the worst possible thing, God gives us the best possible
thing. Even when we don't trust Him, don't believe His promises, and spit in
the face of His good gifts, He has only our good in mind.
It is only because of this infinite love and mercy that Jesus has for Peter
that He does not do what Peter asks in the way that Peter asks it. After the
boat is so full of fish that it begins to sink, Peter cries out to Jesus and
says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinner, O Lord!”
Earlier in the Gospel reading, Peter had acted in faith. He had said, “At
your word I will let down the nets.” He did this even though he had just
experienced a frustrating night of grueling work with nothing to show for it.
He did this even though it was not the right time of day to fish. He did it
even though there was really no reason to believe that he would catch anything.
Peter only let down the nets because his Lord had asked Him do. Peter's
letting down of the nets was an act of complete trust.
And the Lord's Word did not return empty. It accomplished exactly what He
wanted it to accomplish. The nets were so full that they began to break. And
when the fish were hauled into the boats, the boats began to sink. This is a
fish story that goes far beyond the most crazy one that any of us have heard.
But as amazing as the catch is, Peter's excitement begins to turn to fear.
There are too many fish. The boat cannot hold them all without sinking. If
the boat sinks, the fish and the boat will both be lost. The blessing will
turn into a curse. And, on top of all of that, the water is deep. The
fishermen might drown if the boat sinks.
Death in the Sea of Gennesaret terrifies Peter. It terrifies him because
he has just seen Jesus act with great power and might. Peter knows that only
God has the authority over creation that Jesus has just exercised. And beyond
all of that, Peter knows that God is holy, righteous, and just. He knows that
a sinner cannot face the raw power of God and survive. It's not just the
sinking boat that Peter is afraid of. Peter is afraid of Jesus. Peter is
afraid that Jesus is going to give him all that he deserves for his sin.
Peter has good reason for his fears. He knows what has happened to the
Lord's enemies in the past. Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Red Sea.
The angel of the Lord killed 180,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. There are
many accounts of the Lord's wrath that could have given Peter reason to be
afraid.
But if Jesus gave Peter what he's asking for and departed from Him forever,
it would leave Peter in Satan's grasp. He would be left without Jesus, without
the cross, and without a Savior. Peter was right about one thing. He was a
sinful man. But he did not need Jesus to leave, He needed Jesus to walk the
way of the cross. He needed Jesus to win life, salvation, and the forgiveness
of sins. If Jesus had departed from Peter in the way Peter was asking, He
would have condemned Peter to hell forever. That is what Peter asked for, but
it wouldn't have been for Peter's good.
But God loved Peter and He loves us. He does not depart from us because of
our sin. Instead, He comes near. Our Lord's love for us is so intimate that
He even took on human flesh. The eternal, unchangeable God who could have
justly judged us for our sins from His heavenly throne sent Jesus into our
world to live as one of us. He suffered just as we do. After experiencing the
same hunger, the same pain, and the same toilsome life that we face, Jesus did
something that He never had to do. Three years after Peter said, “Depart from
me for I am a sinful man,” Jesus did as Peter asked.
That night Jesus departed from Peter, James, John, and the rest of the
disciples. He allowed Himself to be handed over to the Sanhedrin. Jesus had
already sweated blood. He had already asked the Father if there was another
way. He had already been betrayed with a kiss. After all these things, Jesus
departed from Peter and the rest of the disciples. When Jesus was tried
illegally in the dead of night, He was completely alone. When He stood before
Pilate, He was alone. When He was flogged by the centurions, He was alone.
When Jesus bore His cross to Golgotha, He was alone. And, most of all, when
Jesus bore the sins of the world and cried out, “My God, My God, why have you
forsaken me,” He was alone.
During those hours on the cross, Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for
you. During those hours the sin of every man, woman, and child who would ever
exist were reckoned by the Father to Jesus. It is for this reason that Luther
said that on the cross Jesus was the greatest and only sinner. In the flesh of
the very Son of God all of the sin of the world was being punished. When Jesus
was all alone on the cross, He felt only the wrath of His Father. He was
drinking to the very dregs the cup of wrath that contained His Father's
punishment for all the world's sin.
It was then and only then that Jesus answered Peter's prayer, “Depart from
me, O Lord, for I am a sinner.” But Jesus departed to the cross and the grave
only so that He could come back. Jesus departed from Peter only to save Him.
He departed for the grave only to leave that grave empty forevermore.
Though it is good and right that our sins cause us fear, they cannot drive
God away. God loves those whom He has created. He does not desire that any
perish but that all come to a knowledge of the truth. The Father was willing
to allow any sin to come between you and Him. He was not willing to let the
world remain one in which you would only be able to look on Him in fear saying,
“Lord, depart from me for I am a sinner.”
Sin would eternally separate us from our Father in heaven, so He sent His
Son Jesus Christ to destroy it. All sin is forgiven, and the power of death is
destroyed forever. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.
Peter would learn this. Though on the night of his Lord's betrayal Peter
would deny Him three times, Jesus would come back to his disciple after the
resurrection with the forgiveness He won for Him on the cross.
Though we, like Peter, are faithless, Jesus is faithful. He does not
depart from us because of our sin. Instead, He comes and forgives us. He
comes with the life He won on the cross. We may receive every blessing from
Him without fear. He is our Savior. He is good, and our evil can never drive
Him away.
The Lord's will is done. And His will, dear Christians, is your salvation.
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and
minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Charles R. Lehmann
Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD
http://www.stjohncove.org
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
