Before you read the sermon, recite Luther's Small Catechism - Explanation to
the Third Article...
February 7, 2010.
God calls people by grace to proclaim His messages. We want to feel He
calls us because WE have special ability or talent, but we are totally
unworthy. God not only calls, but He gives us what we need to serve Him.
I think most of us know what a fishing rod and reel looks like. Maybe you
have used one. While a good rod and the reel is important (and look at any
fishing store if you doubt that), the most important part of fishing is the
skill of the person using them. THAT is how you fish for fish. Fishing for
people in Christ does not depend on your skill, but God's Word. (Think 3rd
Article, Apostles Creed)
How would you feel if you and your friends spent an August day in a stream
& caught nothing? Then a man named Ernie walks up to you and says, "hold out
your hands and call out 'here fishy-fishy' and you'll do fine? Your friends
would look at you funny. Would you do it? (Sesame Street reference)
Then, when you did it and a 26 pound bass jumped into your hands: how
would you feel then? You might wonder about the man who told you to do this.
You might wonder what else he knows.
It was MORE than that with Peter. All of Peter's skills as a professional
fisherman taught him fishing is best in shallow water at night in Galilee. Yet
when this Teacher told him to let down his nets, he obeyed even tho it went
against all that he knew. And Peter caught no fish! He used no skill to place
or cast the net. The net did all the work.
Work, it did! The net held more fish than Peter, James, and the partners
could handle. The Man, Jesus, had just epiphanied Himself as far more than a
teacher. Only God could do something like this. The Holy Spirit opened the
soul of Peter so he could see he was in the presence of God Almighty in the
flesh. What did Peter do?
When Christians gather for church, some may feel they belong in God's
presence. They have done a lot of good: helped Haitians, gave blood, held a
church office or two, been a good parent; whatever. They haven't done TOO much
bad: not too many grudges, bad words, stolen from work; whatever. They gather
for worship seeking the glory of God, and expecting to bask in it. Even Peter
felt this way once as we'll see next week. (Transfiguration).
You may even feel that God has chosen you because you have a talent or
ability to do something well: maybe as a leader, working with youth, playing
music. That's why you feel you were called: God needs you. That's why Peter
was chosen as a fisher of men, wasn't it? Actually: no.
None of Peter's skills were of any use that night before he met Jesus. He
caught nothing. All his savvy, strength, and senses did no good. Nor do your
talents and abilities.
Peter followed God's word. He cast the net. The miracle came. He not
only realized his skills were of no real value to God; he realized he didn't
belong there. If God could create a great school of fish to fill the net to
bursting, God did not need Peter's fishing skills - or Peter for that matter!
YOU are no better than Peter.
Peter did what any real person would have done. He did what Moses (Exodus
19:21, 33:20), Gideon (Judges 6:22), Isaiah (6:5), and others (Rev. 1:17) did
when they realized they were in the presence of God. (Romans 3:10-18) In that
instant, Peter realized he had NO business being there. Peter knew he was
nothing special; he had nothing to offer God. He was a poor, miserable sinner
who deserved nothing but eternal condemnation. He knew he could not hide from
Jesus. He wanted God to go away. He was afraid. Like Adam (Gen 3:7-8), he
wanted to hide; but there was no place to go. By nature, all anyone can do is
beg God to go away.
"Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."
But what flows from the mouth of Jesus Christ is mercy, not condemnation!
Mercy to Peter, to Isaiah, and to every soul convicted of sin. Undeserved
mercy or grace based in the quality of God's love for us. The same mercy comes
to us today whenever the Holy Spirit has convicted us of sin and we are given
the word of forgiveness or pardon. (Titus 3:5, Galatians 2:4, etc.)
The Lord says, "Do not be afraid." His Word gives what it says: peace.
Fear is absolved, or washed away, by the Word of God. More than that, our
human fear is replaced with godly courage and confidence from God alone. He
gives the change of heart and direction of life.
Some folks wish they could be like Peter, Paul, Isaiah, or some other
Bible character. This is not a good idea. They were flawed human beings:
just like you. We should not want to be more like them.
Fishing for men is not like fishing for fish. It was not Peter's goodness
that made him leave the boat and follow Jesus. It was not Paul's Bible
knowledge that made him stop jailing and killing Christians. Isaiah also had
problems. It was God's goodness, might, and blessing that changed their lives.
God's choice alone. (1 Cor 12:3; John 15:26)
Not every fisherman that day was told to leave it all behind and follow
Jesus. Not every rabbi on the road to Damascus met Jesus. Not every Old
Testament prophet saw the LORD in heaven. God did the choosing. In fact, if
God did not limit Himself, who would farm the land, work in the factories,
teach our children, labor in an office, or any other godly vocation? God does
NOT call all to leave their jobs for full-time service as a professional
church-worker today any more than He commanded every fisher-man to follow Him
three years to be one of the 12 Disciples.
Nor does God choose only the most talented, handsome, brilliant, and
sophisticated men to be pastors. God chooses according to His desires, not
yours or mine. He calls for the good of His kingdom of grace. God often calls
the lowly, the weak, despised, and common, as 1st Corinthians 1:18-31 records.
It was not Peter's fishing skills, but God's Word of the cross that worked
mightily. It was not the mind of Paul, but inspiration (2 Peter 1:21) of the
Holy Spirit that proclaimed God's mercy in Christ. It is not your brains,
talents, or anything else that brings others to faith. It is always the work
of God alone. (John 15:16)
It seems backwards. God does not choose us because we are worthy, but
because we are UNworthy. The skills and strengths we have (which are gifts
from God) that often WE feel are so important are not what God values. He
humbles our pride and uses the lowliest people and places and things and events.
The Gospel (the message of total forgiveness which is ours entirely
because of the work of Christ and the cross) is Peter's net. Simon would cast
it out into the sea of humanity: not to catch, kill, clean, and eat, but to
catch alive and keep alive forever in Christ. Any time His cross is preached,
God's net is at work. (Romans 10:17)
One of the ways God's net is cast is thru The Lutheran Hour. God's
message of sin and salvation, failure and forgiveness is proclaimed week after
week thru radio and Internet podcasts, as well as video Bible studies and other
methods.
God indeed calls people, but He also makes sure there are tools for us to
reach out to the world around us with Christ. These techie-tools are not for
the exclusive use of the world: God's Word can be spread thru them. The
Lutheran Hour is worthy of your prayers and financial support as they cast the
net of the Gospel around the world.
While God may not be calling any of you to leave your boat for full-time
church work, He does give you what you need to live your Christian faith when
you receive His Word with a joyful heart. (2 Timothy 1:9) Tho we do not
deserve to be in His presence, He tells us, "Do not be afraid. I forgive you."
He does not touch your lips with a burning coal like Isaiah, but He does touch
your lips and life with the body and blood of Christ to give you forgiveness.
He has called us by grace, according to His purposes. In the joy of His
salvation, we listen to His Word and we do as He says in love. In the power of
His pardon, we follow Him as He leads us thru His Word and cast His net by our
words and actions. Tho it has been cast by the work of a pastor, a parent, a
program on radio, a podcast, or some other channel of the Word (or the waters
of Holy Baptism), God has caught you in the net of the Gospel. He has saved
us! Amen!
Isaiah 6:1-13; I Corinthians 14:12b-20; Luke 5:1-11 Introit Psalm 71:15-18;
Gradual Psalm 117
O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith, that relying
on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty
power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
