February 9 – Sermon
Dear Heavenly Father, during this season of Epiphany, we seek to understand how Your word and grace made known to us. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, open our hearts to Your presence, and give us the courage to follow You as our Lord’s disciples. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The big crowds started to gather around Jesus as news of his teaching and miracles spread around the region of Galilee. Jesus was near the Lake of Gennesaret, which is another name for the Sea of Galilee.
So Jesus was standing by the shore and the people captivated by His presence, felt the need to get closer to Him– pushing Jesus right to the water’s edge. So Jesus asked Simon Peter to use His boat and put out a little from shore.
After Jesus had finished speaking, He turned to Simon Peter and said, “Go out into deep water, and let down Your nets for a catch.” Everything from Peter’s experience was contrary to the Lord’s command.
But there was something about Jesus, something about His teaching, that caused Peter to obey, despite his reservations. “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
We all face that inner struggle at one time or another. We all reference experiences we’ve had to help us make decisions. Personal experience versus the obedience of faith.
But when the Lord Jesus entered Your “boat” through Holy Baptism, He has placed Himself right in the middle of Your life. As Your Savior and Lord. He is the doorway into a reality that is much bigger and much more amazing than any of our experiences ever could be!
By His death on the cross– atoning sacrifice for Your sins–He has restored Your relationship with God the Father; and now, He urges You to live Your life in a reality beyond Your own experience.
Think about what Jesus has said to You! “Whoever lives and believes in me, will live even though he dies.” Everything in the world, whatever You’ve experienced tell You that isn’t possible. And yet, you believe otherwise, don’t you? Jesus has called you to let down your net to receive the abundance of eternal life—because you have believed.
Jesus is still leading you onward. There are other things that Jesus has been urging you to do by faith. and so far, you might have only done it sporadically. Like prayer for instance. Jesus prayed all the time while He was with us, and He urges us to be very active in prayer as well. But as often is the case, in the privacy in of our own minds, we say: “I’ve tried praying before but it doesn’t work!” In contrast to our experience, Jesus says: “Ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened.”
But there’s more, Jesus tells us to be generous. He says “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” (Luke 6:38) Experience has taught us to be very protective of what we have. Experience has taught us that we have to be extremely frugal if we are ever going to make it. Jesus’ commands stand in contrast to everything our experience tells us. He tells us to not worry about what we’re going to eat and what we’re going to wear. He tells us that God will provide! While our experience—which we often used as an excuse, tells us we need to provide for ourselves. And so like Peter, if we ever do get around to obeying Him, we do it reluctantly.
Peter was hesitant to try again. He wasn’t sold on the idea of casting his nets out one more time. “Because You say so, I will let down the nets.” and the reward was far greater that any of Peter’s previous experiences.
The reason Peter dropped to his knees and called Jesus “Lord” was because his picture of Jesus changed dramatically! Peter realized how sinful and unworthy he was. But Jesus reassured Peter: “don’t be afraid.” Jesus knew everything about Peter, and still he chose him to be one of the twelve.
In the same way Jesus knows all about you. If He has reached out to you, if he has spoken to your heart, if you have faith, it’s all because He has chosen you to be His daughter or son.
With the help of Jesus, Peter, John and James made it back to shore, it says that they “left everything and followed him.” Their nets, their boats, their business. They left behind what had been the substance of their lives!
So what if Peter would have refused to go out into deep water and let down his nets?
What if he had said, “Jesus, I like You and everything, but You simply don’t know fishing like I do! The fish aren’t moving!” I’m tired! What if Peter had said that? Peter would have missed one of the most meaningful experiences of his lifetime.
Christians, who believe in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, often wish that God would be more “real” to them. But how many Christians confine Jesus to Sundays and life and death emergencies? All other situations are controlled by personal experience. He has promised to answer our prayers, but if we don’t like the answer we say “Sorry, that doesn’t fit my experience.”
The Lord has promised to provide for us so we can be generous and we say “sorry, that’s not how I want to experience You Jesus.”
He has told us to speak boldly about Him to others—even giving us the words to say –but we say “sorry, I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
We compare His commands to our experience and we just shake our heads and stay in our little toy boats close to shore. We fuss over our “things” and we miss out on what Jesus has for us.
Patiently Jesus still wants us, and loves us, and saves us; but because of our unwillingness to follow His commands, we miss out on all the cool things He’d like to show us and give us. Jesus wants our faith in Him to take us beyond our experiences.
As Peter looked up at the Lord, Jesus said “Don’t be afraid, follow me.” If we fast forward to the day of Pentecost, Peter was fishing in a sea of people who had come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. and the net that he used was the good news that God saves people through the death and resurrection of His Son. Some 3000 people believed that day. Peter saw the words of Jesus coming true before his very eyes.
What things does God have in store for you? Where we will He take you? Where will He take St. Luke’s? Follow Him and you’ll find out. “Observe what He has commanded.”
Don’t let your experience become your own personal prison. Hear the voice of the Lord as He calls out to you. You won’t be disappointed. Amen
