5th Sunday after Trinity July
20, 2014
Luke 5:1-11 Whatever
You Say, Lord!
Dear fellow redeemed:
If I were to invite you to go fishing on Gunflint
Lake, would you listen to my advice on how to fish?
* I
do know the lake a whole lot better than you do.
Would
you answer me, “Whatever you say pastor!”?
* Wherever
you fish, whether on Gunflint or somewhere else, making a catch depends on
using your logic. Here’s what you may know:
1 The best time to go fishing is at dawn
or dusk; early morning or at night.
2 Fish bite the most when it’s cool and
when they haven’t been feeding all day.
3 Other things making a difference are
the weather, the wind, the amount of sunlight.
4 And don’t forget the barometric
pressure.
Fishing
is generally better if it’s rising or falling.
There’s plenty of logic that goes into making a
catch.
* It’s
why we can imagine Peter’s reaction in today’s text.
“Put out into the deep and let down
the nets for a catch?! This is your
fishing tip?!”
Peter and the others had been at it
all night! Jesus couldn’t be serious!
* Then
again, Jesus was more than his pastor.
He was the Lord.
It
explains why Peter catches himself saying, “But at your word I will let down the nets.”
“Whatever
you say, Lord!” was the right answer.
* Not
that Peter was on board yet with Jesus’ advice.
After
all, Peter was the expert. He had made a
living fishing.
* So
I’m thinking his response was more along the line, “Okay, Lord. We’ll see.
It’s often the response we hear from today’s
disciples.
* “You
say I’ll be catching men by relying on nothing more than your Gospel and
sacraments. I’m not seeing the logic in this, Lord, but, whatever
you say!”
* But
if it’s our logic or common sense that we really trust, pretty soon we’re not
going to
be listening any longer to what the
Lord says.
* Instead,
we’re going to be chiming in with the wisdom of the day.
“We can’t expect to make our catch in
the 21st century by simply telling people we preach
Christ crucified and we’re not ashamed
of the sacraments.
* “What we really need to do, is rely on
our modern skills and years of experience.
We need to use the techniques others
have been using to get people through these doors!”
* Sadly, it doesn’t matter that they have
little to do with Christ’s Church and God’s Word,
and a lot more to do with how the world captures
its clients.
Today’s Church Growth movement is a movement
that’s known less for its name and more for its
businessman-like approach.
* Jesus
informs his Church that from now on we’ll be catching men not by relying on our
various tricks of the trade, but
relying on God’s Word, nothing more than his Gospel and
sacraments.
* But
the word today is: We must get out of the boat and meet people where they are
in
their secular thinking.
* Find
out people’s likes and dislikes.
Determine where your community is at, and base
your ministry on giving people what
they want.
* Let
me share with you just one silly example of what I’m talking about.
This
past week I received a mailing from a certain church in Brooklyn Park.
* Enclosed
was an invitation with the bold caption reading: “Transforming Churches to
Transform Communities.”
* And
then came the bait-and-switch: “This is your opportunity to bring your pastoral
staff
and lay leadership together for a
hands-on, dynamic dialogue on how to be the kind of
church that is truly transforming its
community.”
It’s just one example, but it demonstrates where
countless churches are at these days when it
comes to evangelism and outreach.
* The
capturing, it’s believed, takes place outside of the church; outside of the
boat. And it
explains why so many use techniques
having nothing to do with God’s Word of grace.
* We lure people in with our relevant
programs, our coffee shops, our happy-clappy music
and dances.
We give them a reason for wanting to come to our church which has
nothing
to do with Jesus Christ and what he’s achieved
for the whole world.
* First
we capture our worshipers.
Then
we imagine they’re going to respond to God Word when they’re already coming for
a different reason; for our programs
and music and dances.
Really? Consider Jesus’ words: “From now on you will be catching men.”
* The
meaning of that word “catch” in the Greek is very interesting.
The verb
can actually be translated “to capture alive”!
* In other words, we don’t capture men
when they’re dead, before they’ve come to faith.
The real capture takes place in the
church, when they’ve found their way into the boat!
The real capture happens not when
the church relies on human words of persuasion, but the
church lets down their nets for a catch; pastors
preach the words of Jesus and people listen.
* To
“capture alive” is to capture not by giving people what they think they want,
but by
giving them what they need; the
Gospel of our Savior.
Still, we may have no trouble relating with Peter
after he’s fished all night.
* He’s
weary and tired. And then Jesus tells him,
the experienced fisherman, to put out into
deep water “and let down the nets for a catch”!
* Come
on! Put out into the deep water? You
don’t catch fish that way! It was in the
shallow waters that they were
successful. Jesus should leave the details to us!
What
Christ was proposing simply was not logical!
If we’re able to relate with Peter, this morning,
it may be because we too are having trouble with
Christ’s fishing tips.
* His promise to Peter that from now on
he’ll catching men is also a promise to the Church.
But from a logical standpoint, we struggle with
his words.
* You
mean we’re not to use the approach that’s been successful for so many others?
Instead of listening to the community
about what will attract them to our church, we’re
simply to preach God’s Word?
* But it’s not working! Just take a look
around you!
Those growing are those receiving
their tips from today’s church growth movement!
* We have trouble with Jesus’ words, for
if listening to these others helps us get more fish,
more
people into the church, shouldn’t we give their techniques a chance?
* Just take a look around you?! How about we just listen to what we’re
saying!
What we’re claiming is, people won’t
respond to God’s Word until we’ve lured them
here with something else.
Unresponsive people can be very annoying at
times.
1
Your
flight is four hours, so you attempt to strike up a conversation with the
passenger
beside you.
He or she smiles at you, offers a brief response, and goes back to
reading.
2 Or
you find your seat for a wedding reception at a table where you don’t know a
soul.
You try to make eye contact with the
person sitting next to you, who doesn’t know
anyone either.
But he feels safer staring at the one across the table dominating the
conversation.
Maybe we all feel that way at times.
* I
speak not of our efforts to be friendly with a stranger, but to confess the
faith.
* It doesn’t matter whether you’re a
pastor or whether you’re in grade school.
Jesus promises people will be
brought into his Church through every one of your callings.
* Every
day you can draw people’s attention to the faith by what you say and do.
You can trust his instructions to put
out into the deep.
* But
right now this one calling of yours doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The
idea of responding to Jesus and exclaiming, “Whatever you say, Lord!”
doesn’t seem
like the logical thing to do right
now.
* It
would seem you’ve already done everything you can do.
This
person you’ve interacting with is not going to respond.
1) My son isn’t going to take my advice on
how to turn his life around.
He’s
grown up! Why bother spouting off my
Christian views?
2) Or maybe it’s my friend. For years I’ve tried to get through to him.
Despite
his great losses in life, God can help him find a renewed sense of purpose.
But no. He’s gotta live his own life.
3) Or it may be it’s our wife or
husband.
They’re
having trouble forgiving and reconciling with a family member.
We
tell our spouse, “You’ll get there!
That’s why we go to church!?”
* But
it’s not working. And we’re not sure
whether we can offer any more encouragement.
It
will just irritate him or her.
Confess the faith; let down the
nets?! In each case, it’s just not logical!
Of course, you know how the story ends, don’t
you?
Immediately after expressing his doubts, Peter
makes the catch of a lifetime and then some.
* And
what’s interesting is this tremendous number of fish did not get away.
Even
though Peter and the others caught such a large number that their nets began to
break, we’re told that they “filled both boats, so that they began to sink.”
* Although
their nets didn’t appear to be up to the job, they were all they needed to
secure
their great catch.
* And
that’s how it is with God’s Word; the Gospel.
Maybe Triune God will never make a catch like the
disciple Peter, but we know what
happens when we respond: “Whatever You Say,
Lord.”
* Even
if Christ’s Gospel doesn’t appear to be up to the job, we can trust the words
of our
Savior to get the job done.
And we trust his Word despite what we’ve come to
know about ourselves.
* We may feel for Peter at this point of
the story.
He sees this miraculous catch and
realizes how wrong he was for doubting.
* So he falls at Jesus’ knees saying: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Jesus should leave Peter, since this so-called
fisherman is nothing but a sinner.
* This
would be the most logical response on the part of Christ.
He
had no use for Peter! Peter couldn’t
even trust in him! He was a loser!
Jesus calls on Peter to make a catch, but Peter’s
convinced he’s not the man.
* Maybe that’s how you’re feeling right
now.
What interest could Jesus have in me?
Why waste his time after I’ve doubted him and
trusted in my own expertise?
* Logic
tells me God’s not going to want me as his servant!
Well, maybe from our standpoint he
shouldn’t.
* From
his standpoint, however, he’s absolutely ready to respond to our calling
out in faith,
“Whatever You Say, Lord.”
* Jesus
acts, you see, not according to logic but according to his grace.
Take his words to Peter: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”
* It’s
quite remarkable! Logic told Peter that
his usefulness to Jesus was over.
Jesus
might as well move on to the next person in line.
* But
in calling him a fisher of men, Christ communicates to Peter his unconditional
and
complete
forgiveness. He wasn’t interested in
condemning him!
“For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the
world through him” (John 3:17).
* And
who better to use for getting this message out, than someone who yearns for the
very
same Word since he knows he’s a
sinner!
* To
think that Jesus would give his life for him despite Peter’s utter
unworthiness!
To think that he’d remove his sin from
God’s sight, and let him live to talk about it!
What
an amazing promise, and one that could be trusted!
And it’s a promise you can trust, as well.
* Although
you’re not worthy of it, none of us are, the words you speak about Christ who’s
redeemed sinners, will make people
alive in Christ.
* It
may not be a boat full. You and I may
never again see these pews full on a given
Sunday, but Jesus’ words stand.
* “Do not be afraid.” “Whatever I say, you can take me at my Word!
I will use you to make my
catch and to fill my boat!”
* No. That doesn’t sound logical. But the Gospel isn’t logical.
“For the word of the cross is folly (utter foolishness) to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the
power of God.”
You
know, there’s a question I hear time and again when I’m about to leave on
vacation.
“Are you going to do any fishing up north,
Pastor?
* Well,
let me beat you to the punch. It’s been decades since I last used my rod and
lure.
And
quite frankly I don’t think you would want me as a fishing partner.
* You
see, I can’t stand the messy job of cleaning the fish afterwards.
And
I don’t have the patience to sit in a boat for hours waiting for the fish to
get their act
together. No disrespect intended!
* But
honestly, I am not worthy of being a fisherman.
And
neither am I worthy of being a fisher of men.
* And
neither are you worthy of the calling into which the Lord has placed you and
whereby you can let down the nets
into the deep.
But thank our Lord he hasn’t called us because
we’re worthy or we’re the logical choice.
He’s called us because he has a job for us to do.
* What
an incredible privilege: to let down the nets, Christ’s saving Gospel, for a
catch; to
respond to Christ and his Word, “Whatever
You Say, Lord!”
* After
all, it never costs us a thing.
We
simply trust his Word to do what Jesus says it will do: capture and save. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all
understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
