SERMON: CATCH OF THE DAY Based on Luke 5:1-11

"One day, as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and put down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and htey came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away fromme, Lord, I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him."

Luke 5: 1-11 (NIV)

Sometimes we don’t see whats right in front of our faces. Or it may be we don’t see the implications of simple truths, that is, what they means in our lives, and in the history of our times.

I know that’s true in my life. I used to live in Alaska, and while I was there was taught to fish the rivers’ eddies using nets. We caught some luscious salmon. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh Pacific King Salmon, right out of the river.

So when I came back to the "lower 48" I was so disappointed by the fish selections at the local stores, that I made fun of them, especially the farm raised trout/salmon. But I kept hearing news reports warning buyers away from this fish because of the mercury level, and that fish because it was being over-harvested.

Eventually I saw the truth that was right in front of my face. The best fish to buy was the farm-raised trout/salmon, which had no mercury, could not be over-harvested, and supported folks who had invested in this new business venture. I had been blinded to this simple solution by my arrogance !

Its comforting to know I’m not alone. Missing the simple picture seems to be a human condition.There is an ancient Greek story about the gods who lived on Mount Olympus. They wanted to hide the secret of life from humans. One god said, "We’ll hide it on the top of the highest mountain. They’ll never find it there". Another god said, "No, they’ll find it there." The first god said, "I know, we’ll hide it in the center of the earth, they’ll never find it there.". The other god said, "No, they’ll find it there." The first god said, "OK, we’ll put it on the bottom of the deepest ocean, they’ll never find it there." "No", came the reply, "they’ll find it there." The first god said, "Lets put it in their heart. They’ll never find it there." And so they did.

Sometimes its the simple answers that evade us, isn’t it?

Riddle me this. Smokey the Bear, Winnie the Pooh, and John the Baptist. What do they have in common? Their middle name. Sometimes its the simple answers that evade us.

Simon Peter didn’t see the simple answer in the scripture reading today. He’d been fishing all night and not caught any fish. Then Jesus came by, and said, "Hey, guys, caste out the nets, we’re going to catch lots of fish. Simon Peter looked at the old nets they’d been casting out all night long with no results, and he just didn’t see it. "We’ve been trying, Master, but we haven’t caught anything all night long, still... if you say so.." and he cast the nets back in. Again.

He didn’t see how anything was going to change. He didn’t catch on to how it could be different.

Soren Kirkegaard tells a story about ducks. He says, there was this community of ducks. Every Sunday they waddled in to the duck church to hear the duck preacher. The duck preacher spoke eloquently aobut how God gave ducks wings with which to fly. With these wings there was no where the ducks could not go. There was no God given task that the ducks could not accomplish. With these wings they could soar into the presence of God himself.

All the ducks quacked, AMEN. They were so heartened by the sermon. Excellent sermon, they all said, and then they waddled home.

Like the ducks, Simon Peter said, but we’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught a single thing. We’ve been working sooooo hard, we’ve climbed to the highest mountain, we’ve bored to the center of the earth, we dove to the bottom of the sea, and all our efforts have not given us flight.

But sometimes something happens that unexpected, unplanned, and unrehearsed. Sometimes Jesus’ presence causes a radical thing to happen that can’t be explained, only described. Have you experienced it? That epiphany moment?

It doesn’t happen when you’ve planned a big event, its not when the church has spent a lot of money on a new tapestry or when you’ve made a pilgrimage to a cathedral, there’s no way to predict or to propose it into being. Its the presence of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ catching us in the moment when our hearts are open.

And suddenly there are fish in the net. Suddenly, miraculously, we see what we didn’t see before. Simon saw it and he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man". Simon began to see, but he still didn’t understand the implications. Simon said "go away from me, Lord," because he was filled with humility. He saw the difference between his human state and the divine, and he was filled with a sense of that difference. And in that instant, he was transformed.

In that moment, Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will be a catcher of men".

In the moment of losing himself to humility, Simon found the power that comes from our right relationship with the divine. Its not something that can be explained if you haven’t experienced it, but it would be so arrogant of me to think for one minute that you have not experienced it, so I speak of it among us as if we might understand. As if we might have a common understanding of the truth in this scripture.

Its when we give up a false sense of personal control that we find the source of our true gain. And we don’t do it alone. Peter found his epiphany in the presence of Jesus and the other disciples. Its a communion thing. Its a church thing.

I’ve never read a better description than this quote from Elton Trueblood’s book, The Incendiary Fellowship. "The renewal of the church will be in progress when it is seen as a fellowship of consciously inadequate persons who gather because they are weak, and scatter to serve because their unity with one another and with Christ has made them bold".

What freedom there is in this realization. How light it makes our burdens. History is not on our shoulders, its on Jesus shoulders and that grace filled understanding changes everything. We’re not obliged, we’re graced.

Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give thee rest". Simon, let loose of your concerns that your efforts are not enough, yes, you cast the net, and yes, casting it again is an act of faith, but it is Jesus who causes the nets to fill. Trust Jesus to fill the nets and cast away the burden of worry.

Ducks, forget about your flat waddling feet and let the Holy Spirit lift you into the presence of the Lord. People of God, hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ who speaks to us from the Holy Scripture and says, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching people".

There is a saying that sums it all up, a good way to end. The saying is simple.

"Great God, Small World". This is truth. But thanks be to God, we aren’t left alone, small in the world. Through the power and the glory of our gracious God, we are lifted up in communion, into a fellowship of the communion of saints, empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus and become fishers of people. This is the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

This sermon was given in the Campville and St. Paul’s United Methodist Churches on Sunday February 4, 2001 by Rev. Susan Rogge.

(This sermon used many illustrations from the "Homiletics" magazine.)