1 Kings 19:11-21; 1 Peters 3:8-15; St Luke 5:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
One morning our Lord came preaching by the Sea of Galilee. So many people gathered to listen that He commandeered Simon Peter’s boat. They pushed out a little from the land. Andrew and Peter with Him. With the crowds seated on the shore Jesus preached from the helm of Peter’s boat, turning it into a pulpit. He continues to do so today. You are gathered here in the Nave, the Holy Ark of the Christian Church. You are in the boat with Jesus. Not a crowd, but a family. He takes the helm at the Lecturn and the Pulpit as His Word is read and preached. Are you pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God?
With the sermon finished it was time for some individual catechesis. He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Now Christ didn’t come into this world to teach us how to fish. He was a Preacher, not a fisherman. But He who was not a fisherman taught the disciples, who were expert fishermen, where to catch fish. Because He knows everything. He knows everything about everything. When He teaches, we listen. We don’t choose when to listen to Him. We listen to everything He says on every topic He addresses.
And so Peter responds, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your Word, I will let down the nets. At Jesus’ Word Peter let down the nets. It went against Peter’s own experience. Against his own knowledge which told him there were no fish where Jesus said to fish. But faith doesn’t trust its experience. It doesn’t take data points and metrics. Faith trusts God’s Word.
His strong Word did cleave the darkness at creation. At His speaking it was done. His Word calls Elijah forth from the cave. Not the experience of a strong wind or an earthquake or a fire. The whisper, the Word of the Lord, called the Prophet out from hiding in fear.
It was no different for Peter and the men with him. At the Word of the Lord he let down the nets for a catch. At the Word of the Lord there were fish where once there were no fish. At the Word of the Lord those fish swam into the nets. And they enclosed a large number of fish so that their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He was afraid. He was in the presence of Almighty God. And he was afraid. Like Elijah who threw his cloak over his face, Peter cowered before Jesus in the boat. The miracle had astonished him and the only thing he could think of was his own unworthiness. The presence of God evokes fear.
And it should! The sinner cannot stand in the presence of holiness. Adam and Eve hid in the Garden because they heard the Lord God and they were afraid. Manoah saw the Angel of the Lord, the very Pre-Incarnate Christ, and he was afraid. Isaiah beheld the Holy, Holy, Holy One and was afraid. To this day sinners run away, hide, and cower before God. They are afraid to be seen as they are.
And they should be! The fear of God drives out all other fears. The Lord God says, “Don’t fear suffering, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear loss of reputation, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear sickness or death, fear Me.” “Fear, love and trust in Me above all things.” Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
So Elijah is right. Peter and Andrew, James and John are right. They were seized with fear and wished for our Lord to depart from them for they are sinful men who have feared other things. Who have allowed their passions to be disoriented. But now Jesus comes to them and says, Do not be afraid.
He who is the Word now speaks a Word of comfort and peace to them. “Do not be afraid,” means, “Your sins are forgiven. God is not angry with you. He has poured all His wrath and anger and displeasure out upon Me. I was plunged into the depths of your sin in My death in order to bring you up in My resurrection and seat you in the Boat of My Church, alive. You don’t have to be afraid in God’s presence anymore. For I am with you.” It turned out that even while it was sinking there was no better place for those men to be than in that boat with Jesus.
And for these men, not only can they now stand in the Lord’s presence, they will also speak for Him. From now on you will be catching men. Here St Luke is describing for us the call of these apostles, Peter and Andrew, James and John and the establishment of Christ’s own Office of the Ministry of His Holy Gospel.
For this is how our Lord has seen fit to make disciples, through the nonstop proclamation of His Word and the faithful administration of His Sacraments. Through these, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where is pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake (AC IV).
This is the call of Elisha by Elijah according to the Word of the Lord. For some of you men, especially you young men, perhaps our Lord Jesus is calling you. To have the cloak of Elijah, the mantle of the Office of the Ministry, cast upon you. The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task (1 Tim 3:1).
But you don’t need to be a Pastor to to tell people the Gospel. The Gospel is not a secret. We publicly confess it! Not only do you confess the Creed every Sunday. You learn from the Small Catechism what it means. Dear Christians, pray your Small Catechism daily. Learn what it says. For when our Lord presents the opportunity to you then you are prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; doing so with gentleness and respect.
The Gospel isn’t just for the Pastor to preach. It is for the Christian to believe. It is in the Gospel alone, the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus, that you are freed to no longer be afraid. Freed to confess what you believe. And to live as you confess.
And you confess this and live in a world that is hostile to the Gospel. A world who thinks they know better than the Word of Jesus. A world afraid of dying. A world afraid of death. A world so wrapped in fear that they cling to anyone and anything that can give them a little bit more time here in this life, in this city of men.
Recall Lot, who when given the Word of the Lord to flee Sodom, asked to remain in a little city rather than flee to the mountains. Like Noah before him, Lot went out to preach the saving Word to his sons-in-law, but they would not believe. Then even Lot had to be taken by the hand and brought out of the city. He was seeking good for his life in the city rather than trusting God for the good. For Lot’s wife this rescue was not good enough as she looked back in longing for the good things she had known. She could not be content with the merciful deliverance to life and the promise God had given to Abram. Trusting in those “good” things only brought her death according to the Word of the Lord (Gen 19).
This is where you live, dear ones. In this Sodom. This world being saved up for fire. All things are passing away. The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll. The stars will melt. There is chaos and confusion, sickness and death all around all the time. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.
His enduring Word has been inscribed upon you in Holy Baptism. His enduring Word has been preached into your ears and taken root in your heart. His enduring Word has been joined to Bread and Wine, His Body and Blood, which is for you the Medicine of Immortality. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy. For you will not die, but live forevermore in Jesus Christ by the glory of His resurrection.
This is what the Ark of the Church does, dear Christians, with Jesus at the helm. In the face of death, through suffering for righteousness sake, in blessing those who revile, the Church raises the dead. We preach the life-giving Word of our Lord who called Lazarus out of the grave. We distribute the Medicine of Immortality. We have the antidote to death itself. We raise the dead. Not figuratively. Literally.
And this eternal life is offered now through the Gospel net of the Word and the Sacraments. It is available to all, for the sake of Christ, without regard to ethnicity or socio-economic status. It cannot be had by political activism or virtue signaling. It comes only through the preached Word, by Baptism, by Absolution, by the Supper.
And in the Church’s mission, which is Christ’s mission, of raising the dead, of catching men alive, all the flotsam and jetsam of this fallen world with which people are obsessed, all these things take a back-seat, even to the point of being eternally irrelevant. All the things of this world are passing away. Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. That is, “While the world turns, the Crucifix stands firm.” And the Word of the Lord endures forever.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
One morning our Lord came preaching by the Sea of Galilee. So many people gathered to listen that He commandeered Simon Peter’s boat. They pushed out a little from the land. Andrew and Peter with Him. With the crowds seated on the shore Jesus preached from the helm of Peter’s boat, turning it into a pulpit. He continues to do so today. You are gathered here in the Nave, the Holy Ark of the Christian Church. You are in the boat with Jesus. Not a crowd, but a family. He takes the helm at the Lecturn and the Pulpit as His Word is read and preached. Are you pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God?
With the sermon finished it was time for some individual catechesis. He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Now Christ didn’t come into this world to teach us how to fish. He was a Preacher, not a fisherman. But He who was not a fisherman taught the disciples, who were expert fishermen, where to catch fish. Because He knows everything. He knows everything about everything. When He teaches, we listen. We don’t choose when to listen to Him. We listen to everything He says on every topic He addresses.
And so Peter responds, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your Word, I will let down the nets. At Jesus’ Word Peter let down the nets. It went against Peter’s own experience. Against his own knowledge which told him there were no fish where Jesus said to fish. But faith doesn’t trust its experience. It doesn’t take data points and metrics. Faith trusts God’s Word.
His strong Word did cleave the darkness at creation. At His speaking it was done. His Word calls Elijah forth from the cave. Not the experience of a strong wind or an earthquake or a fire. The whisper, the Word of the Lord, called the Prophet out from hiding in fear.
It was no different for Peter and the men with him. At the Word of the Lord he let down the nets for a catch. At the Word of the Lord there were fish where once there were no fish. At the Word of the Lord those fish swam into the nets. And they enclosed a large number of fish so that their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He was afraid. He was in the presence of Almighty God. And he was afraid. Like Elijah who threw his cloak over his face, Peter cowered before Jesus in the boat. The miracle had astonished him and the only thing he could think of was his own unworthiness. The presence of God evokes fear.
And it should! The sinner cannot stand in the presence of holiness. Adam and Eve hid in the Garden because they heard the Lord God and they were afraid. Manoah saw the Angel of the Lord, the very Pre-Incarnate Christ, and he was afraid. Isaiah beheld the Holy, Holy, Holy One and was afraid. To this day sinners run away, hide, and cower before God. They are afraid to be seen as they are.
And they should be! The fear of God drives out all other fears. The Lord God says, “Don’t fear suffering, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear loss of reputation, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear sickness or death, fear Me.” “Fear, love and trust in Me above all things.” Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
So Elijah is right. Peter and Andrew, James and John are right. They were seized with fear and wished for our Lord to depart from them for they are sinful men who have feared other things. Who have allowed their passions to be disoriented. But now Jesus comes to them and says, Do not be afraid.
He who is the Word now speaks a Word of comfort and peace to them. “Do not be afraid,” means, “Your sins are forgiven. God is not angry with you. He has poured all His wrath and anger and displeasure out upon Me. I was plunged into the depths of your sin in My death in order to bring you up in My resurrection and seat you in the Boat of My Church, alive. You don’t have to be afraid in God’s presence anymore. For I am with you.” It turned out that even while it was sinking there was no better place for those men to be than in that boat with Jesus.
And for these men, not only can they now stand in the Lord’s presence, they will also speak for Him. From now on you will be catching men. Here St Luke is describing for us the call of these apostles, Peter and Andrew, James and John and the establishment of Christ’s own Office of the Ministry of His Holy Gospel.
For this is how our Lord has seen fit to make disciples, through the nonstop proclamation of His Word and the faithful administration of His Sacraments. Through these, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where is pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake (AC IV).
This is the call of Elisha by Elijah according to the Word of the Lord. For some of you men, especially you young men, perhaps our Lord Jesus is calling you. To have the cloak of Elijah, the mantle of the Office of the Ministry, cast upon you. The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task (1 Tim 3:1).
But you don’t need to be a Pastor to to tell people the Gospel. The Gospel is not a secret. We publicly confess it! Not only do you confess the Creed every Sunday. You learn from the Small Catechism what it means. Dear Christians, pray your Small Catechism daily. Learn what it says. For when our Lord presents the opportunity to you then you are prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; doing so with gentleness and respect.
The Gospel isn’t just for the Pastor to preach. It is for the Christian to believe. It is in the Gospel alone, the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus, that you are freed to no longer be afraid. Freed to confess what you believe. And to live as you confess.
And you confess this and live in a world that is hostile to the Gospel. A world who thinks they know better than the Word of Jesus. A world afraid of dying. A world afraid of death. A world so wrapped in fear that they cling to anyone and anything that can give them a little bit more time here in this life, in this city of men.
Recall Lot, who when given the Word of the Lord to flee Sodom, asked to remain in a little city rather than flee to the mountains. Like Noah before him, Lot went out to preach the saving Word to his sons-in-law, but they would not believe. Then even Lot had to be taken by the hand and brought out of the city. He was seeking good for his life in the city rather than trusting God for the good. For Lot’s wife this rescue was not good enough as she looked back in longing for the good things she had known. She could not be content with the merciful deliverance to life and the promise God had given to Abram. Trusting in those “good” things only brought her death according to the Word of the Lord (Gen 19).
This is where you live, dear ones. In this Sodom. This world being saved up for fire. All things are passing away. The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll. The stars will melt. There is chaos and confusion, sickness and death all around all the time. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.
His enduring Word has been inscribed upon you in Holy Baptism. His enduring Word has been preached into your ears and taken root in your heart. His enduring Word has been joined to Bread and Wine, His Body and Blood, which is for you the Medicine of Immortality. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy. For you will not die, but live forevermore in Jesus Christ by the glory of His resurrection.
This is what the Ark of the Church does, dear Christians, with Jesus at the helm. In the face of death, through suffering for righteousness sake, in blessing those who revile, the Church raises the dead. We preach the life-giving Word of our Lord who called Lazarus out of the grave. We distribute the Medicine of Immortality. We have the antidote to death itself. We raise the dead. Not figuratively. Literally.
And this eternal life is offered now through the Gospel net of the Word and the Sacraments. It is available to all, for the sake of Christ, without regard to ethnicity or socio-economic status. It cannot be had by political activism or virtue signaling. It comes only through the preached Word, by Baptism, by Absolution, by the Supper.
And in the Church’s mission, which is Christ’s mission, of raising the dead, of catching men alive, all the flotsam and jetsam of this fallen world with which people are obsessed, all these things take a back-seat, even to the point of being eternally irrelevant. All the things of this world are passing away. Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. That is, “While the world turns, the Crucifix stands firm.” And the Word of the Lord endures forever.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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