1 Kings 19:11-21/1 Corinthians 1:18-25/St Luke 5:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread - or catch fish - until you die. Putting food on the table is more than just physically difficult, it is mentally strenuous. Food for the table, clothes for the kids, rent for the landlord, mortgage payments for the bank, a new roof, hang the drywall, fix the car, tuition for school - its all included in the petition of the Lord’s Prayer for daily bread. And the struggle for daily bread it fraught with anxiety. Jobs can be lost, even through no fault of your own.
Day after day people from this neighborhood knock on the door of the church asking for help. Help with rent, with utilities, for food or clothing. Even for those experiencing stability and prosperity, anxious nights can be spent worrying about tomorrow. So many things could go wrong with your jobs, your spouse, your children, your parents, your health.
An anxious night of toil has been spent by Simon, James and John. They had labored all night and took nothing. This wasn’t a pleasure cruise for them. A bunch of buddies with a few beers and a couple of lines in the water. No fish? No matter! We still had fun. No. This was work. This was labor. Sweat and exhaustion. These three, together with their father Zebedee and other crew members, were commercial fishermen. No fish meant no money. Tonight’s loss would affect their bottom line. Maybe worse still: no fish meant no dinner. They couldn’t put food on the table.
And along comes Jesus. St Luke tells us just before our text that Jesus told those who were searching for Him, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose (Lk 4:43). When He preached in the synagogues, the people marveled over the words of grace flowing from His mouth. Now they follow Him out to the Lake of Gennesaret, practically pushing Him into the water. Such is their fervor to hear the Word of God; to hold it sacred, learn, mark and inwardly digest it. As you heard in last Sunday’s text regarding the leading of blind men by the ear, St Luke is again emphasizing for us the need for on-going, faithful catechesis in the Word of our Lord which endures forever.
Simon has already heard somewhat of this Word of God from the mouth of Jesus. He had seen Jesus heal many. He witnessed the healing of his mother-in-law’s fever and the exorcising of the demons from a possessed man. And he certainly needed the Word of the Lord that morning, as we all do. He needed that word of comfort and hope. Perhaps Jesus was preaching concerning the birds of the air and how they neither toil nor sow and yet your Father in heaven feeds them. And how the lilies of the field do not spin, but they are clothed more splendidly than Solomon. So why do you worry? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and what you need for the this body and life shall indeed be provided for you by the Lord.
Now as the crowds were pushing in on our Lord, getting in the way of Simon and his fellow fisherman, our Lord commandeered Simon’s boat and had him put out a little from the land. And as He turned that old fishing vessel into a glorious pulpit for the proclamation of the Word of God, Simon sat there, at the feet of our Lord, listening. Maybe his mind was wandering, as yours does during the service, mulling over the long night just spent, worrying what his wife will say when he gets home, realizing how tired he is. When our Lord ends His sermon with a command to Simon: Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
What lunacy! Everyone knows that the best fishing is done at night nearer the shore. And now this landlubber rabbi wants Simon to put out into the deep as the sun comes up! What folly! Absurd! You hear these sentiments in the beleaguered reply of Simon, Master, working hard through the whole night we took nothing. “You may know about healing and miracles and the Torah, but you don’t know much about fishing.”
It is a bit like Elijah: tired and weary from the labor the Lord placed upon him. Worn out from the apparent ineffectualness of his preaching. Hiding in the mountains from that wicked Jezebel and answering the Lord God with some despondency: The people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life.
But the Word of the Lord was working on and for Elijah, the Word and came not in the roar of the wind, or the power of the earthquake or the flash of the fire, but in the whisper, that is, in preaching. And the Word of the Lord in the preaching of Jesus was working on the heart of Simon, even as it works upon your heart and mind. Slowly. Surely. Never returning to God void, but always accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it. And so Elijah departed from the mountain. And Simon consents: But at Your word I will let down the nets.
The Word of the Lord began this narrative. The Word which Jesus was preaching. The crowd gathered about Him in order to hear the Word of God, the gracious and glorious Word flowing from His mouth. By the Word of Jesus Simon pushed back from the land so Jesus could preach from his boat. Now, at the Word of Jesus Simon will put his fishing nets in the water. And at the Word of Jesus those nets enclosed a large number of fish so that they were at the breaking point. Whereas once the nets that found no fish, now found an overabundance of fish because of the Word of Jesus. So much so that the two boats began to sink!
And now Simon, whom St Luke also, for the first time, calls Peter, saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me because I am a sinner Lord.” His eyes and ears have been opened to the preaching of the Word and he is moved to repentance. At the Word of Jesus his own wisdom now looked like foolishness. In the sign of the miraculous catch of fish and the near sinking of his boat, Simon beheld the power and authority of the God of Elijah and Elisha; the God whose Word did cleave the darkness at creation and brought all things into being out of nothing. And now he is terrified to be in the presence of such a God, for he knows his iniquity and his sin is before his very eyes. He is not worthy to have this man in his boat.
But our Lord Jesus Christ does not depart. He will not leave Peter or the others. Rather He comforts these poor, terror-stricken men with kind words: Do not be afraid. He offers to them His grace and absolution, His mercy and His peace.
And just as the Lord God did for Elijah, not only comforting him, but giving the prophet a great promise - Go, anoint kings and prophets for I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him - so too does our Lord Jesus Christ say and do for Simon Peter. He strengthens His Word of comfort to Peter’s timid conscience with the great promise that he will now receive something far beyond anything he had previously been given: From now on you will be catching men alive.
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
What an absurd statement! “Catching men alive.” It is folly. A phrase to stumble over. But this is precisely what our Lord Jesus does when He commanders Peter’s boat. He catches men in order to give them life. He doesn’t fish with a hook and bait. No. He fishes with a net, which hauls in all sorts of items. And this is what He shall give St Peter and St John and St James to do: to catch men for the purpose of life by the net of His Gospel, the lunacy of the preaching of His glorious Cross, which is in fact the power of God unto salvation.
For we may interpret this parable allegorically: our Lord Jesus has established the Ark of His Church, this boat, as His fishing vessel. Here, from Altar and Pulpit and Font He sends His messengers to cast the net of His Gospel out into the deep; to do as His Word commands, and fling it far and wide. And at His Word, He catches all manner of fish, hauls them from the depths and into the safety of His boat. And the fact that there are two boats? Why, Jew and Gentile, the whole Church, one catch, of our Lord Jesus.
You, as little fish, have been caught in His Gospel net and hauled into His Boat of the Church. Here you don’t suffocate and die, rather you swim around freely in your Baptismal waters, jumping and rejoicing to be part of the Master’s boat. For though, like St Peter, you know your sin and your iniquity is ever before you, still your Lord does not depart from you. He says to you, Do not be afraid; but believe. Trust My Word which forgives all your sins, which bespeaks you righteous. My Word from My Cross, which is foolishness to the world, yet true wisdom indeed. And though My Word and My Gospel net seem weak and about to break, they shall hold, they shall endure forever. And so shall you who abide in them with Me.”
Come, little fish, anxious and tired, and eat of the daily bread your Father in heaven provides. For this is not allegory. Here is the Bread that is His Body, which came by the toil of His own sweat and Blood. Here is food for your soul and security for your conscience. Here you who have left everything to follow Jesus receive the very guarantee of heaven’s crown: eternal life by and in the catechesis of His Word.
In the Name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread - or catch fish - until you die. Putting food on the table is more than just physically difficult, it is mentally strenuous. Food for the table, clothes for the kids, rent for the landlord, mortgage payments for the bank, a new roof, hang the drywall, fix the car, tuition for school - its all included in the petition of the Lord’s Prayer for daily bread. And the struggle for daily bread it fraught with anxiety. Jobs can be lost, even through no fault of your own.
Day after day people from this neighborhood knock on the door of the church asking for help. Help with rent, with utilities, for food or clothing. Even for those experiencing stability and prosperity, anxious nights can be spent worrying about tomorrow. So many things could go wrong with your jobs, your spouse, your children, your parents, your health.
An anxious night of toil has been spent by Simon, James and John. They had labored all night and took nothing. This wasn’t a pleasure cruise for them. A bunch of buddies with a few beers and a couple of lines in the water. No fish? No matter! We still had fun. No. This was work. This was labor. Sweat and exhaustion. These three, together with their father Zebedee and other crew members, were commercial fishermen. No fish meant no money. Tonight’s loss would affect their bottom line. Maybe worse still: no fish meant no dinner. They couldn’t put food on the table.
And along comes Jesus. St Luke tells us just before our text that Jesus told those who were searching for Him, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose (Lk 4:43). When He preached in the synagogues, the people marveled over the words of grace flowing from His mouth. Now they follow Him out to the Lake of Gennesaret, practically pushing Him into the water. Such is their fervor to hear the Word of God; to hold it sacred, learn, mark and inwardly digest it. As you heard in last Sunday’s text regarding the leading of blind men by the ear, St Luke is again emphasizing for us the need for on-going, faithful catechesis in the Word of our Lord which endures forever.
Simon has already heard somewhat of this Word of God from the mouth of Jesus. He had seen Jesus heal many. He witnessed the healing of his mother-in-law’s fever and the exorcising of the demons from a possessed man. And he certainly needed the Word of the Lord that morning, as we all do. He needed that word of comfort and hope. Perhaps Jesus was preaching concerning the birds of the air and how they neither toil nor sow and yet your Father in heaven feeds them. And how the lilies of the field do not spin, but they are clothed more splendidly than Solomon. So why do you worry? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and what you need for the this body and life shall indeed be provided for you by the Lord.
Now as the crowds were pushing in on our Lord, getting in the way of Simon and his fellow fisherman, our Lord commandeered Simon’s boat and had him put out a little from the land. And as He turned that old fishing vessel into a glorious pulpit for the proclamation of the Word of God, Simon sat there, at the feet of our Lord, listening. Maybe his mind was wandering, as yours does during the service, mulling over the long night just spent, worrying what his wife will say when he gets home, realizing how tired he is. When our Lord ends His sermon with a command to Simon: Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
What lunacy! Everyone knows that the best fishing is done at night nearer the shore. And now this landlubber rabbi wants Simon to put out into the deep as the sun comes up! What folly! Absurd! You hear these sentiments in the beleaguered reply of Simon, Master, working hard through the whole night we took nothing. “You may know about healing and miracles and the Torah, but you don’t know much about fishing.”
It is a bit like Elijah: tired and weary from the labor the Lord placed upon him. Worn out from the apparent ineffectualness of his preaching. Hiding in the mountains from that wicked Jezebel and answering the Lord God with some despondency: The people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life.
But the Word of the Lord was working on and for Elijah, the Word and came not in the roar of the wind, or the power of the earthquake or the flash of the fire, but in the whisper, that is, in preaching. And the Word of the Lord in the preaching of Jesus was working on the heart of Simon, even as it works upon your heart and mind. Slowly. Surely. Never returning to God void, but always accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it. And so Elijah departed from the mountain. And Simon consents: But at Your word I will let down the nets.
The Word of the Lord began this narrative. The Word which Jesus was preaching. The crowd gathered about Him in order to hear the Word of God, the gracious and glorious Word flowing from His mouth. By the Word of Jesus Simon pushed back from the land so Jesus could preach from his boat. Now, at the Word of Jesus Simon will put his fishing nets in the water. And at the Word of Jesus those nets enclosed a large number of fish so that they were at the breaking point. Whereas once the nets that found no fish, now found an overabundance of fish because of the Word of Jesus. So much so that the two boats began to sink!
And now Simon, whom St Luke also, for the first time, calls Peter, saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me because I am a sinner Lord.” His eyes and ears have been opened to the preaching of the Word and he is moved to repentance. At the Word of Jesus his own wisdom now looked like foolishness. In the sign of the miraculous catch of fish and the near sinking of his boat, Simon beheld the power and authority of the God of Elijah and Elisha; the God whose Word did cleave the darkness at creation and brought all things into being out of nothing. And now he is terrified to be in the presence of such a God, for he knows his iniquity and his sin is before his very eyes. He is not worthy to have this man in his boat.
But our Lord Jesus Christ does not depart. He will not leave Peter or the others. Rather He comforts these poor, terror-stricken men with kind words: Do not be afraid. He offers to them His grace and absolution, His mercy and His peace.
And just as the Lord God did for Elijah, not only comforting him, but giving the prophet a great promise - Go, anoint kings and prophets for I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him - so too does our Lord Jesus Christ say and do for Simon Peter. He strengthens His Word of comfort to Peter’s timid conscience with the great promise that he will now receive something far beyond anything he had previously been given: From now on you will be catching men alive.
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
What an absurd statement! “Catching men alive.” It is folly. A phrase to stumble over. But this is precisely what our Lord Jesus does when He commanders Peter’s boat. He catches men in order to give them life. He doesn’t fish with a hook and bait. No. He fishes with a net, which hauls in all sorts of items. And this is what He shall give St Peter and St John and St James to do: to catch men for the purpose of life by the net of His Gospel, the lunacy of the preaching of His glorious Cross, which is in fact the power of God unto salvation.
For we may interpret this parable allegorically: our Lord Jesus has established the Ark of His Church, this boat, as His fishing vessel. Here, from Altar and Pulpit and Font He sends His messengers to cast the net of His Gospel out into the deep; to do as His Word commands, and fling it far and wide. And at His Word, He catches all manner of fish, hauls them from the depths and into the safety of His boat. And the fact that there are two boats? Why, Jew and Gentile, the whole Church, one catch, of our Lord Jesus.
You, as little fish, have been caught in His Gospel net and hauled into His Boat of the Church. Here you don’t suffocate and die, rather you swim around freely in your Baptismal waters, jumping and rejoicing to be part of the Master’s boat. For though, like St Peter, you know your sin and your iniquity is ever before you, still your Lord does not depart from you. He says to you, Do not be afraid; but believe. Trust My Word which forgives all your sins, which bespeaks you righteous. My Word from My Cross, which is foolishness to the world, yet true wisdom indeed. And though My Word and My Gospel net seem weak and about to break, they shall hold, they shall endure forever. And so shall you who abide in them with Me.”
Come, little fish, anxious and tired, and eat of the daily bread your Father in heaven provides. For this is not allegory. Here is the Bread that is His Body, which came by the toil of His own sweat and Blood. Here is food for your soul and security for your conscience. Here you who have left everything to follow Jesus receive the very guarantee of heaven’s crown: eternal life by and in the catechesis of His Word.
In the Name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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