Going Deep – sermon on Feb. 7, 2016
Luke 5: 1-11 Once, while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Sermon: Going Deep by Rev. Doreen Oughton
In my previous career, one of my duties was to teach a 16-week class for people convicted of a first-time DUI. I did this for many years, and had worked out a curriculum that I cycled through. One lesson was on understanding blood alcohol level and how the legal standard for intoxication might differ from a felt experience of intoxication. I would go around the room and ask everyone – what is the signal to yourself that you’ve had too much to drink. Some said they paid attention when they noticed their words slur, or they got louder, or when they had trouble with their balance. Some said their eyelids got really heavy, and others got very flirty. Some accepted the feedback from others who told them in no uncertain terms! Most everyone agreed that whatever the signal was that they paid attention to, it was way past the point of legal intoxication.
As I pondered the scripture passages for this morning, I was struck by the words of Isaiah and of Peter, each of whom had an experience that caused them to notice their shortcomings. And I wondered, do we have some sort of inner warning system that goes off when we stray too far from where we are meant to go, too far from who we are meant to be? For Isaiah, his sense of inadequacy was triggered by his vision of the Lord high on a throne, surrounded by singing angels – a sight of majesty and glory. Did the beauty of their singing make him think about what typically came out of his mouth? I have fairly common taste in music – I can rock out to all kinds of things, but sometimes when I hear the choir sing, or listen to my Jessye Norman CD, I feel embarrassed by some of the things I listen to. For me, when I listen to glorious sounds, it is not about what comes out of my mouth I feel bad about, but what I subject my ears and heart to. I am a woman of unclean ears.
Or perhaps it is not the music Isaiah is responding to, but the words of praise – how glorious God is, and how the whole world is full of God’s glory. And Isaiah thinks back on how blind he has been to the glory infused in this world, realizes how often he complains about it instead of singing praises of and to it. I can relate to that, can’t you? Do you also find it easy to notice and comment on the ugliness and brokenness of the world, and aren’t you amazed when someone else is able to see beauty and hope and truth in the very same place you saw only despair? We are a people of unclean eyes.
In Luke’s story of the fishing trip, we have Simon Peter – skeptical about Jesus’ instructions to go out into the deep water. He’s been there, done that – been at it all night. Perhaps it was one of many unsuccessful fishing ventures and he has come to expect little. When you brace yourself for the worst outcome, it doesn’t rock you quite so much, right? But he humors Jesus, and discovers abundance beyond his wildest imagining. And his response is to fall to his knees and confess to being a sinful man. In what way does he understand himself to be sinful? Is it in his skepticism? Perhaps we are a people of unclean attitude. Is it in his mindset of scarcity? Perhaps we are a people of unclean expectation.
I can appreciate how coming up against such a contrast to the way we usually operate can be a trigger for self-reflection. Perhaps you have been in the habit of telling little white lies – come to see them as a harmless means of smoothing the road, making life a little easier. Then you encounter someone with a genuine commitment to truth-telling, even when there are painful or uncomfortable consequences for such honesty. Can we open ourselves to be awed and moved by this, instead of judging them the fool? Or perhaps you are super careful with your money – plenty socked away for emergencies or for the future, and you encounter someone who lives paycheck to paycheck and still gives generously to all who ask. Again, an opportunity to be moved to self-reflection, or to see another fool. Or maybe, like me, you’ve enjoyed hearing and sharing gossip, bonding with others who find fault in the same people you find fault in. And then you meet someone who truly never has a bad word to say about anyone, who, without obvious condemnation, just changes the topic to something more positive, or reminds you of some beautiful quality of the gossip target that you’d overlooked. I am a woman of unclean judgments – Lord have mercy.
I feel so blessed to have had so many amazing examples of the kind of person I want to be – not just Jesus, but special people right here in this world. People who are generous and kind, honest and joyful. I’m at the point, I think, that I don’t need them right in front of me to catch myself up when I wander to those unclean places I don’t wish to go anymore. How do I know when I’ve gotten off track? Pretty much whenever I feel self-righteous, and often when I feel angry. How about you? What makes you notice that you are not walking in the light? You don’t have to share aloud, but I hope you’ll consider the question. By doing so, by really taking time to notice how we think and act in this world, we are going into the deep water where Jesus directs us. This is hard to do, because I believe that in all of us is real doubt about our worth, maybe even a little kernel (or more) of self-loathing. Even if we grew up in the most loving household, we may wonder how we could have been worthy of such love. We go deep, and we come up empty.
But story after story in scripture assures us that we do not need to pull in our boats with a sigh of resignation and a burden of worry on our hearts. Jesus will go back out with us into those deep waters. What we pull up then is not the shallow evidence of worth in this world – fortune, fame and power – but the abundance of life that comes from knowing our place. And our place is with God because we are of God. And there’s nothing we can do about it – no amount of uncleanliness that can separate us from the love of God. No vision or hearing or attitude or judgment that will exempt us from Jesus’ invitation into the kindom. Notice Jesus’ lack of interest in Simon Peter’s confession. He doesn’t tell him to repent and sin no more. He doesn’t even offer forgiveness. He simply says, “do not be afraid.” And “let’s go catch some people.” So my friends, you people of unclean something, do not be afraid. Let’s go catch some people up in the good news of God’s love. May it be so.
