5th Sunday after Epiphany

 

Luke 5:1-11

So this week is all about call stories in the church.  And this always presents a bit of a challenge.  Because professional ministers are always really good at understanding and telling our call stories.  It’s a big part of our formation process for ministry.  But is also creates a problem because I am the only one here today who decided to make a living out of doing ministry, but everyone here is called by God.  Everyone.  And when we hear these big dramatic bible stories and professional ministers talk about life changing experiences, it really easy to decide that they must be all about someone else.  But they’re not.  They’re about you too. 

So today we are going to take a close look at the trio of call stories we heard today.  And they all come from very different times and places but they all end up having a surprisingly large amount in common.  Isaiah, Paul and Peter all experience powerful callings from God and we know that they each go on to do extraordinary things in the service of the Lord.  But it certainly didn’t start out that way.  None of them appeared to be the first logical choice.  In fact, the first thing they all feel upon receiving their call is fear because they all know themselves to be deeply flawed and sinful people.  Isaiah cries out “Woe is me I am lost, I am a man of unclean lips” when he witnesses the divine glory.  Paul remembers how he once persecuted and even killed members of the church and even Peter upon seeing the miraculous catch of fish first shouts “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.”  Every one of them doubts their abilities at first.

I think often we get caught up in this idea that we have to be holy and sinless and somehow extra capable to be called by God.  That we should wait until we have been better trained, or somehow fixed ourselves into model citizens before we should even consider that God may be calling us into his service.  Or that God’s calling only extends to certain especially good or especially qualified people.

But it doesn’t work that way, because God has you covered.  In every one of these stories it was God’s gracious activity that comes first.  God sends an angel to cleanse Isaiah’s lips, wiping away his guilt and blotting out his sin.  Paul tell us that it is only by the Grace of God that he is what he is.  And in our gospel, Jesus literally has to pick Peter up off the floor of the boat and tell him not to be afraid.  It is only then, after God has taken the initiative, after God has made them ready that they are sent out bearing his message.    

So much of the time, I think we put this in the wrong order, thinking we have to earn the right to be called, or that only the holy or the righteous are chosen.  Or that the sins we have committed or the wrongs we have done somehow make us unworthy to serve the Lord in meaningful ways.  Or that if we are too old or too young or otherwise not perfectly able, we should leave this to someone more qualified.  But that is not how this works.  God readily uses what is available to him, he takes us as we are, he meets us in the places that we live and invites us forth to love and serve him in his kingdom.  No prerequisites required.  It is not about being good enough, smart enough or trained enough, it is only about being willing.

Because the reality is that ministry success comes from God’s work not ours.  Peter, a well-trained fisherman, fishes all night before he finds Jesus and he catches nothing.  He is exhausted and demoralized and tired.  But even so, he takes a few minutes to stop and listen to Jesus’s teaching.  And then Jesus tells him to do something new.  And he really doesn’t want to.  But eventually he does it anyway, and he has a success that is miraculous, magnificent and even a little dangerous. 

And I feel like this is an experience we have likely all had in the church at some point.  Where we work so hard to make things work, to keep things going, to keep doing what we have always done, even when we keep coming up empty.  But sometimes what we really have to do is stop, listen to Jesus and try something new.  Even if it seems scary, pointless or hard.  I’m sure Peter would have much rather given up.  I mean really who wants to take fishing advice from a Carpenter?  What does he know?  But Peter steps out in faith. 

And fundamentally there is only one difference between the first and the second fishing trip.  That is that Jesus shows up.  And that makes all the difference.  And it makes all the difference in our lives and our churches too.  When we stop and wait and listen for Jesus, for where he is calling us to be and what he is calling us to do.  That is what makes all the difference in our lives and in our ministry too.  Success comes from standing alongside Jesus and his mission.

But there is a catch here and it is a big one.  One we really like to ignore.  When you look closely at the story, Peter doesn’t get to enjoy the bounty of his catch after that second fishing trip.  He isn’t the one to reap the rewards of this miraculous haul of fish.  That is not his calling.  Peter does all that work, he wrestles those loads of fish into the boat, even at considerable personal danger, he brings the boats into the shore and then he leaves spoils for others because he is off to follow Jesus to a new place.  Which creates an interesting question, then what is the point of the fish?  We are told at the beginning of the story that there was a huge crowd that followed Jesus to the lake.  How long have they been there?  Might they be getting awfully hungry?  It strikes me that the real purpose of this miracle was not to shock Peter and convince him to follow Jesus, but to make sure that the crowd on the shore gets fed. 

And maybe that is true for us too.  That maybe the mark of success of our calling, maybe the mark of success of this congregation and or the church at large is not how it makes us feel or what happens to us personally, but how many people end up getting fed.  Maybe we were never meant to fish for ourselves.  Maybe it has always been about our neighbors, near and far away.  Instead it might be true that God is calling us forth, God is blessing us with miraculous gifts, not for our own sake but for the sake of others. 

This is statement that feels important to say out loud right now, that it is not and never has been all about us, or our immediate family, or our country, or some imagined hierarchy of worthy people. But that as Christians we are called to give ourselves away for the sake of others.  To love and serve our neighbors as ourselves.  To be merciful and kind and to make sure our neighbors are safe and protected and that the needs of those around us are met.   And that no matter who we are or where we are or what resources we feel like we possess, we are all called to look deeply and listen closely to what Jesus is doing in the world and then to step out in faith to follow wherever he calls.  Amen.