5th Sunday of Epiphany Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11 February 7, 2010
5th Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11 February 7, 2010
Today in our reading we have the opportunity to hear a couple of stories of how God carries on the tradition of calling unsuspecting and ordinary people to be extraordinary disciples and apostles.
In our first reading from the Old Testament we encounter the story of Isaiah who one day turns up in the temple at Jerusalem, and there, much to his surprise, he sees the Lord in glory, a figure so tremendous that the hem of his robe alone fills the vast spaces of the temple.
Surrounding the Lord are attending angels known as seraphim.
Like the multitude fans that will show up at today's Super Bowl game, they are cheering, shouting so loud that the great building starts to shake.
And do you know what it is they are shouting?
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
If these words sound familiar to you, it's probably because they are the basis for words we used in our Gathering Hymn this morning.
Isaiah, as you might imagine, is shocked and dismayed to see the Lord God there before him.
Why?
Because he is suddenly and painfully aware of his own sinfulness.
Like many others he had forgotten God's steadfast love.
He had abandoned trusting in God's promise to protect the people.
He had spoken words of doubt and despair that prove how unfaithful he had been.
He was a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips.
What would God do to him?
Had the Almighty come to destroy him for his lack of faith?
Would the Almighty squash him like a bug?
It certainly was what he deserved.
But then something happens that Isaiah is not expecting.
One of the seraphs, God's angel attendants, picks up a hot burning coal from the altar.
(Altars then looked like barbeques of today because sacrifices were burnt on them}
The angel picks up the hot burning coal using a pair of tongs.
(Apparently even angels must be careful with fire.)
Then the angel presses the coal against Isaiah's lips, burning away his sins.
(Only angels may do this. Do not try this at home.)
The angel pronounces a sentence of absolution; Isaiah's sin has been blotted out.
But that's only the beginning.
Now the Lord's voice sounds forth:
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
The Lord has a mission to assign.
What it involves he does not say.
But Isaiah, newly free from his sins, volunteers; "Here am I; send me!"
And God did.
Keep in mind, God didn't have to entrust such an important message to someone who had been so unfaithful.
God had every reason to say, "No, Isaiah you people have betrayed me before and maybe I need to find another nation to bear this word."
But God was gracious and let Isaiah bear that word of judgment and grace.
This is the story of Isaiah's call and like many a call stories it reminds us that God does not always call the most likely or the most obvious.
It reminds us that God calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
And it reminds us that while it is true that God is often found whispering to us with that still small voice—God is not afraid to blow our socks off in order to get our attention.
Just ask Isaiah.
For that reason I am reminded of something author Annie Dillard once wrote about going to worship and how we ought to wear crash helmets, receive life preservers and be lashed to the pews in case God shows up on any particular Sunday morning!
In other words, when God shows up and when God calls—it has the power to turn your world upside down and life will never be the same.
The second story comes from today's Gospel reading, one about Jesus and Simon Peter and a large catch of fish.
Peter and his fellow fisherman have recently come in from a long night of unsuccessful fishing.
They are tired, they are hungry and I suspect there is nothing they would rather do than grab a quick bite to eat and a couple hours rest.
But first they have to clean and put away their nets.
And this is where Jesus enters the story.
It appears as though Jesus has been gathering a small crowd as he was walking along the lakeshore.
And in order to address them more effectively, he approaches Peter and asks him that he might sit in his boat and address the crowd.
Peter, though he is tired, say's "Sure, why not?" and he too sits back to listen to the young rabbi share his insights, many of them being somewhat down to earth and even a bit unorthodox in relation all the other traditional rabbis he has heard over the years.
As Jesus is wrapping up his lesson he suggest to Peter that they shove off from the shore.
One can only imagine what was going through Peter's mind at that moment.
But in a moment of either weakness or graciousness he agrees, assuming Jesus just want to get away from the crowd for a breather.
But then Jesus makes a suggestion: "Why not put out a bit further, into the deeper water."
Once again we have to consider what was going through Peter's mind.
He was tired, he was hungry and he was disappointed in last night's efforts and now this rabbi and carpenter from Nazareth wants to go fishing?
Give me a break.
Why would Simon Peter want to do that?
What ever it was, Peter, said "sure" and they head out to deeper waters.
Keep in mind; Simon the fisherman is in his element.
Boats and fishing are part of his business.
The Sea of Galilee is his second home.
He has the sunburn and the muscles to prove it.
But then the rabbi tells Simon, "Let down your nets for a catch."
How foolish!
All through the night Simon worked, and has nothing to show for it.
The area's empty of fish.
The nets have been painstakingly washed and put away.
Besides, now is the wrong time of day to start fishing.
You can't expect a miracle.
But you know what, there is something different about this rabbi; he has a sense of authority, so what the heck, Simon tosses out the nets.
Moments later, his boat tips to one side, and looking down into the water, Simon sees his net alive with fish, more than he's ever taken, the sort of catch that dreams are made of.
Experience however tells him that this is all wrong.
Fish by the hundreds don't crowd into a net, at that place, at that hour of the day.
Yet it's all so right: two boats are needed to haul this catch to shore.
It's enough to make tough old fishermen wide-eyed with wonder.
Simon's boat and these familiar waters is now a holy spot, all because of the rabbi's command.
Awestruck, the burly fisherman falls at the feet of the rabbi, suddenly aware that Jesus is more than a traveling rabbi, he is a prophet of God and Peter is struck by fear and awe and like Isaiah he is painfully aware of his own sinfulness.
And in Peter's mind the best thing to do at this point is to distance himself from Jesus as quick as possible—the problem is, he is stuck on his boat and there is nowhere reasonable to go.
And at this point Jesus says to Peter "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
As I consider this story I can't help but notice two things.
The first is God's reoccurring theme of calling unlikely and ordinary people to do extraordinary things for the glory of God.
We saw that with the call of Isaiah and we see it again in this call of Peter.
I'd be willing to bet that any one who knew Peter would have considered him to be an unlikely choice for an evangelist.
By and large, common fishermen, untutored in the fine point so of scripture, rarely get called upon to be disciples and apostles.
Peter, it sounds like was a big guy, ungainly and maybe a bit ragged in his attire.
You know, its possible the crown of his head was balding, and what little hair he had left was going gray.
It would have been easy to say he was too old for this sort of thing, besides, he smelled of fish.
Scripture gives the impression that he was quick of temper, perhaps a bit uncouth, impulsive, and perhaps he too was noted for his "unclean lips".
It is also possible that he knew the inside of every seedy waterfront tavern in Galilee.
Yet it is this man—not some brilliant rabbinical student, or pious Pharisee—whom Jesus calls to join him in his "fishing for people" venture, the ultimate catch and release program!
The second thing that I can't help but notice is the first thing Jesus says to Peter: "Do not be afraid!"
As I pointed out to our confirmation students last Wednesday, this command is one of the most common commands in the entire Bible: Do not be afraid.
Prior to Elizabeth discovering that even in her barren state that she was to bear a child, her husband Zechariah was approached while in the temple by an angel who began with those words: "Do not be afraid".
When Mary was approached by the angel Gabriel who informed her of her unanticipated pregnancy, what did Gabriel say? "Do not be afraid!"
In a dream, Joseph was also informed of and the angel of the Lord said the same thing: "Do not be afraid"
When the angels approach the shepherds watching their flocks they begin with the words, "Do not be afraid."
Years later outside the empty tomb Mary Magdalene and the other women after discovering the tomb empty were told, "Do not be afraid."
Why do you suppose that is?
Why are we constantly being reminded to be not afraid or to fear not?
I suspect it is because that is often our natural reaction when we encounter something so amazing, so unbelievable, and so extraordinary and earth shattering.
I mean think about it, put yourself in Isaiah's sandals or in Peter's boat, who would not be afraid—this is not normal stuff.
Any sane person would and should be afraid.
Fear has another reaction—it either causes us to freeze up or it causes us to flee.
Either we hunker down, isolating ourselves, withdrawing into some seemingly safe place in the hopes of avoiding that which ever we don't want to face or deal with.
Or, we run, we separate ourselves from that which we don't understand or want to deal with.
Whether we freeze or flee—either way—we avoid that which is in front of us, that which is confronting us, and that which needs our attention, that which requires action.
Fear also has a way of causing us to do things we might not otherwise do, it cause us to behave poorly, and it cause us to act irresponsibly.
Fear has a way of bringing out both the best and worst in us, and sadly, it is more often the case, fear brings out the worst in us.
Jesus say's to Peter, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will be fishing for people."
This simple sentence would carry the gospel into fear-filled places and speak to people who would often welcome this word of encouragement and invitation.
And many of those same people who would be just as unlikely and just as ordinary as Isaiah and Peter, there by carrying on the tradition of God not always calling the most qualified, but always qualifying the people who are called to serve, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
According to St. Luke, Simon Peter and his partners beached their boats and left everything to follow Jesus.
And that was the beginning ~~ just the beginning.
Before it was over, Simon Peter and his friends had changed the world.
Our presence here today is a witness to that fact that Simon Peter neither froze or fled, rather following Christ, they changed the world.
For those of us gathered here this morning, we many not necessarily be called to tasks that ring through history as having great and mighty import over the centuries, but you and I have been called in the waters of baptism to follow the one who called Peter and his friends in today's text.
You and I have been given the Holy Spirit through the word and the water and we are fed each week on the body and blood of him whose death has redeemed us and who has, in turn, called us to follow him.
In the eyes of the world, we too may very well fall into the cast of least and unlikely, the ordinary and the profane, and yet we are called by our Lord and Master to serve and we are called to bring hope and assurance to a world filled with fear, a world in need of a Savior.
And while such an calling might strike us as over our heads and maybe even a bit ludicrous — May we when we, hear those words, "Who shall I send?" respond as Isaiah and Peter and say, "Here I am Lord, send me!"
And when that calling strikes us as overwhelming and frightening, may we too listen and cling to those words of hope that ring through out scripture—"Do not be afraid". Amen.
Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran
Milaca, MN
www.ZionMilaca.org(Sermon Archive)
