Epiphany 5, Year C, 2025
Isaiah 6:1-8,(9-13); Lord sends Isaiah;
Psalm 138; I will give thanks to you, O Lord, you keep me safe;
1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Christ died for our sins; raised on the 3rd day;
Luke 5:1-11; Jesus calls first disciples; tells Peter he will be fisher of people;
The readings today include 2 very different stories relating the call of God to 2 seemingly ordinary guys. The stories are different, and yet there are similarities. Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” Seraphs, or heavenly beings were in attendance. One called to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah was overcome at being in the presence of the Lord, hearing the voices of those who called, and believing he was unworthy, a man of unclean lips. One of the seraphs touched Isaiah’s mouth with a hot coal, and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” And the stories gets better! Isaiah heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah answered, “Here I am; send me!”
When Jesus called Peter, it was in a very different setting. No thrones, no splendid robes, no winged seraphs flying about, at least not that the crowd could see. It was beside the sea of Gennesaret, what is known today as the Sea of Galilee). The fishermen had come in from a disappointing trip. Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon Peter, and asked him to put out away from the shore, because the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God. When Jesus finished speaking, He asked Simon Peter to go into deep water again, and let down the nets. Simon Peter objected, but then said, “If you say so.”
They caught so many fish that their nets began to break. They called their partners in the other boat who came to help. Both boats were filled to the point of almost sinking. Everyone was amazed, and Simon Peter, like Isaiah, was overcome with his own sinfulness, in the presence of his Lord. Do you think Jesus telling Simon to put the boat out into deep water and let the nets down could be a metaphor for the invitation from God to leave our comfort zone, to try something different. There is a reason we call it a comfort zone – it is comfortable. It is familiar, we may have had successes there. We like it in that zone.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” Some years ago, a friend gave me a pin, in the shape of a fish hook. I can count on one hand the times I have been fishing. I mistook it for an anchor. I mean they are kind of shaped alike. And I thought, “Oh yes, God is my anchor, to keep my boat in place, to keep me from drifting too far off course.” I found it comforting. When I thanked my friend for the anchor pin, she said, “No, it is a fish hook, to signify that you will catch people for Jesus.” That was not comforting to me. That was scary. There was a time in my life when I was afraid that God would call me to something I could not do, something I didn’t want to do, something I was too timid to do. Then a wise Episcopal Priest told me, “You do not have to knock on doors for Jesus. Some people are good at that. And that is not you.”
In late October, 2017, we had the pleasure of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry being at our Diocesan Convention. He shared so much with us that weekend, in his preaching, teaching, with his presence. He preached like no other preacher I had ever heard in the Episcopal Church. I remember that he shared with us the following
African American Hymn:
“There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole,
there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again.
If you cannot preach like Peter,
if you cannot pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus
and say, “He died for all”.”
That prompted a conversation with a Deacon in our Diocese. I lamented that I wished I could preach like Michael Curry. She wrote in a card to me, “If you can’t preach like PB Michael – and who could – you can be you.” In his book, “Love is the Way,” Bp. Curry writes suggestions for creating and living a Rule of Life. In Tips to Get Started, he writes, “Be realistic. You do you. This isn’t about becoming a perfect version of yourself, or about achieving someone else’s idea of the right way to live. This is about living more fully in values you already hold by building some habits that fit comfortably into your regular life.”
Perhaps this account of Jesus’s call to the first disciples, and in particular Simon Peter, is about Jesus meeting someone where they live. God in Christ takes the initiative even as He calls us into relationship with Him. And the outcomes are unpredictable. “When they brought their boats to shore they left everything and followed Him.” That response has always amazed me. Jesus didn’t say, “You can continue to be a fisherman, live where you live, and stay with your family. And some days you’ll go out with me and spread the Good News to your neighbors and friends.” He could have said that, but He didn’t. He said, “Follow me.”
There is a map of Jesus’ ministry in the back of my Bible. Jesus and the disciples moved around, and travelled relatively far from home, when you consider that they were on foot. Jesus didn’t show them a map, or tell them where they would go. He just said, “Follow me.” Disciples are not always called away from their chosen vocation. Jesus makes His presence known in the midst of our work, where we live, when we are faithful disciples.
The other cool thing that happened was that when they caught so many fish to the point of breaking their nets, they called their partners in the other boat to help them. We are not on this journey alone. Here is another song I’ll quote: “The Servant Song.”
“We are pilgrims on a journey,
We are travelers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.”
Ash Wednesday is 3½ weeks from today. Lent is always a good season to set aside time in prayer, meditation, and listening for that still small voice of God calling to us. “Follow me.”
The Rev. Robin Finch+