There's Not Much Fishing in a Creek
Gospel Reading: Luke 5:1-11
“There’s not much fishing in a creek.”When I was a child, my parents took us to the mountains every now and then. We stayed with a family friend who lived there. Near the cabin was a beautiful creek. Its water was sparkling and cool as it rushed from a spring somewhere up the mountain. On a hot summer day, we three children delighted in taking our shoes off and easing ourselves into the water. It was not very deep, so we could only wade in the creek water. The water was so cool—even cold—so it took some getting used to, even on a hot day. And we had to be careful, because some of the river rocks were slippery.As children, we were fascinated by the occasional catfish we could see under some of the edges where the water was a bit deeper. I remember thinking how ugly a catfish is. We knew Daddy went fishing sometimes, so we asked Daddy why wouldn’t we fish here in this creek—even though I couldn’t imagine eating that ugly fish. Daddy said, “Oh, there’s not much fishing in a creek, honey. It isn’t deep enough.” I pointed out the catfish, and he made a face. So either he had eaten one too many catfish when he was young and poor, living in a mountain cabin with a big family, or he just didn’t like the taste. He said, “You have to go in deeper waters to get good fish like perch or flounder.” Oh. Okay, Daddy.Of course as children, we knew nothing about the particular demands of commercial fishing—the kind that people do to make a living. We just knew that occasionally, our father went fishing. What he caught, he cleaned, and Mama cooked, and it ended up with our carefully picking bones from the meat.
In today’s gospel, Simon, James, John and some other men are well acquainted with commercial fishing. They live on the shore of the Sea of Galilee [note: this lake has at least four names, including Sea of Galilee and Lake Gennesaret], and most of the people in Capernaum make their living by fishing. From evidence gained by archeologists from an ancient boat recovered in 1986, it’s likely that the boats they used were about 27 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, “shallow drafted with a flat bottom” so that they could get close to shore with their catches.[1]Lake Gennesaret, or the Sea of Galilee, is a freshwater lake in Israel that is likely fed by springs from the Jordan River. Simon, James, John and the other men work hard as fishermen, because fishing feeds their families. So we can imagine how frustrated they must be after fishing all night long and catching no fish. After a night’s hard work, they are exhausted, discouraged, and probably very hungry. They have nothing to show for their work. No fish means that no money exchanged at the dock. No money means their wives will have to get creative about dinner tonight for the children. Exhausted and discouraged, the men pull their boats ashore.They begin to wash their nets and check them to see if they need repairs.Then Jesus shows up. He is teaching, and Luke tells us “the crowd pressed in around him to hear God’s word.” Jesus’ work is teaching, preaching and healing. Simon Peter, James, John, Andrew and the other men’s work is fishing. Vocations meet. Worlds collide. Jesus needs a little more space, so Jesus boards Simon’s boat and asks him to row out a little ways. Jesus keeps teaching.When he finishes, he says to Simon, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.” Really? Really? We have worked hard all night long, Jesus. We caught no fish. And now that we’re exhausted, discouraged, hungry, you say to go out into the deep water again? (Note: there is no evidence here that the men had stayed in shallow water—seasoned fishermen would have known better than to do that.) Yet it seems clear that Simon knows Jesus, and knows enough about him already to trust his judgment. So he humors Jesus by doing what the Master asks. Suddenly, they catch so many fish, their nets are splitting. They call out to the men in the other boat to come quickly and help. Soon, both boats are so full of fish, they are in danger of sinking.Like the prophet Isaiah, who knows he is unworthy to be in the presence of the Holy, like Moses who took his sandals off when he was on holy ground in front of a burning bush, Simon Peter falls at Jesus’ knees and acknowledges that he is too full of sin and humanity even to be near this man sent from God.Yet as he will many times, Jesus speaks to fear and trembling in people.“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus says. Don’t be afraid. “From now on, you will be fishing for people.” With this exchange, Simon, Andrew, James and John leave their family business to follow Jesus. Their lives are transformed by the man from Nazareth who knows that sometimes, “seemingly barren waters” will yield “holy abundance, a surplus of nourishment.”[2] You just have to be willing to drag your exhausted, discouraged, hungry self back out there, into deep water. You have to choose the deep unknown instead of the safe shoreline where someone waits to feed you breakfast.There’s not much fishing in a creek. Sometimes there’s not even much fishing in a lake that has pretty deep waters. It is only when you release your fear and doubt, then live into God’s abundance, God’s world, that you catch God’s abundance and blessing.What happens in this gospel reading is that Jesus reveals to these men—even more than he already has—who he is, and what life with him might look like. Jesus shows up at the edge of the Sea of Galilee. He shows up in the midst of some people’s very ordinary lives. He tells them that they have the potential to do more for God’s kingdom than they could ever have imagined.As Jesus says in other gospels, “Follow me.” Here he promises, “From now on, you’ll fish for people.” In other words, what I want you to do is to follow me. Walk with me. Watch me. See how I teach, preach, heal, cast out demons. See how I love people the way God wants us to love them. Hear what I have to say about feeding hungry people or helping them find clothing or visit them in prison. See how I live out of my own tradition, yet grow into a larger vision of what God has for this world. You will follow me, watch me, hear me. Then you will do the same thing.You might say, well that was then. This is now. I don’t live in a first-century fishing village. I live in a twenty-first century world that is full of anxiety, frenzy, fear, chaos, and a schedule that is demanding and way too full at times. I’ve never seen this man Jesus in person like those men did. If you are telling me that I have to spend a lot of time in deep quiet or contemplation, I’m going to say that won’t work. So if that means I wade in the creek a little and not go swimming in the deep, well, that’s what I have to do.
Yet if we are honest, we know that really does not satisfy us. You know, as well as I do, that wading in the water may cool your feet, but it doesn’t always feed your soul. You may end your day exhausted, discouraged, wondering how you can get off the hamster wheel. And sometimes that hamster wheel is in church life as well. We must be honest and admit that too often, church folks get caught up in activities when the main focus should be to feed our souls. We must remember that as one author said, “The church didn’t come into existence through a group of persons who wanted to start a good, even benevolent organization. From the gospels, we learn that it had its beginning with Jesus, who called certain persons to follow him.”[3] So what Jesus really wants us to do is to follow him.Furthermore, Jesus didn’t call these ordinary people in a holy place like a synagogue or temple. He wasn’t in church. He called them out of the context of the ordinary places and events of their very ordinary lives. This is where Jesus shows up even today. He shows up in your homes, in your offices, in your labs, in the plane where you travel for work. Jesus shows up on the soccer or lacrosse field. He shows up where you teach school or greet children in the morning in the bus line. Jesus shows up because he knows that whatever is going on in your life, God is there.Jesus wants you to wake up and see that. You are not in a creek with cool waters splashing over your feet. You may think you are, but you aren’t. In truth, you are rowing in a boat in deep waters, wondering why you haven’t caught the fish you had hoped to catch. Maybe you’re so busy in the currents and chaos of your everyday life, you have forgotten how to look for signs in the water that would yield a lot of fish.Is it possible that Jesus is calling you to follow him into deeper waters? Is it possible that you have recently understood some things about God that show you that you’ve been looking for God in all the wrong places? Like maybe just on Sundays, here? In other words, where is the good news of God’s love in your Tuesday or Wednesday life? It’s there, you know. You are just not paying attention to where it might be, or that it might be.
Recently, some in this parish—and a few who are outside this parish—have gathered to watch videos like “Who is Jesus?” or “Why did Jesus have to die?” or “Why and How Should I Pray” or “Why and How Should I Read the Bible?” The amount of lively discussion and energy that has bubbled up in these small group conversations is deep, profound, almost miraculous. In inter-generational conversations, almost before they knew it, people have gone out into the deeps. They have discovered new truths about their Christian faith. I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect some folks have learned new things about God’s love, God’s abundance, God’s blessing.All this has happened as ordinary people enjoyed dinner together, watched other ordinary people on a video, then had some conversations about what they’d seen and heard. If you know St. Philip’s folks, you know that they don’t always agree with the video speaker, and that’s okay. Sometimes it is just as helpful to know what you don’t believe as what you do believe.For those who have not been able to come, I invite you to think today about what it looks like in your life to follow Jesus. What could you do to bring greater abundance and blessing to your life? What are you willing to do to give your life greater, deeper meaning?
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested in the weekly parish e-mail that you “take ten.” You take ten minutes to read some kind of devotional, or you read a piece of scripture and think about it. You take ten minutes to be quiet and think about where God shows up in your life. You say a little prayer—and if saying a prayer scares you, then I will refer you to Anne Lamotte’s book “Help, Thanks, Wow.” In that book, Lamotte says there are only really three kinds of prayer. Help me. Help, God! Thanks, God, for ____. Thank you for this quiet trail you’ve given me to walk. Or just Wow. Wow: What a sunset, God. What an amazing beach you’ve created. Or back to thanks, as you’re watching your sleeping children, “Thank you, God, for these beautiful children. . .and thank you so much that they’re finally asleep.”
Your easing into deeper water could be simply that you begin to say grace at the table before meals, or you say bedtime prayers with the kids, or you get a Book of Common Prayer and read the service of Compline—either by yourself or with your spouse—before you turn the light off. I can promise you that that is infinitely more soothing than constantly checking your text messages on your I-Phone. You’ll sleep better.There’s not much fishing in a creek. Go out further, into the deep, and throw your net over the edge of your boat. You just might find abundance, nourishment, and amazing joy. You just might find. . .God. Don’t be afraid. Follow Jesus. Get out there and enjoy the catch. Amen.Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash(c) The Rev. Dr. Sheila N. McJilton[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee_Boat[2] from Feasting on the Gospels, p. 124.[3] Arland J. Hultgren, “Commentary on Luke 5:1-11,” at http://www.workingpreacher.org. Accessed on October 27, 2017.Picture of model of Galilee boat accessed at https://www.google.com/search?q=galilee+boat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLj6uV2Z3XAhUHTCYKHQTyA-QQ_AUICigB&biw=1884&bih=929#imgrc=Stte6DHC7hXK5M: