The Deep Water

Scripture Reading

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Luke 5

5 Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He 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. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. 7 So 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and 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.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Kids to the Knowing Place

Introduction: A Matthew 25 Congregation

A few years ago, session voted to name Beulah Presbyterian Church as a part of the PC USA’s Matthew 25 initiative.

Shortly after that, COVID happened.

And then COVID rolled back.

And then COVID happened again.

And then a pastoral transition.

And then COVID happened again.

And then and then and then.

And it turns out that we never really talked about what it means to be a Matthew 25 congregation.

There are three focuses to being a part of this program:

Eradicating Systemic Poverty

Dismantaling Structural Racism

Building congregational Vitality.

We’re going to spend the next seven weeks on that last one.

In fact, the PC USA has named seven marks of congregational vitality.

If I had thought of this before Stephanie went on vacation, they’d be in in your bulletin.

But since I didn’t, you all recieved a handout on the way in!

But in this series, we’re going to be asking two big questions every week:

What does hitting the mark look like?

How could we get closer?

Introduction 2: Dumb Debates

One of my favorite things to do with my goofy friends is to engage in really dumb debates.

Let’s do a couple of samples:

Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Is cereal a soup?

But one of my favorites, one that I think about late in to the evening sometimes...

At what point in the process do they become scrambled eggs?

In the bowl?

In the pan?

On a plate?

Scripture

All of the gospel writers have a different angle on this story where Jesus calls his first disciples.

Luke’s has some interesting twists and turns in it.

The invitation to deep water.

Jesus is teaching from a boat as a kind of make-shift stage and pulpit.

And after he’s done, he invites the fishermen who’s boat he stole to push off into deep water for some fish.

You need to understand how uncomfortable that must have sounded to these fishermen.

They’ve been out all night.

They’ve caught nothing.

They are failing.

They might not be able to keep the business afloat.

They are exhausted.

And now this guy who doesn’t fish is going to tell them to give it another go?

So perhaps this next bit isn’t all that surprising to us:

Peter’s story starts with resistance.

Simon (he’s not quite Peter yet) tells is to Jesus plain.

We’re exhausted.

We’re failing.

The absolute last thing I want to do is to push out in the deep water and try for more fish.

But…there must have been at least something compelling about this Jesus guy.

Since you say so…let’s try.

So many stories of discipleship I know start with resistance.

I didn’t think I’d ever end up as a pastor.

I know folks who never thought they’d wind up working for a church.

I know plenty of folks who never thought they would end up attending a church.

That first little push of resistance isn’t actually a bad thing…

I think it’s the mark of something beginning.

Miracles bring awareness.

Jesus provides a miracle in this moment, almost maybe as a response to Peter’s reluctance?

There are so many fish that the nets are breaking.

These are professional fishermen!

They are in boats that at that time were designed to catch fish.

Their livelihood depends on them having the best gear and equipment possible.

And it’s breaking?!?

That’s a lot of fish!

But the miracle isn’t what’s most important to our story...

It’s Peter’s response to it.

Peter immediately falls down on his knees and says “Get away from me Jesus!”

I’m a sinful man.

Peter is feeling exposed.

He recognizes that Jesus is something special, and he’s just a fisherman.

He recognizes that Jesus is someone to pay attention to, and thinks that he’s someone to ignore.

He recognizes that Jesus is holy, and that Peter is not.

This too is not an unusual reaction to discipleship.

Sometimes we find ourselves in the presence of Christ, and it exposes exactly who we are, and how far we’ve fallen.

Jesus offers invitation.

To all of those feelings Peter is experiencing however, Jesus has a simple response and an invitation.

Don’t be afraid.

Don’t worry about your sinful state.

We can take care of that.

You are loved in spite of that.

You’re fine.

From now on we’re going to be catching people.

If you’re with me, you’re going to see better things than this.

If you’re with me, we’re going to help people find healing.

If you’re with me, we’re going to change the world.

At which point did Peter become a disciple?

When in this story, which Luke tells us is about Jesus calling his first disciples, did Peter become a disciple?

Was it when Jesus invited him to the deep water?

Was it when he went along with Jesus, in spite of some resistance?

Was it when the miracle happened?

Was it with Peter’s confession of sinfulness?

Was it with Jesus’ invitation over him?

Define Discipleship

The Shallow Water- Education

We Presbyterians have a (well cultivated) reputation as an intellectual people.

Ours is a faith that centers I think on the mind.

We like Bible studies and books and curriculum and training and study.

And all of that is really great!

But I actually think that when it comes to discipleship, that’s the shallow water.

Which again, isn’t a knock on education!

You have to go through the shallow water to get to the deep end.

But I think to define discipleship only by our educational efforts is a mistake.

To think that discipleship is a class you take is a mistake.

To think that discipleship is synonymous with education is a mistake.

To think that discipleship is only about what you know is a mistake.

The Deep End- Hearing and Believing What Christ has to Say about you

I think for me, the moment Peter becomes a disciple is when Jesus says “Do not be afraid” in response to Peter’s guilt.

I think the moment Peter becomes a disciple is when Jesus says “You don’t need to let your past define you.”

It’s when Jesus says “Don’t let your sins and your failures hold you back, because we have work to do.”

I think for us, we are disciples when we can hear and believe what Jesus has to say about us.

When we can hear and believe that Jesus is pouring love, not judgement over us, we are disciples.

When we can hear and believe that Jesus will not hold our pasts against us, that’s when we are disciples.

When we can hear and believe that we are beloved children of God, recieved and adopted, then we are disciples.

Which again, points to the necessity for education to be sure.

You probably ought to know who Jesus is if you’re going to hear him speak over you.

You probably ought to familiarize yourself with the scriptures if you want to know what his voice sounds like.

You probably ought to come to some kind of understanding of where your failures and shortcomings are in order to know that they’re forgiven.

But that’s not the deep water.

The deep water is when you come to know that Jesus’ meant what he said.

The deep water is when Jesus gives you a community that together can speak those words over each other again and again, don’t be afraid.

The deep water is when we hear, and recognize, and believe not so much in who Jesus is, but believe what he has to say about us.

None of which happens by the way, as an end in itself...

Jesus tells us what we need to hear about ourselves so that we can go fishing.

Deep Sea Diving- Telling other people what Christ thinks of them.

So many Christians in the world today want to tell outsiders what’s wrong with them.

They want to point out the sins of others.

They want to make sure that everyone knows how they’re blowing it.

They almost take perverse delight in labeling other people as sinners.

According to this story, that’s not our job.

If we believe and trust in the miracles of Christ, the exposure and self-awareness will take care of itself.

It’s not up to us to convict others. The Wild Goose Holy Spirit will take care of that.

Our job is to fish for people.

Our job is to go out and tell everyone about this Jesus who has done miraculous things in our lives.

Our job is to go out and tell everyone about this Jesus who loves us just the way we are, and always will.

Our job is to go out and tell everyone about this Jesus who set us free, and won’t let us slip back into bondage again.

And if we do our job right, we tell everyone about this by the way we live, not simply by the words of our mouths.

Hitting the Mark

Start in the shallow end- A healthy education is good!

We have an incredible and robust education program here at Beulah, and we’ve got some tricks up our sleeves for the fall to make it even better.

So if you’re not part of our education efforts here, by all means hop in the boat!

Join a class!

Get connected with a small group!

Send an e-mail to the Pastor!

Admittedly, this is a tough time to issue such a challenge, because summer is here and a few of our classes and programs are winding down for the season.

But not all of them!

If you need help connecting, come see me afterwards and we’ll hook you up.

Move to the deep water- put yourself in situations where you can hear Christ speak to you

One of the hardest parts of the Christian faith in 21st Century America I’m convinced is that we don’t often put ourselves in the best possibility to hear from Christ.

We’re distracted!

We have phones that ding in our pockets relentlessly.

We have e-mails that keep us in constant communication with our works.

We have kids that need to get to soccer and band and all those good things.

We have TVs that are almost always on in the background.

Jesus may be speaking over us, but we’re too busy to hear.

Our busyness drowns out his holiness.

I think the deep water for us today is to allow ourselves time and space to hear from Christ.

And I think this happens on two levels:

On the personal level, make sure you’re giving yourself some space.

Set aside some time in the morning or evening, or whenever it makes most sense for you, to engage in some quiet listening time.

Pray, sure, but not so much for what you need. There are other moments for that.

Take some time to hear Jesus.

Because I’m pretty sure the thing you’ll hear from him is “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”

But also, do this on a communal level!

A big part of the reason that we have a church, a community of believers, is that we get the holy responsibility to speak Christ’s words over each other.

We get the Holy Responsibility to remind each other of Christ’s love.

We get the Holy Responsibility to speak grace into each other’s failures.

We get the Holy Responsibility to reach out to our neighbors to make sure they’re ok.

We get the Holy Responsibility to be not just Christ’s hands and feet, but his words as well.

Make sure that you take time to be a part of a community, a small group, a circle of friends, who will speak that truth over you as well.

And again, if you’re having a hard time finding one of those, come see me after and we’ll get you set up!

Not content to keep it for yourself.

Once you’ve heard Christ speak over you, it’s pretty hard to keep that gift to yourself alone.

Once you’ve heard that God loves you in spite of yourself, it’s pretty hard to hold that in.

Once you’ve heard that the Spirit holds you in God’s love, you want to bring others in to that love as well.

Which is pretty great, because the next mark of a vital church is one that is committed to a word and action that strikes fear into the hearts of Presbyterians everywhere: evangelism.

So don’t be afraid.

Next week, we’re going to fish for people.