Trinity 5

This mornings text is going to remind us that with our spirit filled lives God is calling up to lives of service. That these lives of service will come at a cost. So we are not only looking at the miraculous happenings that show Peter that Jesus Christ in the God of the universe, we are gonna take a moment to focus on what Peter gives up to live in that reality.

2 weeks ago it was the feast of St. Peter and this was not the story they put in our lectionary. Any other person, if this was their encounter with Christ, this would be how they are remembered. Yes we will remember St. Peter’s big catch but it will be below his confession of Christ, his Courage in the book of acts, his betrayal.

So the text what is the author Luke inviting us to remember…

Luke 5:1 “As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.”

There are a few things I shared last year…first off, where they are, Sea of Galilee.

Luke 5:2 “He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.”

We start to meet who was there, Jesus obviously , and know the fisherman, not in the boats but cleaning.

Luke 5:3 “He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.”

Now the people hearing this account are after the ressurection. Everything has taken place and Luke writes his Gospel like 65 AD and St. Peter died soon after, 32 years later. So we see Simon Peter introduced the crowd might have perked up

Jesus in the mean time has commandeered a boat, but that is okay, he is teaching and getting a lot of help from the sea.

Luke 5:4 “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.””

Luke 5:5 ““Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.””

Peter is obedient here, but he is also pushing back…hey rabbi Ive done this before, but you are the Rabbi, so let do it.

Luke 5:6 “When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear.”

The Miraculous happens, This is the wrong time of day, in a lake that was not giving up its fish…now it gives up so many fish it is over whelming.

Luke 5:7 “So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.”

What is interesting of Jesus Miracles is how many people are there to experience them. How may boats are filled with fish. These are not discreet miracles that now can see

Luke 5:8 “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!””

In fact the Miracle is so compelling that Peter realizes he is in the presence of God, and is terrified the Holiness of Christ will destroy him.

Luke 5:9 “For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken,”

Luke 5:10 “and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.””

This miracle was so big that it brought James and John, and Andrew with them

Luke 5:11 “Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.”

They make a huge sacrifice, they lay aside that days catch and thier boats and nets. basically all they had in the world to keep they employed

Guys, last year I gave some point of application that hanged on to the main points of the text. I talked about how since the Garden our work has been toil, but the arrival of Christ in to human space will turn that around. I talked about the Holiness of God. I could talk about Jesus bringing food (fish) to his disciples and we can be thankful for that food (eucharist).

Today I am going to talk closer to home. The main Character in today’s Story is Peter, who had spent a whole nite working and it got him no where, And what he was then directed by God to do was to change his geography so he does and it changes everything.

The Bible is almost never that simple, but this week I felt like God wanted me to focus on and reflect on Peters change of geography.

I think we should consider changing our geography…I love this space, but the neibors have not gotten exited about it. Ill talk to everyone after service about some opportunities that are out there.

In the meantime, let us never forget peters confession that he is not worthy, as we are also not worthy, and let us never forget that Jesus invites him to come and catch men, as he invites us to catch men.

Let us remember that Jesus who is the bread of life, has given a whole community the food they need he will help us as well.

Let us finally remember that the people near us, who have not said yes to Jesus, risk dying far from Jesus. They Risk hell, like any good Christian church we declare the message that Jesus has died on the cross for our sins, that he rose three days later showing us everlasting life, and he will return one day for us.