Fifth Sunday after Trinity - July 4, 2021

The reading before us this morning from the Gospel of Luke is a blessed lesson to the Church, her pastors, and her people. We have before us a lesson of faithfulness to Christ’s Word, which the Holy Spirit moves within us by way of trust and assurance that what Jesus says - is. It is the true way of the Church - to trust, have faith, in what Jesus proclaims, and faithfully go about what He commands.

As the account before us begins, we hear that “the crowd was pressing in on [Jesus] to hear the Word of God.” (Luke 5:1) We do well to be ones who “press in” to hear the Word of God which speaks wisdom into all our circumstances. That’s no platitude either. There’s not a thing through which you will have sorrow or joy that the Lord doesn’t know or see you through. However, as the sinners we are, the prideful gods we tend to make ourselves out to be, we do more pushing away than pressing in.

When you face the breaking waves amidst the blowing seas in life, we all have the inner Peter who begins to feel the water around the ankles and panic. Though Jesus stands ever ready in His saving Word and Sacrament, we push away and turn to the perceived life preservers of the world. Yet there’s no salvation in them. Instead, we cling to the millstones of wisdom, mammon, self-esteem, and the like. The result is, we sink. Sadly while sinking ever farther away from the very truth that gives life, we perceive the dangers and temptations as good and salutary. And instead of turning and swimming against the sinking realities of sin, we drift deeper and deeper. And in the end, we sink to the bottom of the sea churned about by the undertow of sin, death, and the devil.

We do well to press in. Possibly more than ever we are a people who are apathetic to the Word of the Lord. As you heard preached last week, there are certainly snippets from the Word such as “Judge not” and “Jesus is love” upon which the world clings and likes to throw in the Church’s face. But in their lack of faithful pressing in, the snippets of deistic moralism taken out of context end up being false teachings and empty accusations. Apathy is the tool of the devil. To call oneself a Christian yet only hear the Word when you decide to be here at church is a failing reality. As Luther emphasized in his preface to the Small Catechism “When someone does not seek or desire the Sacrament...it is to be feared that he despises the Sacrament and is not a Christian, just as a person is not a Christian who does not believe or hear the Gospel.”

What does it mean to press in? It is to be immersed in the Word of God through the public reception of Word and Sacrament, personal study and devotion, and faithfully living as a child of God in the vocations He’s blessed you to live. Look to the fishermen Jesus approaches. What are they doing? They are tending their nets. This may not seem that big a deal to us, as we may be quick to think, “Well, of course, they’re tending their nets, it’s their job.” Sure, it’s their job, but it’s more than that - it’s their livelihood. And the fact that they are tending their nets shows us a blessed example of how to live our lives. They are dedicated to their vocation to the point that they ensure that their equipment is well taken care of and ready to be used when needed. They know their equipment in and out and can put it to use at a moment’s notice.

The opposite is simply throwing your supplies in a pile in the corner and snatching them out whenever needed, simply hoping said tool will work as it ought if you can even find it. But there’s more responsibility than that. Any worker knows there are responsibilities of tending to the tools of the trade to ensure they are ready for use and working as needed. Such is the same for the child of God.

You, dear Christian, have a task at hand in every vocation in which you serve. Whether that be child, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, employee, employer, student, teacher, parishioner, what have you, within each and every vocation you do well to have your tools of the trade ready. And the tools of the trade for the Christian all find their source in love: love of God and love of neighbor. God’s good and gracious will for your lives, His Law, is the very means through which we find direction for our lives. His Gospel is the very gift of love - the saving grace - that gives us the ability to follow that direction. No matter the circumstances we face on a daily basis within the service of our vocations, you, dear Christian do well to be sure to tend the nets of love within your heart and soul so that that net can be cast in any and all circumstances.

Again, how do you do that? Well, look at what Jesus does: “He sat down and taught the people...” (Luke 5:3) Brothers and sisters in Christ, the medicine for apathy, for despising the preaching, teaching, and Sacraments of the Church is to press in. Be here! There’s little in this world that gives a good excuse for you not to be here - to be at the very source of all good and that which leads to goodness in your life - week in and week out. It’s here, in this place where you will find the pure teaching that fills the weary soul and gives light to the source that is a pleasure in your life. The Church is the only place in this world that offers that which is missing and that which is a blessing.

The reason you know and trust that is covered in the remaining words of the lesson before us. In the miraculous catch of fish, we have a solid standard and teaching of what the Church and your pastor do well to be. If your pastor and church body fail to fit the faithfulness of this dialogue, then you do well to cry foul and point to the truth.

We move from the shallows to the deep. The moving into the deep is a time of private and intimate instruction from Jesus - instruction of His Church - of His pastors. We do well to note that moving to the deep shows us at least two realities. First, we must realize that the deep of the sea represents evil and death. When atop the depths of the deep you know not what lies beneath - you know not the history of lives claimed by the dark that lies below. It’s an image of Satan. Though we find the comfort of the ship atop the depths, it takes simply one unprepared and unequipped step from the Ark into the darkness that lies below to be engulfed by the sinful darkness of life outside.

Second, we take note that moving to the depths is an intentional instruction of the pastors. Jesus knows what they will face. He has been sharing with them and proclaiming the harsh realities that have, do, and will face the church. Those called and ordained to tend to the church must be sound in their knowledge of Scripture and confession thereof.

But like all of you, your pastor and those who have served you before are by no means perfect. Yes, we vow to be faithful and uphold the teachings of the church. We vow as you as to what we believe, teach, and confess, being God’s Word and the faithful interpretation of that Word in the Confessions of the Church. But your pastor is still human. There will be many a time that you pastor hears “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4) and have a similar response as Simon Peter - “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” (Luke 5:5) In other words, “I’ve worked hard. I’ve tried it all!” Nothing is working.”

That’s the unfaithful response to the Lord’s command of the church. The ongoing mission of the Church is to make disciples of all nations. How so? By teaching - “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” Jesus says. (Matthew 28:20) However, the Church and her servants often think they know better. After all, that’s the source of Simon Peter’s and my response to Jesus when we bemoan that He’s encouraging us to get back to the basics, right?

For whatever reason, we sell out to the world by claiming ways of the world for methods of operating within the church. We think we’re cute when we come up with this or that program. We bask in worldly glory for a bit when people flock to us and think that we are the greatest thing since casting nets. Only the result of such shallow products and programs are just that - shallow: shallow Church and shallow Christians. It’s all about the show, the decor, the bumper-sticker phrases, and feel-good anecdotes. In the end, the church is no better. In fact, it’s not really the church anymore. It’s merely a social club.

But Jesus and Simon point us to a deeper truth and a greater faith. For though there’s a glimmer of questioning on Simon Peter’s part, we have a greater glow of faithfulness that every church body and pastor do well to emulate. “But at Your Word, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5) This is the faithful service of the church - of her pastors. Though not the popular quips of the world, your Pastor must vow to continue to “let down the nets” of Word and Sacrament. No gimmicks. Notice there’s no bait in nets. It’s a casting and allowing to sink. Your pastor must cast the truth and allow it to sink. Allow the work of the Triune God to happen. We are simply the instrument who faithfully casts the net.

Sure, it’s maddening at times. It’s difficult to sit back and hope the truth proclaimed through God’s Word and the grace administered through the Sacraments takes root. It’s very tempting to try and manipulate. But that, again, is the wrong way. To be faithful is to know that through the proclamation and practice of Word and Sacrament a greater work is going on within the soul of the Christian. The Holy Spirit works - churns and grows - the blessed hope that is faith in the works of Jesus Christ.

In that working of faith, you dear Christian on a daily basis are on the receiving end of the faithful work of the church. Here in this place each and every week, your pastor faithfully casts the net of God’s love. And though we may not always see it, we are certain that as those nets are pulled in they enclose a large number of God’s gifts. So much so that our boats of expectation begin to sink! We expect too little. But, dear Christian, rest assured that the truth that surpasses all understanding fills you each and every moment of your faithful life.

And in the end, we do as Peter. We repent. And as we repent, we rest assured that Jesus calms our fears, forgives us our sin, and equips us for greater service. Instead of departing from us, He draws us closer, encourages us to press in upon the everlasting reality of His grace and mercy. Amen.