Epiphany 5 - Luke 5:1-11

The biggest fish I ever caught came as a complete surprise to me. It happened this past summer. My extended family all got together at Sanibel Island, Florida for the week at the beach. Peter was a little over a year. One morning while out at the beach, I decided to take Peter into the ocean with me to cool us both down. So with him in my arms, we wade out to about waist high water, and that’s when I saw it. Right at my feet, moving slowly from left to right was this big, sleek, beautiful fishing pole. It took my a couple of seconds to recognize what was happening, but I quickly stooped down and got a hand on it and pull it out of the water. The line is taunt, extending several yards away. As I slowly start to reel it in, out of the water jumps this two and a half foot long Snook. So I’ve got Peter in one hand, and a pole in the other and on the other end of the line is this huge fish. So I call to shore and have my sister come and get Peter, and after a while of reeling and pulling, the fish becomes exhausted and we reel it in. And then we walk the beach searching for the person who owned the pole. It was a wild and completely unexpected experience.

Peter, James, and John have an even more unexpected fishing experience in our text this morning, when the itinerant teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, asks them to use their boats as a stage while he teaches his crowd of followers. If you grew up in the church, this is one of the more familiar stories of Jesus. If not, you have maybe heard the famous line from this story, “I will make you fishers of men.” Whatever the case may be, the way that I want to approach this story is for us to see how this interaction encapsulates our vision for Redeemer Church. What are we about? Why are we planting this church in Lawrenceville? Why do we want to go on to plant more churches in Gwinnett County? What are we striving for together? I think this text goes a long way to help us answer these questions. So let’s dive into it, verse 1:

Luke 5:1–3 (ESV)

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

So Jesus is up in Galilee near the sea of Galilee, sometimes called the lake of Gennesaret. He has become a rather popular teacher in the area, so he’s attracted a pretty large crowd, and they are evidently trying to get as close as possibly to hear him teach. You can imagine that it might be difficult to really teach the whole crowd when he’s being overrun, so he steps into a boat to create almost a natural amphitheater. Now everyone can hear him teach.

And who’s boat did he get into? A man named Simon, who you may know better as Peter. This is Peter’s boat. And Peter is about to have quite the day. Let’s read on, verse 4:

Luke 5:4–5 (ESV)

4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Peter and his boys are professional fishermen. They have been fishing all night, which is the time to fish. The water is cooler, so fish swim closer to the surface; and it’s dark out, which means the water is dark, which means it is more difficult for the fish to see the nets. So, when Jesus tells Peter to go out into the lake and make like fishing, Peter’s a little perplexed. But he does it anyway. You see, this isn’t Peter’s first encounter with Jesus. He has already seen Jesus do remarkable things. In the last chapter, Jesus stood over Peter’s mother and healed her of her fever. So, even though this request by Jesus seems foolish, Peter obeys. Verse 6:

Luke 5:6–7 (ESV)

6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

So Jesus does this incredible miracle. Now pay attention to what Peter does next. He has just followed Jesus’ instructions, even if it seems stupid, and now he’s got two boats full of fish. What does Peter do next? Verse 8:

Luke 5:8 (ESV)

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

This is not how we would have expected Peter to respond to this miracle. He’s just had an economic windfall! He’s got two boats full of fish, and he didn’t really have to work for it! He should be ecstatic! We’d expect exclamations of joy, or at the very least a show of gratitude for Jesus. But instead, he drops to his knees. He adopts this posture of humility at the feet of Jesus and confesses that he is unworthy of Christ’s presence. Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man. What a strange reaction to this miracle. That should clue us in to the fact that something else is going on here.

Peter’s unexpected response to the miracle that Jesus performs has led many biblical scholars to classify this text as a commissioning story. Peter and the others are being commissioned by Jesus for a specific assignment. In fact, the story resembles another famous and well known commissioning story - one from the Old Testament, when Isaiah is called by God to serve as his prophet.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is given a vision; and in this vision he is transported to the heavenly throne room of God, where he sees these crazy creatures called Seraphim, and there is fire and smoke and the whole place is shaking. He’s in the glorious presence of God. These sorts of episodes are called theophanies, which is a compound word that means a manifestation of God. A revelation of God. A God sighting. Isaiah has a God sighting.

And how does he respond? Well, in a way that is very similar to how Peter responds in our gospel reading. Isaiah cries out, “Woe is me! For I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!” He adopts a posture of humility and confesses that he is unworthy to be in God’s presence.

Do you see how this is exactly what is going on in this boat on the sea of Galilee? Peter encounters the glorious power of Jesus as Jesus demonstrates his command over creation. Peter encounters the glory of God that is being revealed through Jesus, and he responds by falling to his knees before the mercy of Christ. This story is a theophany. This is a story about Peter encountering the living God.

Family, that is our mission as we plant Redeemer Church. We want to see people encounter the living God. We want people to see and know and taste and experience the glory of Jesus. This is what it’s all about. And we’re all a part of that mission.

When you come in at 8:15 in the morning to set up chairs and signs, you are preparing the way for someone to encounter the living God. That chair that you set out may be the sight of a spiritual resurrection.

When you stand at the door to welcome people into the building, and you guide them to the coffee bar, or you connect them with someone else at the church, you are preparing the way for someone to encounter the living God. That smile and warm welcome that you offer may provide the first crack in the wall in their heart that for years has divided that person from the love of God.

When you help run the slideshow. When you read the Scriptures. When you serve as an usher. When you play in the band. When you set the communion table. When you disciple our children in the nursery. In all these ways you are not just making sure we can put on a Sunday service. You are working in tandem with the God of the Universe to make manifest in this city his love, his grace, his peace, and his saving power.

But it is more than just what we do on Sunday mornings. We are planting a church, not a church service; which means 90% of our vision to see people encounter the living God happens outside of these walls. It happens in your homes, as you disciple your children and show them in word and in deed how much the Father loves them; or at your tables, as you host friends and neighbors, when they are going through difficult times. It happens in the conference room at work, as you take the time to invest in your coworkers’ lives. It happens while you teach at school, while you work with patients, while you hang out with friends, and while you care for loved ones. Every day we have the opportunity to demonstrate the glory of God here on earth.

We are planting this church because we long to see even more people encounter the living God.

Peter encounters the glory of Jesus, and he falls to his knees, because he knows that he is unworthy. And yet, Jesus is the one who brings good new to the unworthy. Just as a doctor is interested in the sick, Jesus is interested in those who are enslaved to sin. Those who by all rights are disqualified from the blessings of God. Jesus has come to bring them good news. And so he tells Peter to not be afraid in his presence. There is no reason to be afraid; because Jesus has not come to punish Peter. Jesus has come with an invitation to join his mission.

We are planting this church as a continuation of that same mission. God loves the people of this city. He longs for their life to be characterized by his saving presence. He longs for them to know no fear, because his perfect love has cast it aside. He longs for them to know his peace that passes understanding. He longs to free them from their slavery to sin and raise them to new and abundant life.

It is his desire to satisfy the poor and welcome the lonely. To heal the sick and free the addict. To break down the walls dividing us from our neighbor, and unite us together in his one beautifully diverse family.

And it is his desire to partner with people like you and me to accomplish these things. Jesus commissions Peter to join the mission of God, and Jesus is sending us out with the same marching orders.