Going Deeper

The terrific book about Spiritual Growth, Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster, begins with these words, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” While I think we really need some intelligent people too, I agree with Foster about the need for deep people. The Gospel passage for today is about Jesus’ inviting Peter and all of us to Go Deeper.

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January 3, 2016
Luke 5:1-11, Psalm 130:1-6, Psalm 40:1-8, Going Deeper
Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

“While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake;

but the fisherman had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

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.

And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon,

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. But at your word, I will let down the nets.”

And when they had done this,

they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

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.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying,

“Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 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.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

These verses about the call of the first disciples from the fifth chapter of Luke demonstrate the growing popularity of Jesus’ ministry. According to Luke, Jesus has been preaching in synagogues throughout the area, casting out demons, healing those who were sick and bringing good news to the poor, the downhearted, and discouraged. People are pressing so closely to hear Jesus share the word of God they are literally backing him up to the edge of the lake more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus being a creative, innovative thinker, always makes use of the resources at hand, and he notices two boats by the lake. The fishermen have gone out of them and are washing their nets meaning they have just returned from a fishing trip. Jesus figures he’ll borrow a boat for his pulpit that morning. He gets into the boat that is Simon’s and asks him to put out a little from the land so he can share God’s word with the people. When he is tired, near the end of his shift at work, Peter is asked if he can take some time with Jesus, if he can make some space for Jesus. Jesus goes into Peter’s area of greatest comfort, he enters Peter’s world, his fishing boat. No matter how tired Simon was, it’d be hard for him to turn Jesus down since Jesus had healed his mother-in-law not long ago (Luke 4:38-39).

When Jesus finished speaking to the crowd he dismissed them and turns to Simon and says, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” This request is loaded with meaning. First of all, a spiritual teacher is telling a fisherman how to fish. There was a thriving fishing industry on the Sea of Galilee. Fish was one of the main foods in 1^st century Palestine, where more fish was eaten than any other meat. Fish was eaten fresh, processed, salted, dried, or pickled, for export. Catching fish is serious business. Can you imagine a spiritual teacher going to Rock Harbor in Orleans or the Chatham fish pier early in the morning and saying to some experienced Captain, “I’m going to tell you where to fish today.” How well do you think that would be received? Especially if the captain had just returned from fishing all night and had nothing to show for his sleepless night of work except empty nets, expenses and no fish? Simon answered Jesus, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. But at your word, I will let down the nets.”

Can you hear the reluctance in Simon’s words? He’s trying to get Jesus to rethink his request. How many times do we read or hear the words of Jesus and think, “Jesus, you don’t really want me to do that, do you? You don’t mean I have to forgive him. You don’t mean I have to love her, of all people. You don’t really mean I have to love you more than any one else in my life. You don’t think I’ll actually pray for my enemies do you?” Our list can go on and on. Peter is questioning Jesus; in part because once the nets go in the lake, they’ll need to be cleaned again. That’s more work. They had fished the waters all night long and even with all their skill and experience they caught nothing. There’s no reason to believe anything has changed.

Yet Jesus is urging him to go out into the depths. Simon lets down the nets but he doesn’t think anything is going to happen; he lets them down in obedience to Jesus’ word. Surely after a few empty pulls, Jesus will grow bored and they’ll go back to shore. But instead of a slack net holding nothing but water, they catch so many fish the nets are beginning to break. Even with the help of their partners James and John, they fill two boats to the point of nearly sinking them both. The futility of “fishing” with only human resources is contrasted with the effectiveness of “fishing” in obedience to Jesus’ word. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Like many of us, Peter was not expecting a divine encounter in the midst of his work place. We experience God at worship in a sanctuary. We experience God under a night sky or on the beach, in the woods, or in the mountains. Yet here is Jesus teaching from a commercial fishing boat. Here he is giving those who will be invited to follow him an experience of the power of God while they are at work out in the depths. It’s very important to observe that the people who only heard Jesus from the shallows had a certain level of experience with him. Those who move out of the shallows with Jesus into deeper water, experience Jesus at a deeper level.

There is something about the depths that draw us to experience God in a powerful way. The psalmist cried out (Psalm 130:1), “Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord. Lord hear my voice!” Out of the depths of grief, the depths of confusion, the depths of depression, the depths of fear, of loneliness, the depths of doubting God or ourselves – we cry out to God, “Lord hear my voice!” In the 1999 movie, The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment is being tormented and flees to a church and we see a large Bible open to a Latin text with the words, “De Profundis…” That is Psalm 130:1. And God does hear.

In Jonah chapter 2, when Jonah is at the very bottom of the sea, at the place of greatest pressure and deepest darkness, from the depths of his depression and his rebellion against God he cries out and his prayer for deliverance is answered. Jonah returned to the dry land a changed man.

The same is true for Simon, James, and John. They went out into the deep self-centered individuals, thinking about themselves. “I’m tired, I’ve worked all night and I don’t have anything to show for it but more bills. I feel like I failed today. Now Jesus wants me to obey him, what does he know about my job?” They went out trusting in their own wisdom – there are no fish out there – rather than Jesus’ word. We do that too sometimes. They obeyed grudgingly. We do that too sometimes. The fishermen’s view of Jesus is radically altered by the massive number of fish that leap into their nets and into their boats.

When we truly catch a glimpse of what God is like, we also see ourselves more clearly. The power of Jesus revealed in the unexpected catch of fish also reveals to Simon his own sinfulness. There is nowhere to escape to on a fishing boat either. One person observed, “Simon’s response to the power and knowledge of Jesus is not a fisherman’s response; he didn’t say, ‘Why didn’t I know where the fish were?’ His response is that of a human being in the presence of one he now calls Lord. Simon’s skill is not the issue; the issue is his life. Yet in Jesus’ eyes Simon’s sin does not disqualify him; the same power that prompted Simon to fall at Jesus’ knees now lifts him into God’s service.”[1] For Simon Peter and for each of us, answering the call of Jesus means a reordering of our priorities and commitments. It means from now on, Jesus will order our lives, not ourselves.

Sometimes we put these first disciples high up on a pedestal and treat them as if they are so far beyond us in spiritual maturity. However, Peter, James, John, arguably the three leading disciples, were sinful, uneducated, common fishermen when they met Jesus. The fishermen were not called because of their qualifications or their education. They were not called because they were incredibly devout, religious Jews. God’s call is unmerited and unpredictable. They were not called because they were so great. They became great because they spent so much deep time with Jesus. I hope that can be a focus for us both individually and as a church in 2016; that we spend a lot of deep time with Jesus.

The good news is Jesus is not frightened away from us because of our sin. He doesn’t leave us in the depths of our sin to cope on our own. The fact that we’re not perfect doesn’t disqualify us from sharing in the work of Jesus. Jesus calls us not because of who we are but in spite of who we are. The qualifications for discipleship lie not in our personal holiness, for which we can all be grateful, but in our willingness to submit every aspect of our lives to the leadership and authority of Jesus so that he can transform and remake us over time. Peter is called dramatically, in the midst of his daily activities. We may not be called in the same way, but like Peter we want God’s kingdom to flow into every aspect of our lives. In boating terms, Simon turned his vessel over to Jesus and allowed Jesus to be the Captain. We need to be willing to invite Jesus to be the Captain of our lives.

We also can be looking for, and open to experiencing God in our life every day, even and especially in the depths. Jonah was thrown out of a boat and God found him and God delivered him. Simon got into a boat and God found him, forgave him and called him. Jesus is still fishing for people and inviting all who desire to launch out into the deep with him into a life-giving, life changing relationship with him. Jesus and Simon go fishing, and we, like Simon, are caught by Jesus and given a new mission in life. We are the unexpected catch.

Questions for Discussion or Reflection

1. What challenges do you face in making time for Jesus in the midst of the demands of your life, family, and work?
2. Jesus turns to Simon and says, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” How do you think Simon felt about that request?
3. Have you ever felt Jesus was asking you to leave the shallows and to “launch out into the deep?” What was happening in your life when this happened?
4. Simon lets down the nets in obedience to Jesus’ word. Why is being obedient to Jesus’ word important “in the depths?”
5. When Simon sees the great catch of fish he says to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Why do you think he says that?
6. In what ways is Jesus calling you to “Go Deeper” in 2016?

 

 

[1] Fred Craddock, Interpretation Commentary Series, Luke, p 70.