Bulletin: Trinity 5 2024
↓ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Grants Pass, OR
↓ Faith Lutheran Church, Medford OR
Luke 5:1-11 ARE YOU GONNA TALK OR GONNA FISH?
[R U] GONNA FISH? A game warden observed that a certain
fisherman always seemed to come back to shore with an unusually
large number of fish. Week after week, this particular fisherman would
come in with a big catch even when other fisherman complained that the
fish were not biting. The warden became leery and inquisitive. Finally,
he asked this successful fisherman if he could go fishing with him and
perhaps learn his technique. The fisherman obliged and at the
appointed time the game warden joined the fisherman in his boat. The
fisherman navigated the boat to an isolated lagoon. Dropping anchor, he
opened his tackle box, withdrew a stick of dynamite, and lit the fuse.
The game warden watched dumbfounded as the fisherman tossed the
dynamite into the water. As it struck the water, it exploded causing dead
and stunned fish to float to the surface. Calmly the fisherman pulled out
his net and began to scoop up the fish. The infuriated officer was beside
himself. “You can’t fish this way … it’s illegal!” The fisherman took out
another stick of dynamite, lit the fuse, and put it in his companion’s hand
saying “Are you gonna talk or are you gonna fish?” No doubt the game
warden did learn a new way of fishing that day.
FISH FOR MEN Today’s Holy Gospel is a story about
“fishing.” Our LORD Jesus did teach those three seasoned fishermen,
Simon Peter, James, and John something about fishing that morning on
the Lake of Gennesaret. They would catch fish not by throwing a stick of
dynamite into the water but by something that is more potent than
dynamite, the Word of the LORD Himself. The Word of God is living and
active, sharper than any double-bladed sword says the Book of
Hebrews. Psalm 33 says “By the Word of the LORD were the heavens
made and the starry hosts by the Breath of His Mouth.” Indeed, the
Word of the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
has faith” as St. Paul writes in Romans 1: God’s Word says what it
does and does what it says.
H.S. IS UPON ME Jesus is Himself the Word made Flesh.
John opens his Gospel with those majestic words “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John
1:1). Then he goes on to write that “the Word became Flesh and dwelt
among us full of grace and truth.” The Word made Flesh and dwelling
among us speaks. He preaches. He does not rely on gimmicks or slick
programs to get His message across. Instead, He does something that
is very simple, very ordinary. And some would say boring and
outdated. He opens His mouth and He preaches. Beginning at the
synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus preaches. There at the synagogue in
His hometown, you will recall that Jesus takes the scroll of Isaiah and
He reads from chapter 61: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because
He has anointed Me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent Me
to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year
of the LORD.” Then the LORD Jesus preaches a very short sermon. It’s a
one-liner: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That
preaching continued as Jesus made the boat belonging to Simon Peter
His pulpit.
EMPTY-HANDED Then Jesus turns His attention to
Simon Peter. He says to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down
your nets for a catch.” Now Peter was an experienced fisherman. He
knew a few things about how fish were to be caught. Peter knew that
the best time for fishing was not in the heat of midday but at night. Peter
knew that it was best not to go out into the middle of the Lake of
Gennesaret in search of fish but rather to let the nets down in the more
shallow coves where the nets could reach the fish. Peter knew that he
had fished all night, using all of his savvy and skill as a fisherman, and
yet had come in empty-handed. So he says, “Master, we have toiled all
night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your Word I will let down
the net.”
NEVERTHELESS… Peter takes Jesus at His Word. He does
not insist on following what he knew from his experience. He does not
demand that Jesus’ Words conform to the dictates of his own reason or
knowledge. “Nevertheless at Your Word I will let down the net.” And
those nets lowered into the waters are retrieved full of fish. So many
fish that the nets were breaking. Such an abundance of fish that it takes
both boats to haul the catch to shore and even at that the boats are
beginning to sink. It’s clear that this miraculous draught of fish was not
due to Peter’s ingenuity or hard work. The Word of the living God who at
creation filled the seas with all manner of fish now fills Peter’s nets with
a catch the likes of which Peter had never seen before.
FAITH IN ‘THE WORD’ Peter took Christ at His Word. Luther
comments “This is a beautiful aspect of Peter’s faith for us to imitate. If
our own insights run counter to Christ’s Word, [Guess what(?)] we
should dismiss them and follow Him”. That’s the way faith lives. Faith
closes its eyes to reason and experience and takes the LORD at His
Word.
1. HUMAN REASON would say, “How can a little water poured
on the head of an infant who doesn’t even know – let alone understand
what is going on – that Baptism is a washing of regeneration and rebirth
that bestows forgiveness of sins and grants eternal life and
salvation to those who believe?” Yet we have the Word of Christ. We
have the Word that promises “He who believes and is baptized and
shall be saved.” It is on the strength of that Word that every baptized
infant son or daughter is brought to the Baptismal font.
2. HUMAN REASON would (also) say, “How can a Man nailed to
a Roman Cross be the Savior of the world?” Human reason would say,
with the Jews, if God is coming to save us then there will be some
unmistakable sign, some miracle that is plain for all to see. Reason
would say, “…unless I can see it, I will not believe.” Human reason
would say, with the Greeks, if we are to believe in God we must have
some philosophical proof, some profound wisdom that cannot be
disputed. But instead God gives us His Son crucified as the Sacrifice
that atones for the sins of the world. As St. Paul says “For since, in the
wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased
God through the foolishness of the message preached to save
those who believe.” Therefore, “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews
a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God.”
3. HUMAN REASON again would say, “How can mere bread and
wine be the Body and Blood of Christ?” Yet God says of the bread and
wine on the altar, “This IS My Body and this IS My Blood.” Faith says
“Amen, amen, i.e. Yeah, yeah, so shall it be” to the Words of Christ.
Faith takes Jesus at His Word!
4. HUMAN REASON and its leaders finally would say, “If we want
to catch Twenty-first century fish, we need to use different bait [&
switch?!] – something that is tantalizing and is attractive. We’ll need a
boat equipped with one of those fish detectors so that we can find where
the fish are swimming and be more effective fishermen.” – Faith receives
only what the LORD gives and what He gives is Christ Crucified. And
He gives us this gift in the ways that He has determined to give it – in
Means of Grace: the waters of Holy Baptism, in the Words of
preaching and Absolution, in the Body and Blood of the LORD’s
Supper given us to eat and to drink. – It all depends on Christ’s Word.
[OUR] RESPONSE Peter was overwhelmed at the bounty
of the Lord’s gift. The catch of fish was more than anything that Peter
would have dared to hope for or to imagine. In the light of the magnitude
of this gift and in the presence of Christ, Peter can only confess his sin,
his unworthiness: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O LORD.” Yet
Jesus does not depart from Peter nor does He depart from us. To Peter,
He says “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
FLING NETS FAR & WIDE The LORD will and did make Peter an
Apostle, one sent into the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified
for our sins and raised for our justification. He will fling the net of the
preaching of the Gospel far and wide, not to snare fish, but to draw
men, women, and children into the boat of Christ, His Holy Christian
church. Take Him at His Word and rejoice that you are His catch,
redeemed in body and soul, for time and eternity. IJ’N, Amen.