Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on February 4, 2007
(Year C, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Judges 6:11-24a
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Psalm 85 or 85:7-13

Bill Rupe was a gentleman who lived down the road from us with his wife Helen. They had no children of their own but were the parents of many. Bill spent his entire youth working his tail off on the farm or in the factory, taking time off only to fight for his country. So it was only befitting for him to begin “growing up” when he was in his late fifties. Bill was a ham cutter at Wilson’s in Cedar Rapids when he took early retirement so that he could play with the boys of the neighborhood.

Bill took us to the races on Friday nights at Hawkeye Downs. He patiently taught us how to ski behind a 16’ johnboat with a 25 horse Johnson on the Coralville reservoir. He showed us how to skin any varmint we killed providing that we joined them in eating it. He instructed us in the game of Euchre, and then thrashed us on a regular basis. Bill was the top dog and we were his pups, and we loved every minute of it even when he went through his repertoire of vaudevillian gags over and over again.

Bill and Helen lived off the land. They heated their house with wood. They planted a huge garden, canning the surplus for winter. Helen made everything from scratch, and had a recipe for any critter that we could hunt. Besides the random rabbit from the garden or whatever game that we would bring to them, their main source of protein was fish. Bill would go fishing most every day all year around, and he would take us whenever we could go. Bill never came home without a fish, and sometime there was more than they could eat in one sitting. When this occurred, some of the fish would be canned or smoked. But according to Bill there was nothing like fresh fish from the water to the pan.

Looking back, even though Bill and Helen didn’t have a lot of money, they were two of the wealthiest and generous people I have ever known.

One of my last known fishing trips was with Bill Rupe. Bill knew every possible fishing hole in Iowa and Johnson County because he had fished the Iowa River from Marengo to Iowa City before it became a reservoir. I’m not sure when this particular fishing trip took place but I remember it was beastly hot; scorching heat with high humidity. But Bill heard that the catfish were running thick down by the spillway and wanted in on the action. So we went down below the dam, standing on the sunny bank and cast our lines into the racing water.

Well with the heat being what it was and my attention span drifting because I would have rather been in the water, I told Bill that I was going to move into the trees a bit to take advantage of whatever shade I could find. “You’ll never catch anything in there. This is the place to be right here.” “I’ll take my chances in the shade. I’d rather catch nothing than suffer from heat stroke.” So off I went, the student defying the teacher, thinking of personal comfort more than what was for dinner. I found a tree leaning over the water, and leaned into it face forward. Hanging over the water, I depressed the button on my reel, and let the hook plop into the water.

Pretty soon, I felt a tug on the line, pulling me out of my stupor long enough to set the hook and much to my surprise pulled out a nice size catfish. I took it over to where Bill had the stringer with a big smile on my face. In disbelief he said, “There’s always one that drops out of school. He probably ran into the hook.” Off I went back to my perch. Pretty soon I came out with another one about the same size. “You’re a lucky young pup, ain’t ya? You probably snagged the scout after he got lost.” I went back into the trees. Five minutes later, I came out with another one. “Somebody in there selling you fish, boy?” By this time, I’m beyond gloating and Bill was getting a little testy with my rising sense of superiority.

Anyway to make a long story short, after my eighth catch, Bill decided to come into the shade and see what was going on. Unfortunately, neither one of us caught any more fish that day. So we drove home with Bill grumbling and cursing under his breath. I, the greenhorn, had finally surpassed the Master at his own game, and catfish never tasted so good! It was the only time I had ever known Bill to get skunked.

Now this isn’t a perfect analogy for today’s Gospel but it is one way that we can view this particular passage. Contextually, we have Jesus, the landlubber carpenter’s son, commandeering a boat belonging to Simon Peter, the commercial fisherman, who has just come in from a long night’s work. Jesus uses the boat to address the throngs of people gathered on the shore. When he has finished teaching, he instructs Peter to put out into deep waters so that he can catch fish. Now Peter has been fishing all night long with nothing to show for it except dirty nets, which he has just cleaned and put away for the day. However, the day before, he had witnessed this same man cast out a demon from a man in the synagogue, and then later that same day heal his mother-in-law of a fever with just a word. So Peter acquiesces to Jesus’ command. And to his utter amazement, he hits the mother lode of all schools of fish to the point that the nets are breaking, and even with the help of another boat, both vessels are nearly sunk before getting to shore. Peter perceives this as a miracle, as he rightly should, and claims his unworthiness before Jesus, asking him to leave. Jesus, of course, says, “Simon the fisherman, follow me and I will make you a fisher of men. If you think this catch is huge, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This huge catch will pale in comparison to the number of people that you will net for me as an Apostle of the Good News.” This is the primary point of the text; that of answering God’s call to service in the context to our everyday lives no matter what it is that we do. Peter, with his partners James and John, answers the call of the Lord by leaving everything behind to follow the way of Jesus. And the bursting nets become symbolic for the growth of the Church in the Apostolic age and beyond.

But another way of looking at this passage is from the point of view of answering God’s call to service even when it makes no sense. As we said earlier, Peter has been fishing all night long, which is the best time to fish in that climate, and he has caught nothing! He is bone tired, and has stowed all of his tackle away for the day. The last thing he wants to do is waste his precious time in the heat of the day for a whole lot of nothing. But again, after hearing Jesus’ teaching, and from his very own boat no less, Peter senses that there is more to this man than meets the eye. He speaks God’s words with such authority; maybe he has God’s ear or better yet, His vision and knows where the fish are. So he casts his nets even though it defies everything he has learned about fishing. And against all belief, Peter catches more fish than he can handle; more fish than two boats can handle. In this case, the bursting nets are symbolic of God’s unlimited power. Nothing is impossible with God if only we obey his will. Peter could have chosen to row into shore and succumb to his own feelings of weariness, and failure. But instead, he chose to obey Jesus’ command, even though he knew that what he was about to do was at complete odds with his knowledge. But by answering God’s call, he was rewarded for his faithfulness. Indeed, through his faith, we know that he grew in knowledge because at first he calls Jesus Master, and after he calls him Lord. He is beginning to realize that Jesus is God. And with that knowledge also comes peace of mind as Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid.” This is the secondary point of the text; we have nothing to fear when we answer God’s call to service even if it makes no sense to do so. His grace is more than sufficient for our needs even if we can’t comprehend it. All we need to do is have faith.

Now a third way to look at this passage is from the perspective of everyday life. Once again, Peter has been fishing all night long producing nothing for his labor. He has nothing to sell to the public and nothing to feed his own family. He is probably a little frustrated, wondering how he is going to pay all of the incessant taxes that the Roman government has levied in addition to those that Herod has set out to collect in order to finish building the Temple in Jerusalem. Besides wanting to sleep through the heat of the day, he is contemplating taking on a second job in order to make ends meet. But this man Jesus, who casts out demons, has restored his mother-in-law to wholeness. This man Jesus, who has been healing the sick all through the night while by contrast he, Peter has been out on the water doing essentially nothing. And now, this man Jesus, who has utilized his boat as a bobbing pulpit, and whose words have pierced the very core of his heart, is asking him, no, is directing him to try one more time by doing it his way. What does he have to lose but a little more time and a little more energy? So he casts his nets and catches more fish that his tiny boat can hold practically sinking before reaching the shore. If the story were to stop right there it would be more than enough. And that is the third point of the text; no matter how empty your life may seem, no matter how hollow your life appears to be, no matter what it is that separates you from God; if you listen for and obey that which God is calling you to do, casting away your fears and anxieties into the waters of uncertainty, God will fill that void. In fact, it will be more than filled; it will be like a net bursting at the seams or overflowing like a cup that runs over. The abundance of God’s grace is beyond our imagination or even our greatest desires.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, take the time to listen for God’s call. When you hear it, heed it and respond to His Word in faith. And with faithfulness, be assured that you will not be disappointed. Remember the words of God spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near…For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Gloria Patri