"Humbled to Fish"

"Humbled to Fish" FPC 2-7-10

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

          We’re among friends. So we can be honest about this. We human beings are occasionally so self-important and silly, I wonder if we actually make God laugh sometimes. Do you know what I mean?

          Retired preaching professor Fred Craddock says there was this great preacher a few years ago. I think he was a pastor of a huge church in Florida. And this man was a stunningly powerful preacher. “I laughed. I cried. I was moved to the depth of my being.” That sort of thing. The only thing was every week parishioners would come through the line and shake this guy’s hand and say, “Oh, you’re just such a gifted preacher. Oh, God has given you such a wonderful gift.” Well, one Sunday a parishioner came through the line and said, “Oh, you have such a gift.” And the preacher said, “Gift? Hell, I worked hard on that sermon!”

          A few years ago, I was curious about one of the TV preachers who was packing a coliseum with tens of thousands of worshipers and speaking to millions via television and books. So I picked up one of his books on CD at the library, and I listened as I drove to various appointments. The man’s message was very positive, easy to listen to, and simple to understand. His message seemed to be: Never mind any biblical language about hardship or sacrifice in the Christian life or Jesus saying “take up your cross and follow me.” Ignore that stuff. What God really wants is for you and me to be successful and happy in practically any way imaginable. In fact, according to this preacher God actually helped him find a prime parking spot on one occasion and on another occasion moved him from coach to first class on a plane flight.

          Let’s hope God laughs at our self-importance sometimes. We doubt God laughs all the time.

          But notice what happens when Simon Peter and the Apostle Paul encounter God. Their stories illumine our stories. And their stories say something about how we tell our stories.

          As his fishing net was bursting and his boat was sinking one day, Simon Peter knew he was encountering nothing less than the holy, wonderful, and terrifying presence of God. He fell down at Jesus’ knees, absolutely humbled, “Go away from me, Lord, because I’m a sinful person.” But Jesus spoke to Simon and his partners, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you’ll be catching people.” So Simon and his fishing partners left everything and followed Jesus.

          That’s what Luke tells us. Now compare it with Paul’s story.

          Paul tells the Corinthians, “Hold on tight to the good news you’re being saved by. I passed on the good news I’d received. Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day. After his resurrection, he appeared to Cephas, to the twelve, then to more than five hundred brothers and sisters, then to James, then to all the apostles. Then, last of all, as to one untimely born (the Greek word means miscarriage or abortion), as to one untimely born, Christ appeared to me, because I’m the least of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. But by God’s grace, I’m an apostle.”

          Notice the connections between the two stories? Simon Peter and Paul both experience the awesome presence of God. And their common response is not casual. “Can you bump me up to first-class, Lord?” Not prideful. “God came to me, because I worked so hard.” Not peaceful. “How are ya, Lord? Wanna hang out for a while?” No. Simon and Paul both feel awe in the presence of God. They feel a deep unworthiness before God. Each of them knows he is not suited to stand before the God revealed in Jesus Christ, much less to serve such a God.

          And this is such good news.

          As one scholar put it, “Most of us are seldom openly arrogant toward God. But when Jesus redefined the dimensions of God’s will for us, it immediately becomes apparent that hidden arrogance . . . is our most characteristic response to him.” (Robert Clyde Johnson quoted by Dale Rosenberger in Who are You to Say?: Establishing Pastoral Authority in Matters of Faith, 32.)

          Of course, just such hidden arrogance is one we reason we are sometimes so lax about spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, study of Scripture, generous stewardship of our time, abilities, and money, practicing social justice and peacemaking. And hidden arrogance emboldens elected officials to caricature and oppose government programs that would provide for the common good and help lift the poor out of poverty. God is not deceived. We live in an age that desperately needs a God great enough, all-knowing enough, God enough to set us back on the right paths, to remind us who and whose we are, and to humble us to be the people we’re truly intended to be. And our God is all that and more.

          Presbyterian writer Anne Lamott remembers a priest friend saying, “. . . grace is having a commitment to–or at least an acceptance of–being ineffective and foolish.” (Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, 142.) Realizing our unworthiness is the first step in being able to receive God’s forgiveness. As long as we think we’re so clever we can wriggle out of problems ourselves, so wise we can see our own way forward in the darkness around us, so strong we imagine we can toss any challenge on our back and carry it without God’s help, then we turn our backs on God’s grace in our lives.  But when we’re humbled by God’s holiness and majesty and we realize our unworthiness and our neediness, then, like Simon Peter and Paul, we’re ready to be servants of Christ.

          For Paul, central to being Christ’s servant is knowing that he has not arrived as a Christian yet. Instead, he says we are a “being saved” (v.2) people. And Paul himself says he is unfit to be an apostle.

          For Simon, servanthood flows not only from his humbling encounter with Jesus Christ but also from hearing Jesus say, “Do not be afraid. From now on you’ll be catching people.” Literally, it can be translated, “From now on you’ll be catching people alive.”

          As we read Paul’s story and Simon Peter’s story, the humbling of both men is a comfort and a challenge for First Presbyterian Church. You see, I think you and I are sometimes shy about inviting others to our church or telling them about our faith. Maybe we think, “I’m not good enough.” Or “I don’t have a deep enough faith.” Or “I don’t have all the answers if somebody asks questions.” But just as God did with Simon Peter and Paul, exactly when we feel humbled and inadequate is precisely when God is able to work in us to share the good news and catch people alive with God’s love in Jesus Christ. In fact, if you were a non-Christian or somebody curious about the faith, which would be more attractive to you? Someone who spoke with the dead certainty of a used car salesman, a mere “peddler of the gospel” as Paul put it?  Or somebody who said, “I don’t have it all together as a person or as a Christian. I’m just learning and growing. And First Presbyterian Church is a community made up of other folks who are also learning and growing.”?

          On Sunday afternoon, we had a marvelous ordination service for Emily, our associate pastor. The combined choir was dazzling. Out of town speakers inspired us. It was lovely. But, of course, we’ve had to tease Emily a little. At staff meeting on Monday, organist Eric Gastier announced, “If the service had lasted another fifteen minutes they’d have made her pope.” One person couldn’t remember the correct term for the service. So she called it Emily’s “coronation.” Good times! But for all the honor of the day, ordination is supposed to humble us as we kneel before the congregation and God and as we take vows that seem impossible to fulfill. And one speaker at the ordination praised Emily and then was kind but blunt. She said, “Emily, it’s not about you.” 

          Dear friends, it’s not about us either. It’s about what God has done, is doing, and

will do in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Humbled and

empowered, let’s go catch people with the blessed life given to us, in Christ our

Lord. Amen.