Our Gospel reading today is taken
from Luke chapter 5. We are in a part of Luke’s Gospel—that is, his
presentation of the good news concerning Jesus—where Luke is giving us a broad
and general sense of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. He gathers up accounts from eyewitnesses,
like scooping up fish in a net: ‘Once while…’ ‘once, when…’ ‘one day, while…’ ‘one
sabbath while…’ ‘on another sabbath…’ ‘Now during those days…’ (5:1, 12, 17;
6:1, 6).
There is also, here, a sense of
movement, out from. Jesus is driven out of Nazareth, up on the hillside,
and went down to Capernaum, on the lakeside (4:28-31). There, Jesus sends out,
or away, an unclean demon from a man in the synagogue (4:31-37), and a fever,
from Simon’s mother-in-law (4:38-41). Jesus himself then goes out, first into a
deserted place, and then to the surrounding towns (4:42-44). And in our Gospel
passage for today, Jesus takes his stand on the shore of the lake; but, even
having taken his stand, is taken hold of, and pushed back, out, must seek
temporary shelter in Simon’s empty boat. Jesus asks Simon to ‘put out a little
way from the shore,’ and then to ‘Put out into the deep water’—and Peter pleads
with Jesus to go away from him, before leaving everything and following Jesus. So,
there is an outward movement at play here, in relation to many of the
characters we are encountering.
Alongside this, there is a recurring
theme of Jesus’ engagement with sinners. Simon asks Jesus to go away
from him because he, Simon, is a sinful man. But Jesus does not go away.
Instead, he responds, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Or, to a paralysed man, by saying, ‘Friend,
your sins are forgiven you’ (5:17-26). Or to the tax collectors and sinners by
eating and drinking with them (5:27-31). Those describing themselves, or being
described by others, as ‘sinners’ are understood by all to fall short of
what God expects of us. But Jesus’ response, in keeping with his mission ‘to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’ (4:18, 19) suggests that God does
not share this assessment at all. That sense of falling short is not of God.
Rather, the Spirit of the Lord has anointed Jesus to bring release to the
captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. That sense
of falling short of God’s expectations holds us captive, distorts our vision—of
ourselves, and others—and empowers oppression. Jesus calls Simon to leave it
all behind—his disappointment and frustration over an entire night’s fishing
without anything to show for it; his sense of being overwhelmed and of personal
inadequacy in the face of a large catch; his shame—to leave it all behind and
follow him.
Much of what Simon is doing in these
verses is familiar. He knows what it is to put in a shift at work with nothing
to show for it, not because he falls short as a fisherman but because work—even
work we are good at, even work we are committed to—is often boring and frustrating.
He knows what it is to do the repetitive work of cleaning his nets, and he
knows what it is to be interrupted in his work by someone who wants to ask
something of him or borrow something from him. These things are familiar to
Simon, and familiar to us.
And when Jesus asks Simon to do
overtime, to put in back-to-back shifts, Simon calls him ‘Master.’ The word, Epistata,
means, the one who has legal ownership, and, as such, is fully
authorised to give commands. Simon is saying, ‘Jesus, my boat is your boat,
my nets are your nets; this lake is your lake; this day, at the end of a long
night, is your day.’ As we (sometimes) proclaim when we gather-up the offerings
of the people, ‘All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.’ The
work that contributes to my sense of identity, of perceived worth or lack of
worth. My means of production, or contribution to society. My life is yours.
What, then, might the Spirit of God
want to say to the people of God in this place on this day? Are you worn out,
tired, weary to the bone? Are you frustrated, or disappointed, or even ashamed
of who you think that you are or how you feel that you have, or may yet, let
others down? Do you feel out-of-your depth, in any part of your life? Whether
it is in relation to work, or family, or illness, or growing old, I know that
you do; that, one way or another, we can relate to Simon, as he listens to
Jesus while washing his nets.
It is striking that it is the empty
boat, the empty net, the empty lake that Jesus takes and transforms. Things and
places and circumstances and people who appear to fall short of our expectations
turn out to be the very things and places and circumstances and people that
God-with-us is looking for. ‘Do not be afraid,’ Jesus says. This may not be
what you expected life would look like, but this is where we are. Where we
are; and I am Master.
We are only a month into 2022 and
already it is clear that the year ahead is going to stretch us beyond our resources.
Yet the good news is that it is also the year of the Lord’s favour. In Jesus,
always the year of the Lord’s favour. Lay down your hopes and fears and follow
him.
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