Sunday 9th February 2025
Isaiah 6: 1-8 (9-13)
Psalm 138 Epiphany V 2025.
I Corinthians 15: 1-11
St. Luke 5: 1-11
“Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching people…”
Luke 5: 11b
My impression is that, in the world around me, there are so many people carrying anxiety, or fear… Proposed changes to the importing of goods and services into the United States means there is a threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, which will evidently be a shock to our economy, and our pocketbooks… When I was preparing this sermon, there is a proposal to expel the people of Gaza from their countryside which has been largely ruined by bombs, with understandable upheaval and negative reactions… Our federal parliament has been re-set or “peroged” by one political party, after being almost entirely prevented in the business of regular motions and debate for months by a second political party… I could go on; but we get it! – the world is a troubled place right now…
We would do well, I suggest, to recall the consistent message which the Lord Jesus gave to his disciples, “Do not fear;” “My peace I give to you;” “Don’t be afraid;” “I am here;” and so forth… It’s very clear that the Lord doesn’t want us to be fearful or afraid. He wants us to carry his peace, even in the midst of life’s storms… Fear, worry, and anxiety do not improve our condition for the future. Instead, they rob us of the peace we are meant to carry in the present…
I hope that when we gather together as a parish family, we can be refreshed by the Spirit of the Lord and the presence of each another… But alas, sometimes there can be a disquieting word on a Sunday morning as well!… We can read disquieting things in the Bible, with verses such as “I came not to bring peace, but a sword” or “Take up your cross and follow me;” and many others… Sometimes the disquiet comes not from the biblical record itself, but from the disquieting sense that God himself is expecting us – us, here this morning – to do something which can be a little scary or a little bold, in response to the gospel message which is brought to us…
I believe that the readings this morning can be one of those times which might bring a little anxiety to some of us, because we – each one of us – is being asked to do something, in response to the scripture readings with which we’re confronted this morning…
Today’s first reading is from Isaiah chapter 6. It is a well-known passage, when God reveals a glimpse of the divine life of heaven to the prophet… Heavenly creatures are singing, “Holy, holy, holy…” (Incidentally, we sing or say these words in the Anglican Communion liturgy – “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts…”)
When confronted with the divine vision, Isaiah becomes deeply aware of his own inadequacy and sinfulness. Isaiah receives divine forgiveness, and then his response is none other than, “Here I am; send me.” “Here I am; send me…” The prophet knows that he needs to be obedient… He is to present God’s message, even if his nation would rather be comfortable, and pursue their own idols and interests…
The same kind of message is presented in Luke 5 this morning: We read of the Lord Jesus preaching and teaching in a boat, near the short of the large northern lake called the Sea of Galilee… One of the fishermen, Simon Peter, following Jesus’ instructions, lets out his net, and captures an extraordinary number of fish, so the little fishing boat is about to be swamped as its gunwale is near the waterline, due to the weight and number of the fish…
Confronted with the message of Jesus and God’s glorious, overwhelming generosity, Simon Peter can only react by being stunningly aware of his own inadequacy and sinfulness: “Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, O Lord…”
There it is again in scripture. Jesus now says to Simon Peter, “Do not be afraid…” “Don’t be afraid.” (Jesus doesn’t want us to be afraid…) “From now on you will be catching people” – (not fish)…
Simon Peter had his ups and downs as an apostle of the Lord. He recognized Jesus as the Son of the Living God, but then had to be rebuked by Jesus when Peter denies that Jesus will suffer… Simon Peter was known to blurt out unfortunate comments – such as at the time of the Transfiguration – without choosing his words in advance… At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, our eucharistic meal, Peter defiantly asserts that he will never deny Jesus – only to do so within hours, before the rooster crows the next morning!…
Yet Jesus, inspired by the Spirit, sees who Simon Peter can become… Indeed, when the gift of the Holy Spirit falls on the apostles, Peter preaches an amazing sermon, focussed on the person of Jesus Christ, and some 3000 people are converted… Jesus was right, wasn’t he? Simon Peter became a fisher of people, introducing them to the Lord Jesus…
Now, here’s the time when we might get a little scared!… It’s because we know that Jesus’ direction to fish for people isn’t just for Simon Peter. It’s also for us… We are all being called to witness to the resurrection (the message in today’s second reading)…
Are we ready to embrace our calling, for God to use us, to help introduce other people to Jesus Christ?…
We might be like the prophet Isaiah or the apostle Peter. We might want to say, “Oh, no, not me, O Lord! You don’t know how sinful I can be.” (Actually, God knows very well how sinful we can be, and wants us to come to him, to get rid of it…)
Or we might say, “You don’t know my friends. My family. They’ll never come to Church. They’ll never surrender their lives to you!… There’s no sense in asking me to talk to others about Jesus, because they will just laugh at me…” (Maybe we will get laughed at.
Maybe not. But it’s not up to us to assume that God can’t work through us for his glory…)
So, it’s likely that many of will agree, that evangelism, sharing the good news, can see daunting, or even impossible, to many of us… Why would this be? I suggest, we likely have an unhealthy view of evangelism… We might think “evangelism” means beating people over the head, but it’s not… We might think that we have to be like Billy Graham, and we don’t…
We are called simply to be ourselves, to be authentic, within a wider world in which so many are pretending to be just fine, when they’re desperately lonely or hurting or wounded or broken or addicted… We aren’t the only ones who are sinful, you see. We’re just aiming to be honest about it!…
So, positively, what does it mean for you and to me to be evangelists and witnesses – sharers of some good news?… Let’s begin by agreeing that the gospel is indeed good news, when presented with grace and love… First, we need to be graciously confident in the endless mercy and goodness of God. (It doesn’t mean that we have all the answers, or that there aren’t times of struggle. But we have a sense that God cares, and the message and person of Jesus is worth learning about, engaging with, and resting in…) We begin with the deep confidence that God is good…
We need to keep in mind that you and I can’t convert a single soul!… Not one!… If we think that Peter Armstrong or anyone else here can change a single heart, the blunt fact is that we cannot… But God can… The work of changing lives is God’s work, waking hard or sleepy hearts, and opening blind eyes… It is an immense relief that God doesn’t expect any one of us to convert a single soul… All he does ask is, That we learn to live more and more, so that we’re working in cooperation with his divine life… To seek to be in the center of God’s will…
Here are a couple of practical points to keep in mind, when we fish for others with God… Above all, let’s aim to love. Love God. Love others…
Let’s be mindful that our lives need to reflect God’s goodness and mercy to us. If we are miserable characters, let’s ask God to work in us, to change us toward his beauty. If we are grumpy or irritable or cheat with our money, that works against our Christian witness. Let’s be good examples to the wider world around us…
Let’s be respectful of other people… We aren’t better than anyone else! Everyone, no matter how broken, carries a flickering light within them, as they too are made in God’s image… If people don’t want to talk with us about God stuff, let’s not argue or try to force the point. Let’s respect other people – including their right to say “no” or “not yet…”
Let’s aim to foster a sense of invitation and permission: “Would you like to join me at St. Brice’s this coming Sunday?” Or, “Is it all right if I tell you more about why my faith is important to me?…”
Most important of all, let’s aim to be in concert with God’s perfect will. If we feel we’re being nudged to say something, let’s not be silent. God’s got this! Even if we really mess it up (and we probably won’t), God can even make beauty out of our messes… Let’s relax. Let’s trust God. Let’s love a little more. Let’s try…
We leave the rest to God. Amen.