Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11 February 7, 2010

       5Epiphany2010                          Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11                             February 7, 2010

In today’s well known Isaiah reading God shows up in a big way. The text gives lots of visuals.  Take the hem of God’s robe, for instance.  “God sits high up on a throne and the hem of God’s robe fills the Temple.” Take a look at the hem on what you’re wearing.  The image is that just the hem of God’s robe is so huge it alone fills the whole room.  And there are more visuals.  Seraphs are in attendance – not chubby little cherubs, but what one writer calls  “freakin’ scary beasts.”  Here are some artistic examples labeled “seraphs” on the internet.

With the way seraphs are described in the Bible it’s a wonder Isaiah didn’t run and hide – huge massive things.  When the divine presence shows up in the Bible it’s usually accompanied by the words, “Don’t be afraid.”  We can’t do anything if we’re paralyzed by fear. 

Were you awake the other night when the thunder and lightning was happening? Our dogs were terrified.  For all they knew we were being visited by some “freak’n  scary beasts.”  We had to calm them down before any of us could get any sleep. 
All this much-ness in the vision Isaiah saw triggered fear in him.  He was overwhelmed by his own inadequacies. “Woe is me!” he said. “I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.”  But something calmed his fears, for when God calls, “Whom shall I send?” he responds, “Here I am!”

In today’s Luke story Jesus shows up in a far less scary way, but he asks for a similar thing. “We need fish! Go get them, Simon – out there in the stormy sea – but out deeper than you’ve gone before.”  Simon and his partners had just come in from fishing all-night – with nothing to show for it.  Zero!  It was a failed trip.  Their families would have to wait for another day to eat. They were not happy fisher-folk as they dragged themselves, their battered boats and tangled nets to shore. 

This is one of the most discouraged pictures in the New Testament.  It is reminiscent of the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah where they have no child. They have no child. Simon has no fish. No fish may not seem like a big thing, but the people depended on fish.  Without it there was starvation.  To come ashore with no fish was to say there was no life, no hope, no future.

And that’s precisely where God enters in. God engages Isaiah, Abraham, Sarah, Simon and all the rest in the midst of their lack.  There is no child.  There are no fish. Isaiah is a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips.  Yet God comes as gift and promise. God meets emptiness with love.   

Over and over, it is at the point of human lack that the Biblical God appears and calms our fears by not asking for perfection, but for trust and courage .  In Luke’s story, Jesus asks Simon for his resources – his boat – and his partnership. “Let me use your boat, Simon.”  And “Cast your net out deeper.” God’s work is done when humble people let God make good out of their resources and their lives. 

Biblical theology – our theology – Luther’s theology – is that God promises life out of death; fruitfulness instead of barrenness; homecoming to those who have been in exile; freedom to those who have known bondage.  But all this comes, not by our works, but by God’s surprising grace.   This is radical theology. God brings about amazing things.  Abraham and Sarah have a child despite their barrenness. They, and Hagar too, become parents of many nations because of God.  Isaiah, a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips, becomes a great leader because God call and Isaiah sees past his lack and says, “Send me.”    

In Luke, Simon, spent all night fishing and caught nothing! His fishing trip was a waste! But tired as he was he responds to Jesus’ word and goes back to sea to see what God has in store.  And what Simon does next also makes a difference. Imagine Simon and the others saying, “Come on Jesus, can’t you do better than trout?  Where’s the catfish, the halibut, the yellowtail?” But Simon doesn’t judge the gift.  He stands in awe of it, and in fact falls down before Jesus and begs Jesus to go away. “Go away from me, Lord.  I’m not who you think I am. I have issues and fears.  Find someone better.  Use someone else’s boat. I am not worthy!”

But Jesus doesn’t go away.  And the good news is that Jesus won’t go away from us either – even if we point out all our frailties. Even if with Isaiah we say, “Woe is me!” Our frailties don’t discourage God.  God is looking for courage that will trust God to be as awesome as God is, in and through us. 

I wonder how often we picture God’s love so big that just a hem-worth of it would fill this space.  Annie Dillard makes a great statement in one of her books: “When we go to church we should wear crash helmets, receive life preservers and be lashed to the pews in case God shows up.”  The truth is, God does show up.  God is in this place. God is truly present in the word that gathers us, in the bread and wine we share, in the water and word claiming us for holy purposes.

When we as Christians are dealing with what looks to us like scarcity – like we are falling short – or coming to shore with empty nets – the thing to do is to not give up or give into frustration, but to respond to the call to cast our nets out deeper.  Faith calls us to where we can no longer depend on ourselves. To cast out deeper is to go where we have to depend on God.  Like Simon, we learn this with small acts of obedience. Tired and frustrated, Simon got back in his boat and rowed to where he wouldn’t have gone on his own and he was never the same again.

And that’s how it happens.  When we think we’ve come to a dead end, the call is to cast out deeper in trust of God who meets us in our lack with surprises of grace. When we take that leap, we never come back the same.

When I went to Rwanda three years ago, I came back different.  I came back knowing a whole community counts us their brothers and sisters as if we literally are. It became clear that we all share this great sea of faith together and God calls us to cast our nets deeper into the abundance of God’s love.  Retired Bishop David Mullen returned a few weeks ago from visiting Pastor Elidard and reminded me that the Lutherans there trust we are in this great sea together.  They think of us as we think of our close family and friends. Pastor Elidard sent his greetings.

Bishop Mullen brought back baskets made by the women of Kagitumba. They will be included next Sunday in the Women of the ELCA’s Bake Sale. The people are also trusting a new place to worship will be possible for them before their current one is uninhabitable. As we see in the background of the picture, they are managing fine for now and are grateful for each day’s gifts.
Going to Rwanda also made me very much want to bring a group of our young people there in the years to come to experience their love. And wouldn’t you know, God has called Marge and Steve to go to Uganda to work for five years– just hours from Rwanda, bringing us nearer in ways beyond our knowing.

God wants to engage us all in God’s work whether in Rwanda, in Mexico, or in our daily lives here in the greater Chico areas. And how important today’s stories are that remind us we aren’t the saviors of the world – or even of the church.  God is! We are simply called to get into our boats and trust enough to cast out deeper as God leads.  In the end, as with the fishermen, gratitude is key. Bonhoeffer says, “Until we are grateful for the little things, God cannot give us the big things.”

God is in our midst as the Holy Spirit turns barrenness into fruitfulness, failed fishing trips into feasts for all.  We share a meal here that turns us into Christ’s body in the world.  May we not be afraid of or blind to such powerful grace! 

                                                                                                             Amen

+Pastor Peg Schultz-Akerson, to the glory of God
Faith Lutheran Church, Chico, CA