Pastor Tom Johnson, February 6, 2022
Peter just finished the nightshift—fishing under the starry skies until the rising of the sun. It must have been demoralizing to be a professional fisherman and to have nothing to show for it after pulling an all-nighter. Peter brings his empty boat to shore. Peter and the other fishermen decide to make some use of their time so they begin to mend their nets. That’s when Jesus the traveling rabbi comes by. Jesus steps into Peter’s empty boat uninvited. Peter the fisherman gets his biggest catch of the day! Jesus eagerly and loving gets into the boat and asks Peter to push him out a little so that he can teach. Jesus’ teaching is followed by a command to Peter: “Put your nets out into the deep.” Peter argues with Jesus. “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” All we like sheep—or like fish—have gone astray, each of us to their own way. Peter is like the elusive fish he is trying to catch—wandering aimlessly in the dark and fleeing away in the depths.
Throughout the Bible, the depths—and especially the depths of the sea—are the loneliest, most vulnerable, dark, and dangerous places. Creation began with the Spirit of God hovering over the chaos and disorder of the watery depths. We know that the world can be a deep, lonely, scary, dark, and dangerous place. In the deep waters we feel like we are doing our best to grope through the night. And like Peter, despite our willingness to put in ridiculous overtime, we too often feel like we have nothing to show for all our efforts. And that should be no surprise to us who believe that “apart from God we can do nothing” (John 15:5). We cannot find what we long for. We chase the pleasures of this world that play hard to get just to toy with us on a never-ending and vain pursuit. Like Peter, the only fruit of our labors is exhaustion, exasperation, discouragement, and despair. “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing.” O Lord, how long? I am trying harder. I am working longer. I have the best and latest net technology. My nets are immaculately clean and mended. It’s in our emptiness that we are ready for Jesus to to fill our nets. We realize our inability. We are ready to draw on him for strength.
Jesus invites himself into our empty boats. He is the divine initiator. He takes the first step to enter our lives. Our empty boats—our lack of productivity apart from him—our confession that we have failed in thought, word, and deed makes room for Jesus to enter the nave of our hearts. Jesus is the only one who can fill the void of our hearts. Peter does not know it yet, but his reluctant words are prophetic. “We have caught nothing but at your word, I will let down the nets.” It is in the stead and by the command of Jesus that we work and live. “Your word, O Lord, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). It’s through Scripture that we find our way through the depths and darkness. It’s by his strength and Holy Spirit that we seek and find what God has in store for us. Just as the word of God said, “let there be light”—just as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and the deep—so Jesus and the Holy Spirit re-create a whole new world and make all things new. In the name of Jesus and at his Word, Peter puts down his nets. They catch so many fish that Peter calls the others for help. Their nets begin to break. Their boats are so full with their catch that their boats begin to sink. Because of this miracle and Peter’s shock from having nothing to now having more than he can handle, Peter realizes his utter insufficiency. His powerlessness and sinfulness are more real and evident than ever before. Peter tells Jesus, “Go away from me for I am a sinful man.” Yet, it’s too late. Jesus has already drawn near. Jesus has already caught Peter in the net of his grace. And contrary to his sense of worthlessness, Jesus has not come for the righteous. He has not come to us when we succeed. He has come to make us worthy.
Jesus comes for sinners. He comes to seek and to save the lost. We realize our need for him most when we are confronted with our failures and our weakness. We love because he first loved us. He draws sinful men and women to himself by the net of his grace. Jesus shows Peter that disciples are not first taught but caught. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says, “from now on you will be catching people.” Peter’s successful catch of fish is now a living metaphor of the ministry of the Gospel. Our mission is to go out into the depths of this world to catch people. Our goal is not to win arguments about Jesus but to win people to Jesus. The word catch is literally “catch alive.” There is a prefix before the word catch which is Zō. It comes from the word Zōe. It is the same word for life when Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This is a beautiful turning of a fisherman’s trade upside down. Peter will no longer labor by his own wisdom and strength. He will no longer catch fish. He will no longer draw them out of an environment where they thrive and are free. He will no longer ensure their death as they are unable to breathe the open air. Peter—and now we—will now catch people alive. We will do so in spite our weakness, sinfulness, and sense of unworthiness. He will give us the strength, forgiveness, and joy as he draws all people to himself through his church. They will be drawn out of the depths lifeless, hopeless, and dead. The old self is drowned in the waters of Baptism. A new creation rises out of the water to life and salvation. We are cleaned—not for eating but for true living. We are sanctified by the washing of regeneration for lives of godliness and eternal life. We are brought to the table—not to be the meal but—to feast as his adopted children.
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