5 Epiphany Sermon Notes

The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany

“I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his people, to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.” -- Psalm 85:8

Luke 5:1-11 [verses in brackets]

• Parallel/Similar texts: Mt 4:18-22; Mk 1:16-20; Jn 1:40-42

Luke begins this Gospel lesson with a nameless crowd and concludes this segment with Jesus calling the same three disciples that he takes with him to the mount of the Transfiguration: Peter, James and John. Jesus singles out Peter, calling him to be an evangelist – the same Peter that Jesus will call to build his Church – the same Peter who teaches the Gospel first on the Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church.

• Peter moves from bystander, to participant, to follower.

[1] Jesus is teaching. The crowd presses him back toward the Sea of Galilee – not to kill him as the crowd attempted to do in Nazareth – but from eagerness to hear Jesus’ words.
[2] Peter, James and John are bystanders frustrated after fishing all night. They are packing up their gear to go home.
[3] Jesus intrudes on Peter’s business by climbing into his boat and asks the exhausted fisherman to take the boat away from the shore so that he can continue to teach the pressing crowds. Peter suddenly (reluctantly?) becomes a participant. The fishing boat is now the Ark of the Word of God, the throne of the Creator – a vessel of salvation (cf. 1 Peter 3:18-22).
[4] One can’t help but wonder if Peter isn’t impatient for the Lord to finish teaching – to let him go home. But instead of having Peter row him back to shore, when he finished teaching, Jesus tells Peter it’s time to go back fishing. Jesus is a carpenter-rabbi, not a fisherman! What does he know about fishing? Jesus intrudes even deeper into Peter’s business. He intrudes into Peter’s area of expertise. Jesus is so confident that he told Peter to let the nets down “for a catch”. Jesus is not saying Peter might catch something, he says that Peter will catch, if he obeys.
[5] Peter sounds frustrated, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” but he obeys according to Jesus’ word.
[6] Jesus demonstrates that he is the Lord of creation and summons fish from all around the lake to Peter’s boat.
[7] There are so many fish that Peter has to signal his partners (James and John) to come and help him. So many fish that the boats were nearly sinking.
[8] Now, Peter is no longer simply a bystander or a participant – he has become a believer. The fisherman recognizes Jesus’ power over creation and drops to his knees in repentance and honor, if not worship. Jesus has intruded into Peter’s time, business and his heart.

• What will we do when Jesus intrudes into our time? Our business? Will we listen and obey long enough that he will have the opportunity to intrude into our hearts?

[9] Finally, there is enough fish that the fishermen could pay off debts, buy more equipment, employ more fishermen – Jesus' intrusion turned out to be great for their business!
[10] But what happens? Jesus tells Peter don’t be afraid. In spite of your sinfulness, you are called to witness God’s purpose to men – to catch men for God.

• The Greek for “catch” means to “catch alive” or “to catch for life.”

[11] Amazingly, Peter, (and Andrew), James and John leave the greatest catch of fish they’ve ever seen with their fathers and follow Jesus as his disciples.

• What does it mean to follow Jesus?
  

• What do we have to leave, or let go of, to follow Jesus? Lent is coming.

• Better yet, what do we have to gain by following Jesus?

• Let us look forward to Jesus’ next intrusion into our lives!

“Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”

Much of this sermon was inspired by a teaching given by The Rev Cn George Kovoor.