Thursday, 14 March Luke 5:1-11
Written by Dr Graham Leo. ©2019.
This is a short reading today, but packed with so much material!
Notice Luke’s introduction: ‘One day…”. We’ve left behind all the preparation now and we are in the middle of Jesus’ kingdom-shaping ministry. There were many days of miracles; this was just ‘one day’. We’re not getting the whole of Jesus’ biography – we’re getting the story about Jesus that Luke wants to tell.
The ancient world, through the Greek philosophers, knew the three great transcendental values: Truth, Beauty and Goodness. This short passage places these three virtues in the known and knowable person of Jesus in all his unmistakable majesty.
We see Truth in the first five verses. Jesus is teaching the crowds. This is the ministry of the Word, of divine truth. After Peter has listened to Jesus, we see that he has thoroughly absorbed the value of Jesus’ truth. Jesus tells Peter to put out to deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Peter, the professional fisherman, points out to the landlubber Jesus that they had been fishing all night (subtext: ‘While you were sleeping, Rabbi!’) and they hadn't caught a thing.
But Peter responds to the Truthfulness he sees in Jesus: ‘Because you say so, I will let down the nets’. And the catch is huge. So huge it is clearly a miracle. Nobody catches so many fish on any ordinary day. The quantity of fish threatens to sink two boats.
But look at Peter’s response!
We might have thought that Peter would have been well-pleased; that his practical mind would have turned to the potential for a lucrative business enterprise. ‘You and me, Master, we can make a fortune!’ But Peter’s response is astonishing.
He falls to his knees and begs Jesus to leave him. ‘Depart from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ Fisherman Peter has the catch of his life, and he begs Jesus to go away.
What was it about a large catch of fish, that made Peter become deeply and suddenly aware of his moral shortcomings? Where’s the logical connection? Jesus helps Peter to have a really good fishing trip, and Peter becomes deeply ashamed of his moral state.
Jesus’ reply doesn't help. ‘Don't be afraid, Peter!’ Jesus is not surprised at Peter’s response. He acknowledges Peter’s fear and accepts that it is a reasonable response.
This is very interesting. If we can understand this, we can begin to understand what is meant by holiness. The holiness of God arises out of his essential goodness. He is so ‘other’, so fundamentally different from us, that when we truly encounter his pristine, perfect goodness, we actually become afraid. Because we know that we are not good.
Imagine that you are suddenly called into the presence of human greatness: a royal personage, a celebrity whom you admire, a Prime Minister or President, a ravishingly-beautiful woman or deeply-handsome, attractive man. Your self-confidence starts to totter. You stumble over your words. You don't know what to say. You blush.
Sometimes you hear people talk blithely about God speaking to them; others claim they’ve gone to heaven and met God, then came back to earth. Whenever I hear these claims, I want to ask how they managed to survive. The biblical record of every human being who has actually encountered the Almighty and Holy God, is that they were deeply ashamed, overawed, driven to hide their face and call the mountains to cover them over.
Remember Isaiah who saw the throne of God, and said, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6). Remember Abraham who fell on his face. Both Isaiah and Abraham were pretty good chaps. Remember Job, who clapped his hands over his mouth, because he had already said too much. Remember the men who died when they touched the ark of the covenant. Remember the awe-ful fear that surrounded the inner chambers of the Temple. Only the High Priest, once a year, could enter the Holy of Holies.
Peter sees Jesus acting in absolute goodness and holiness, by being the Lord of Creation, making the sea pour forth its bounty, and he falls at Jesus’ feet, suddenly deeply aware that he is sinful and Jesus is not. That his sin and Jesus’ goodness are incompatible.
Then Jesus does something so simple. He doesn't pronounce Peter’s sins forgiven. He simply invites Peter to serve him; he gives him a job to do. Peter was overcome with Jesus’ goodness which he saw as holy and other to himself, but he glimpsed the beauty of the God who would invite him to be on his team, regardless of his crass, sinful humanity.
The beauty of God is in his invitation to us to come to his table, each week. To eat his flesh and drink his blood. Come, all is ready. You are invited to share in this meal. We have the immense privilege of hearing those words each week at the Communion service.
But we will hear them one day again, when we see the Lord in all his glory, as he invites us to share in that great banqueting table with all the other Peters who knew they were sinful and who bowed their knees before him.
I serve in my church as a Liturgical Assistant, which means I hand out the chalice of wine to people as they come past, having received the bread. I usually say something like: ‘This is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave this for you, for the forgiveness of your sins, because he loves you so very much.’ I know, it’s not quite kosher according to the Prayer Book, but it’s close; and I love to tell people of Jesus’ love for them.
One lady, who comes each week, always approaches this moment with deep wonder. She waits for my every word, then, sometimes, before she takes the cup to drink, she looks up at me with shining eyes and whispers, a secret just between us: “Oh, it’s so wonderful, isn't it! Sometimes you can hardly believe it’s really true!” She gets it! She understands!
It’s no wonder at all that the disciples left everything and followed him. What really is a wonder, is that they bothered to take the time to pull the boats up safely on the shore. I would have readily believed Luke if he had said that they followed Jesus immediately, while their boats and fishing tackle quietly drifted out to the middle of the lake.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, how often have I ignored the awesome holiness of your character and not fallen down in deep shame at my sinfulness. How often have I not recognised the sheer beauty of your invitation on Sunday morning to come and eat at your table! Forgive me. Show me, please, the inexpressible beauty of holiness. Amen.
