Recent Sermon
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Sunday, February 9, 2025
 

Luke 5:1-11
 

          People are often impressed by feats of strength and power.  There are legends that have been told about people like Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Hercules.  Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack so big and strong that he could clear a path through the forest with one swing of his ax.  John Henry was a rock driller in West Virginia who, according to folklore, took on a steam drilling machine with a 10-pound hammer in each of his hands.  He won the challenge, drilling 14 feet while the machine only drilled 9.  Immortalized in song, John Henry “died with a hammer in his hand,” exhausted from his challenge.  Hercules was a character of Roman mythology known for his acts of strength and bravery.
          Many of the stories and legends were told to inspire people.  The stories of Paul Bunyan and John Henry and Hercules inspired people to try to reach their full potential.  These legends served as role models that were to be imitated by others.
          Some of the greatest stories of power are not told as legends around a campfire.  They are recorded in the Bible.  The power of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does more than just inspire people to strive to reach their potential.   The power of God is revealed to inspire confidence so that we put our complete trust in God for both our earthly and eternal needs.  Today the text from Luke tells us to…
 

“Trust the Lord”
 
I.  Our earthly needs are met
II.  Our kingdom work is set

 
          Luke wrote that while Jesus was preaching and teaching along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the crowd became so large that he got into a boat and pushed it out a little way from the shore.  That way more people could see and hear him.  When he had finished, he turned to the owner of the boat, a man name Simon, later called Peter, and told him to take the boat out into the water and throw out the nets to catch some fish.
          Simon and his partners, James and John, were experienced fishermen.  Simon explained, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.  Simon’s fishing experience told him that conditions were all wrong for catching fish, wrong time of day and wrong location on the lake.  And yet, against all of his experience and instinct, he replied to Jesus, “…but because you say so, I will let down the net.”  Luke wrote, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.”
          Simon’s obedience to the Lord was rewarded.  Such a catch of fish would mean a lot for Simon, John and James, and their families.  Simon’s face would be beaming when he returned home instead of being sullen with a report of no fish.  The fish would supply income for these families that would bring them the food and supplies that they would need.
          But the “profit” from this miracle would go beyond the financial blessing that the fish would bring.  It would impress on Simon and the others that Jesus cared about them and was able to provide for them.  He understood their needs and was able to help them meet their needs.  That would be important for them to know as Jesus prepared to ask them to spend more time away from their families and travelling with him.  They would trust that Jesus would meet their needs and the needs of their families.
          God’s Word tells many stories of God using his power and love to meet the needs of his people.  God took care of the Children of Israel for 40 years in the desert, providing all that they needed to live.  He had a raven bring food to Elijah the prophet during a famine and later did not allow a widow’s food supplies run out as she prepared bread for her son and Elisha the prophet.  Jesus turned water into wine, fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, healed the sick, and even raised the dead.  The Lord has always provided his people with what they needed, usually through natural means, but sometimes through miraculous means.  And these are not legends told just to inspire people.  These are stories inspired by God to reassure his people of his care for them and his willingness to provide for them.
          There are times when we may be tempted to resort to “less than honest” means to acquire things that we need instead of trusting our Lord.  Wicked King Ahab told lies and fabricated stories about his neighbor Naboth leading to murder in order to acquire his vineyard.  Ananias and Sapphira lied about the gift they brought to the temple after selling some of their land to make themselves look better to others.  Peter denied knowing who Jesus was to protect himself from the hostile Romans soldiers who had taken Jesus captive.
          We may find ourselves bending the truth or exaggerating details to make ourselves look better or to keep ourselves out of trouble.  We might be tempted to blame others for something that happened or take credit for something that we didn’t do.  There is an endless supply of half-truths and outright lies that the devil places at our disposal to help us get things or praises that aren’t rightfully ours.
          Seeing the love and power of Jesus displayed for his people helps us to live honestly and trust his promises.  We may do things differently than those who don’t know Jesus as we do, and our only reasoning is “because God says so.”  We live by God’s commands even when others bend the rules or blatantly ignore them to get things they desire.  We trust that God will meet all of our earthly needs, not always giving us everything that we want, but certainly everything that we need.  Simon’s bursting nets show us that trusting God and doing what he says will lead us to his blessings.
          Our needs will be met, often in even better ways than we can imagine.  That allows us to turn our thoughts to others and what we can do for them, just as Jesus directed Simon, James and John to do.
 

II.  Our kingdom work is set

 
          God has made us aware that we need his help for more than just our lives on earth.  An eternity awaits everybody, either an eternity of joy or an eternity of sorrow.  Faith in Jesus leads to eternal joy.  A lack of faith in Jesus leads to an eternity of sorrow.  God has called us to faith in his Son, just as he did Simon, John and James, and he uses us to lead others to know that Jesus is their Savior too.
          When Simon saw all of the fish, he was amazed but also terrified when he realized that he was standing in the presence of God’s Son.  Instinctively he cried out, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.”  But Jesus quickly calmed his fears saying, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”  Jesus had allowed these men to see a great miracle in the fish that filled their nets.  He was inviting them to see even greater miracles as they would use his word as a net to “catch men” and fill heaven’s kingdom.
          These three men were good fishermen because they had learned the techniques and strategies for catching fish.  Jesus would now teach them how he could use them, and others like them, to do his kingdom work, to “seek and to save that which was lost.” (Lk. 19:10) Providing the food that their families needed was honorable work, but it would only bring temporal blessings.  Providing for their eternal needs would be more important, and Jesus would now teach them how to do that
          I think it’s important to note the confidence that Jesus had in these men.  When he called them to be his disciples, his followers and messengers, he said, “…you will catch men.”  Jesus’ confidence was not based on his observation of these men.  The success of “spiritual fishing” that they would do did not depend on these men using their own knowledge or experience.  Jesus would equip them with the one thing that leads people to believe that Jesus is the Savior.  He would equip them with his word, the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to lead people to Jesus.
          The Psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” (Ps. 119:105).  The Apostle Paul would label God’s word as “…the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Rom. 1:16) God sends his followers into the world to use his word to lead others to Jesus.  He shows us that we can trust that he will make us competent “fishers of men,” as parents, friends and neighbors, Sunday School teachers or Church Councilmen, or whatever role he may give us.  We can trust the Lord, use his word faithfully, and watch as he provides for all of our needs.
          The stories of Paul Bunyan and John Henry and Hercules may have inspired people in their day.  The stories of God shared in his word lead us to the source of ultimate power and love, to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We can trust that our triune God will lead us to heaven where all of our needs, desires, and dreams will be fulfilled beyond what we can imagine or desire.  “Trust the Lord” now and forever.  Amen.