Sermon – Sunday 10 April, 2016/Rev. Richard C. Marsden

Let’s spend some time with a fisherman this morning.

Let’s consider Peter the Apostle, slide into his sandals for a short while, and let us consider what he has been through, where he is in life.

He had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry – he walked with him, talked with him, witnessed his miracles. He was, no doubt, one of Jesus’ closest disciples and friends.

He certainly had a level of faith in Jesus. It was Peter who voiced the acknowledgment about Jesus – “you are the Messiah – the son of God.”

At the same time, his faith was anything but complete. Immediately following his acclamation about Jesus being the Messiah, it was Peter who was rebuked by Jesus – “get thee behind me, Satan” – when Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from his mission.

It was Peter who sank when he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water–which elicited from Jesus the reproof of you of little faith.

It was Peter who witnessed the arrest and trial of Jesus and denied him three times – surely the lowest point in Peter’s life; a failure of faith which he acutely felt and wept bitterly over.

And then there was the empty tomb – the evidence that Jesus was risen from the dead, and then the appearances – as if from nowhere Jesus appears in their midst – he proves he is alive to them –
then gives Peter and the other disciples the message: So the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” He breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit.

And then he is gone! What to do with all of this? How can one make sense of all of this? How am I to respond to all of this?

So, like a normal, red-blooded man in time of indecision; he goes fishing!

Maybe it is an escape. Maybe it is the only place of security he can find right now. After all, he is a fisherman – that is his occupation – that is what he knows.

And it seems true that we all revert to old behaviors—retreat to places and things of comfort and familiarity in times of crisis and indecision-whether they are really helpful or not! Some go fishing, others consume half gallons of chocolate ice cream, or sometimes half gallons of moderately fine wine—and sometimes it doesn’t have to be fine!

But Peter fishes all night with his fellows and catches nothing. And there is nothing more frustrating to a fisherman.

When I was a wee boy my dad would take me fly fishing up in the wilds of Cornwall, Connecticut on the head waters of the Housatonic River. We would drive up in an old Ford station wagon and be on the river just before sun-up. And for the next five hours I would flail the water and he would fly cast.

Every five minutes I would shout over the rushing, burbling, riffle water—dad —any luck? To which he would lovingly shout – shut up—you are scaring the fish. I was evidently a better fish “scarer” than fisherman because we ate more hamburger then fish on those trips!

If you were in Peter’s shoes, might you be thinking – how much more frustrating can life get? I am a failure as a disciple – I am a failure as a fisherman.

Have you ever felt that way in life? You are a person of faith. You know Jesus, you trust him as Lord. You know that he is in charge; you have all these experiences of God’s presence, but life for you at a particular moment in time just doesn’t make sense. It seems confusing, overwhelming.

We can’t see where our life is going. We ask ourselves: Is my faith not strong enough? Am I not hearing Jesus’ direction? What does he really want me to do? Where are you, God!

So we find ourselves right there in the boat with Peter, with empty nets, with nothing to eat.

But the story doesn’t end there. There is someone watching Peter who knows his struggle, who is not far off, only a word away. From the shore Jesus calls to Peter: “Friend, have you any fish?” He asks basically: Are you successful in accomplishing what you are about?

But his question really expected a negative reply. Jesus really asked: “You have not caught anything to eat, have you?” He really knows their situation.

Neither Peter nor any of the others recognized it was Jesus calling to them. We do sometimes miss when Jesus engages our lives, when he clearly points out our situation—when he points out our spiritual reality.

So, their reply was brief and perhaps a bit embarrassed: “No.”

Now like real fishermen I know, they could have completely denied the problem – “yeah – we did pretty well” – which leaves one fairly stuck in the mire—unable to admit one’s need for help, or one can try to escape the question: “Well, you should have seen the one that got away.”

But Peter answered honestly – No, I didn’t catch anything. I was unsuccessful in using my own talents and skills. I did not achieve what I desire. My nets are empty.

Only when we honestly admit our need and failure can Jesus take over the situation so, just as he did when he first called Peter into discipleship, he told them where to cast the net.

They obeyed this voice that pointed out their problem, and offered a solution, and their nets overflowed with fish, and they knew Jesus was there. Jesus was working out their problem when they didn’t even recognize him! And the difference between success and failure was the width of the ship—and obedience to his word!

We are never far from success when we trust Jesus for the results in our lives, and we are usually closer to success than we realize.

And with that, our focus in life shifts from our circumstances to the Lord.
Think about Peter:
– When he recognized the Lord at work, he immediately forgot about the boat, the net, the fish, and jumped into the water to get to Jesus – whether he walked, ran or swam.
– Jesus was close, within speaking distance but Peter wanted to be nearer; within touching distance.
– And he makes it to shore and there finds Jesus ready for him, waiting, already prepared to feed him, to meet his need and commune with him.

May we consider our lives in light of Peter’s experience?

Each of us experiences seasons in life where we just can’t seem to connect the dots. We work hard, at our faith, in our responsibilities to do the things we should, at our vocation, and yet sometimes things just don’t seem to fall together. After all our efforts our nets are still empty.

In these situations we must remember there is one standing not far off – one who desires to give us his direction in life, and probably already is —
– one who desires to provide for our needs in abundance
– one who yearns for us to hear him and listen to him.
– one who desires – more than anything – our presence, our love, our friendship, that he might meet and provide our most significant need in abundance.

Might each of us have the honesty to admit to God and ourselves that our own efforts at life and faith cannot suffice, that at the end of the day our nets are empty; our ultimate needs unmet?

Let us have the openness of heart to trust that the Lord is present, is working out his plan for us, his desire for our lives.

Let us be willing to hear him.

Let us seek to obey him, so our hearts might be ultimately focused away from the circumstances of life, on to the Lord who has loved us, redeemed us by his cross, and desires our presence.

It is then that, like Peter, we can leave boat, nets, even the fish behind, to be in the presence of our Lord Jesus whom we will find sufficient for our needs.

Sermon preached by the Reverend Richard C. Marsden
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
3rd Sunday of Easter
10 April 2016