Date: February 6th (3rd cancelled for weather)
Preacher: Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri
First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-13
Psalmody: Psalm 138
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
In the movie National Treasure, there is a line that paraphrases Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. The intro to the line states that during the process of discovering the light bulb, there were many versions that did not work along the way. Then the paraphrase from Edison says, “I didn't fail, I found 2,000 ways not to make a light bulb; I only need to find one way to make it work.” This re-framing of what some might call “failure” can be helpful in many situations where it feels like we have somewhere we are moving toward, but all our plans lead to somewhere else. Luckily for us, when it comes to ministry, there is no one way to do things, no final answer to get to in order for our ministry to be perfect or complete. Still, this is a trap that the church at large often finds itself in when we consider what ministries to try next. Often there is this idea that once something has worked, we have found the right answer. But if our Gospel story today is any indication, sometimes relying only on what we know does not end up where God is leading.
The fishermen in today's story are practiced in the art of fishing. In that time it was common for professions to run in the family, and so it was likely that many of the disciples that were called from their fishing were in that business because their family before them had been fishers as well. This meant that a lot of generational knowledge, practice, and customs were passed down to each new person stepping up to fish. We learn that the fishermen in our story today had been up all night fishing with no luck. Since they are experienced fishers it would make sense that they are used to having a good haul of fish in this place at the specific times they were fishing, so as not to waste time and energy on a boat where there was not hope of catching fish. But on this particular day, they had been trying to catch fish all night long and yet had caught nothing. It was now daytime and they were still in their boats, with no more fish than they had started with the day before. In the church sometimes we get stuck in the habit of believing that the way something has always been done is the only way that it can be done. We can rely on our own history and experience while the changes around us are like night and day. There is an expectation that the ministries that worked before should work again, and so we keep trying to do what we have known and wear ourselves out. But in today's story Jesus says, it is not time to give up yet, but time to trust the possibility of abundance coming from something new paired with a strong foundation.
As Jesus is in the midst of teaching people on the shore from one of these boats, he asks these fishermen to put their nets back in the water. Simon Peter's response is somewhere along the lines of, we have tried to do that already, for a long time and it didn't work, but if you are so sure, I will do as you say and prove to you it doesn't work. But the thing is, it does work. The fishers in their boats are so weighed down by their catch that another boat must come and help and even with them the haul is almost too big. Their foundation of fishing helped them handle the fish that came in abundance, but it was Jesus's leading that put their nets in the water at the right time in the right place. Simon Peter cringes away from Jesus, worrying that his sinfulness could get in the way of Jesus doing what he has already done. Jesus tells him to not be afraid, and that now he will come catch people with Jesus instead of fish. Jesus stood among them to show that it is in the moments you least expect that God can work in the world. The fishers around Jesus were not expecting fish to be caught, but Jesus showed them just how plentiful the way of the Lord is. In the church we can get so caught up in what has worked for us before that fail to consider what Jesus is telling us will work here and now. We do not disregard our past experiences and knowledge, but instead it becomes a foundation for God to lead us somewhere new.
Sometimes when we consider trying something new in our ministry it can be scary. We can fall to our knees like Simon Peter and tremble at what we might lose if we accept that Jesus's plan is different than what we thought it was. All of this because it can be hard to trust in methods that are unfamiliar, new, surprising, or different. When we try so hard for so long without the results we expected, it can be hard for God to come in and say, just try ministry this way for me. There is a sense that we are losing control over our ministry when we travel into uncharted territory and the results are greater than expected. Just as the men on those boats were not expecting to catch so many fish that their ships were in danger of capsizing, we sometimes don't expect how God moves our ministry to reach so many more people than before. In our Gospel reading Jesus proves to those around him that he knows what can be done to inspire unexpected results, and the end result is to follow him. Jesus stands there among the future disciples, knowing they just caught more fish than days worth of catches, and he urges them to drop it all and follow him. And they do.
Here at Trinity I have seen some ways that our congregation has leaned into God's calling to try something new in our ministry. I have seen it through our use of technology and drive to improve it, through our community garden and activities, and through our connections to other community organizations like FISH or Wauseon school district. These are all exciting examples of how God called to a group of people among us, utilized their foundational knowledge and skills, and said, this is where you are being led to serve next. My hope and challenge for us is to think about where our ministry is now, and where God might be leading us to cast our nets next. I want to be clear about one thing, this does not mean that the purpose of these new ministries is about catching the most people. Instead, following these new calls of Jesus is all about pursuing ministries that spread the Good News in the most impactful way. Where is God leading us that will impact our community the most. It was never about catching the most fish, it was about trusting Jesus enough that our nets ended up in the best spot at the right time. In doing so we can encourage our ministry to live out of the abundance of God instead of the scarcity that sometimes consumes our thoughts. So let us listen to Jesus, let down our nets, if only to see the abundance that comes through ministry with following Jesus. And maybe, along the way, we will find thousands of ways we are called to do ministry, each one found at exactly the right time. Thanks be to God.