1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
“Out Into the Deep Water”
We’re called to deep water, not the shallows.
Luke sets the scene: Jesus is standing by the lake of Gennesaret (gehn-NEHS-uh-reht), as the crowd presses closer to hear God’s word. Standing there, Jesus sees two fishing boats — both empty because the fishermen had left to wash their fishing nets. So Jesus gets into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asks Simon to push the boat away from the shore a bit. Then from this boat anchored in shallow water, Jesus begins teaching the crowd who are on the shore.
After he is done, he tells Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4). The lesson is not over yet! By instructing Simon to go out into the deep water, he’s saying that the real possibilities (of spiritual growth and getting closer to God) are where life gets deep and risky. That is what Jesus invites us, as a church, to do as well – to take a chance, to be bold, and to be active – to go out into the deep water.
So when Jesus tells him to do this, what does Simon say? He says, “Lord, we have worked all night…” It isn’t what he says, but how he says it – that lets us know Simon is reluctant to go. He is tired after a long day of fishing, the nets have been cleaned and put away, and now Jesus says, “Go, out there in the deep water.” But, Simon goes. He does what Jesus says. And they catch so many fish their nets are ready to break, and they fill both boats so they are about to sink.
After he is done, he tells Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4). The lesson is not over yet! By instructing Simon to go out into the deep water, he’s saying that the real possibilities (of spiritual growth and getting closer to God) are where life gets deep and risky. That is what Jesus invites us, as a church, to do as well – to take a chance, to be bold, and to be active – to go out into the deep water.
So when Jesus tells him to do this, what does Simon say? He says, “Lord, we have worked all night…” It isn’t what he says, but how he says it – that lets us know Simon is reluctant to go. He is tired after a long day of fishing, the nets have been cleaned and put away, and now Jesus says, “Go, out there in the deep water.” But, Simon goes. He does what Jesus says. And they catch so many fish their nets are ready to break, and they fill both boats so they are about to sink.
What happens is unexpected; it is amazing. Two boat loads of fish! And all because Simon and the others were willing to go where Jesus had told them – out into the deep water.
That’s the gospel lesson today: to venture forth beyond hearing the Word from our safe shallows and to go out into the deep water of Christian discipleship. That’s where there is abundance and growth – out into the deep water. That’s where surprising discoveries about our selves and the world around us can be made as we reach out to our families, friends and neighbors with the gospel message.
That’s the gospel lesson today: to venture forth beyond hearing the Word from our safe shallows and to go out into the deep water of Christian discipleship. That’s where there is abundance and growth – out into the deep water. That’s where surprising discoveries about our selves and the world around us can be made as we reach out to our families, friends and neighbors with the gospel message.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 20th century theologian, has said, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” Discipleship is sharing our experience of God. It is asking, “Has following Christ made any difference in my life?” and if so, wanting to share ‘that difference’ so others might experience ‘a difference’ in their lives as well. Rather than getting people to accept our beliefs, we need only share and live the Word that has transformed our life.
People who witnessed Jesus’ ministry firsthand could "see" and "feel" what he did. They reacted to both his words and his deeds. Maybe that is why today people are turned off by a church lacking consistency between its words and deeds - hearing ‘welcome’ they feel excluded, hearing ‘nonjudgmental’ they feel judged; or hearing ‘open doors’ they feel only a wall. Could that be why “our nets are empty.”
Evangelism is about relationships – old and new – waiting for us somewhere out there in the deep water. It is about our relationship with God and one another and wanting to share that connectedness with others. As a congregation, we must always find creative ways to reach out and embrace those who may be lacking those connections.
Evangelism is about relationships – old and new – waiting for us somewhere out there in the deep water. It is about our relationship with God and one another and wanting to share that connectedness with others. As a congregation, we must always find creative ways to reach out and embrace those who may be lacking those connections.
There are those waiting for us – out into the deep water – people like Folk/Rock singer Bob Dylan who once said,
“Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, Bob, why are you resisting me? I said, I'm not resisting you! He said, You gonna follow me? I said, I've never thought about that before!”
Imagine, all the people in this world who, like Dylan, have never thought about that before, waiting for us – not to hook them and drag them in, but to show them God’s love – and then just waiting for their being caught in the net of God's vision and grace."
We could go out into the deep water in a lot of ways, like: whenever we go on short-term mission trips, whenever we commit ourselves to helping children who seek stability in their lives, whenever we form a men’s spiritual ‘fishing’ community, or whenever we create alternative worship services to reach the unchurched of our community – which require an active and risk-taking spirit – a willingness to “go out into the deep water.”
It is important for the church to venture out, beyond the shallows because discipleship is risky business with great rewards. The abundant life Christ desires for us is never realized by staying where we are. Abraham Heschel said it well when he wrote:
We could go out into the deep water in a lot of ways, like: whenever we go on short-term mission trips, whenever we commit ourselves to helping children who seek stability in their lives, whenever we form a men’s spiritual ‘fishing’ community, or whenever we create alternative worship services to reach the unchurched of our community – which require an active and risk-taking spirit – a willingness to “go out into the deep water.”
It is important for the church to venture out, beyond the shallows because discipleship is risky business with great rewards. The abundant life Christ desires for us is never realized by staying where we are. Abraham Heschel said it well when he wrote:
“Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is replaced with creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the spender of the past, when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority, rather than with the voice of compassion--its message is meaningless. (Abraham Heschel. From God in Search of Man The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1955, p.3)
What has been our message?
Despite the risks involved in going “out into the deep waters,” we are called to it – to new ministry, to new insights, and to new experiences of our own authenticity. If we are going to grow in our understanding of what it means to be the church, we MUST venture out and take a few chances as we allow ourselves to follow Jesus in faith – out into the deep water.
Where we are called to may be unexpected, places we would rather not go, places that may be uncomfortable or dangerous, or places where we could get in over our heads. And our going may change who we are here. There will be uncertainties – all the things that could go wrong or the people who might be upset. Maybe we would be better off just calling it a day and staying here, in the shallow water, hanging our nets up for the day, and brooding about the lousy results of our efforts. There is some risk out there.
And yet we are encouraged by the good news of today’s gospel story – of the abundance that awaits us when we do go out into the deep water, where God calls us to a new ministry that will transform lives, including our own and will lead to the transformation of the world God so loves. This is who we are and who we have been called to be - “fishers of all people.”
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