Rescuing God’s People Alive Preached on 2-10-19 at Wollaston Congregational Church We had said that Epiphany is the season of revelation. God is revealed to all people in the person of Jesus, come into the world. There is another theme, too. It is that of discipleship. This is fitting, because disciples are called to play a part the revelation of God to the world. And so in our gospel reading today, we heard Jesus call Simon the fisherman: the first disciple in the gospel of Luke. Simon thinks he is too sinful to be around Jesus, but Jesus calls Simon to “fish for people” or rather, to “rescue people alive.” Imagine the scene. It is early on a bright warm morning on the shore of the expansive lake Gennesaret. Jesus is in his favorite setting for teaching: outdoors among the people. Here he can reach people who are about their daily lives. These are not the religious people, they do not often get to synagogue. Perhaps their boss does not give them time off on the Sabbath, or perhaps the journey is too far at the end of an exhausting day of work. Whatever the reason Jesus goes and meets the people where they are: in the village, on the shore of the lake. The crowds gather and press in, hungry for the word of God that Jesus is preaching and so he sees the need for a stage of some sort. He needs a little distance so the crowd can see him and hear what he has to say. Simon and his friends are sitting a little way down the beach, listening to what is going on with half an ear. They have pulled their boats onto the shore. They are cleaning and mending their nets. They’re exhausted and out of sorts. They have come in from a night of fishing with nothing to show for it, other than the accumulated silt and sand in their nets. Simon is surprised to see Jesus coming to get into his boat. Jesus then asks Simon to push him out a little from the shore. Jesus sits in the boat, the posture of the Rabbi, continuing his teaching. When he is done, he surprises Simon even more, telling him to take out the boat again into the deep water and let down the nets. Simon protests. They have just spent a fruitless night – the best time for fishing – out on the water. Even so, the experienced fisherman obediently takes senseless advice from Jesus, a rabbi and a carpenter. They go out, much deeper into the lake. And, lo and behold, extra assistance is needed to bring in the huge quantity of fish that is caught in their nets. The weight of the catch almost sinks two boats! Simon knows at this moment that he is in the holy presence of God, and falls down in front of Jesus crying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Simon’s response is the human recognition of the disconnect between his earthliness and Jesus’ holiness. But Jesus’ simply says, “do not be afraid.” And then “from now on you will be catching people” … or more accurately “you will be rescuing people alive.” And so, the great catch of fish, the haul of a lifetime is left behind in the boats. Perhaps the fishermen who remain clean and sell the catch. Perhaps the crowd takes what they can and feasts happily that night. Simon, James and John do not look back. The fishermen go from a night’s fishing with no results, to being recruited to bring in Jesus’ haul. The sea they now fish contains great masses of people waiting eagerly and hungrily to hear God’s good news. And to the best of our knowledge they succeed. We are here today because they heard and acted on Jesus’ call to them. Over centuries and millennia, disciples have traveled the world, sharing the good news of Jesus. Their nets has been spread wide, and many, many people have responded. They have been rescued alive. The disciples have cast their nets wide by sharing stories of lives transformed by placing Jesus at the center. They have cast their nets wide by creating hospitals and schools, soup kitchens and hostels for the poor. They have cast the nets of initiating labor reforms, and by calling for education and healthcare for all God’s children. They have cast nets by creating places of sanctuary and safety, for people who live on the edge of life. Over the centuries millions of people have been rescued alive. We often talk about the ways in which Christians have failed to live up to Jesus’ example. But today we’re talking about how disciples have done what they were called to do: cast a wide net and rescue God’s people alive. Here in Quincy, there are some wonderful examples of obedient disciples. In 1947, following the laying off of thousands of employees by the Quincy shipyard, the local faith communities founded Protestant Community Services, now known as Interfaith Social Services. The participating congregations provided emergency assistance and hope for many Quincy families. And today, the organization feeds families through their food pantry, provides housing assistance, counseling, and clothing in their thrift shop. Since its beginning ISS has rescued 1000’s of people alive. [1] Another example of a Quincy disciple is Esther R. Sanger. Sanger was born in 1926 and was raised in foster care. She studied literature at Eastern Nazarene College and at the time she felt called to missionary service. However, she went on to become a nurse and columnist, she married and raised three children. This sounds like a sufficiently productive life, and yet in her 50’s Sanger became seriously ill and almost died. She said that this experience convinced her to "to hang onto the real and let go of the phony." Sanger heard Jesus’ call to go deeper. She returned to Eastern Nazarene, earning a BA in social work and an MA in family counseling. Sanger began casting her nets by posting handwritten flyers on telephone poles and in subways and laundromats, which read, "Do you have problems? I'll be glad to help.” She included the phone number for her hotline. She was determined to reach the people thought as “throw away” by society: the homeless, hungry, alcoholics, drug users, AIDS victims, battered women, elderly poor, and single mothers. Beginning in 1979, Sanger started ministering to the homeless, serving food from a van and counseling those who called her 24-hour hotline. She formally established the Quincy Crisis Center in 1981 to help individuals and families who were not reached by the existing agencies. [2] Quincy Crisis Center, ISS, and others supported by the Quincy faith community, are still going strong! Over the years, we, Wollaston Congregational Church, played our part in all of them and we still do. And still, I wonder. What is Jesus calling to us today? Are we sitting here on the shore, trying not to make eye contact with the passionate preacher a little way off? We may be feeling dejected and exhausted. We may feel like we have worked all night, with nothing to show for it. Our nets are all silted up. Did you think that your many years of work and saving would guarantee a comfortable retirement, and now it is difficult to make ends meet? Did you think that college loans and years of studying would lead to a lucrative day job with time for family and friends, and now find yourself exhausted from long days, commutes and the unreasonable expectations of your employer? Did you think that your loved one had been rescued and was safe, only to see them slip back into addiction? Did we think that the time and money we invested in church revitalization in years past would fill the sanctuary to overflowing for years to come … That the promise of “success” would give us time off, as we aged, to simply sit and enjoy? Are we sitting on the shore, washing our silty nets, trying not to make eye contact with Jesus, because we know he’ll try calling us, yet again, to be disciples. We are looking for the abundant catch – to rescue people alive – Jesus is directing us to find. It’s hard to miss them really, they are everywhere. They’re the lonely elderly who’d love a visit a cup of coffee and a chat … they’re the shivering young men inadequately dressed looking to get high down at the station … they’re the young women who’ve burned their bridges and need a shoulder to cry on … they’re the ones who were labeled “sinners” by churches because of who they are, how they’re oriented to love, how they understand their gender. They’ll be the ones - volunteers and survivors - who will be participating the Sewing Studio with All Hands In learning the craft and creating together. Even if they are a few in number they’ll make abundant, lasting friendships. And so, out of the corner of our eye, we see him again. He’s calling to us … “Hey you … let’s go out and try again. This time push out into the DEEP WATER, yes that’s right … go deeper. What’s that you say? You’re too old, too young, you’re not up to it? Or maybe it just didn’t work out the last time you tried? Don’t be afraid … don’t be afraid of my holiness, my weirdness, my neediness, my vulnerability. Don’t be afraid of my directness, my passion and sometimes my anger. Don’t be afraid because I look different from the people you’ve had success with before. Don’t be afraid because the last time you tried with someone who looked like me it didn’t work out. Don’t be afraid … because I am with you. And together we can go deep, really deep. And you know out there in the deep there are many, many fish. Just waiting to be rescued alive. I know, you’re tired, you’re young, you’re old, you’re busy. Remember that great catch that Simon Peter and his friends brought in? It’s waiting for you … come on, let’s go!” [1] https://interfaithsocialservices.org/history-of-interfaith-social-services/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_R._Sanger
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