Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 5 verses 1 through
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
This is a tough time to be one of Jesus' fishermen. Churches are closing left and right. The so-called "Nones" (meaning those who claim to have no religious affiliation) have doubled in number over the last eight years. And when was the last time a millennial walked into Wednesday night supper?The fish just don't want to bite.
Those who haven't already hung up the tackle and sold the boat have resorted to trolling around the lake's bank, playing it safe, making sure not to rock the boat. The message and music are safe and so too we think are the ministers. We first became fishermen because of the adventure of it all, the lure (pun intended) of being a part of something worth doing. But the times have convinced us it's better to cut bait, wash the nets, and maybe do something a little less risky with this year's budget, something like spend the endowment on new drapes for the fellowship hall. That'd be a safe and necessary thing to do.
And then, Jesus stands again on the seashore and calls for us to get back out there -- to push out into the deep water. To get him back into the boat and let him teach us something, like how to unmoor, push out, cast away, leave home, risk.
A clergy friend ends each service with this benediction:
May the LORD grant you the grace not to sell yourself short -- the grace to risk something bold for something good. Grace to remember that this world is too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but love.
And suddenly, the fish start biting again.
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