Deep waters, deeper grace
Text: Luke 5:1–11
Introduction
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The local swimming pool has a shallow end and a deep end. Some of us like to jump straight into the deep end. Some of us prefer to stay in the shallows. Some of prefer not to go in at all, but would rather sit to the side and watch. It’s the same in life—we can live a life of familiarity and comfort, or we can life a live of adventure and some risk. Your preference depends on things like your personality and your stage of life, of course.
In Luke 5, Jesus calls Simon Peter from the familiar world of fishing into a life of discipleship. Simon has been having some trouble in the shallow end, but Jesus invites him to try even deeper water. Jesus doesn’t just call people Simon to believe in Him—He calls Him to follow. He calls Simon despite his empty nets and weary heart. Following Jesus means leaving behind the familiar and safe, and into the unknown. These are our foci today: a deeper call, empty nets and weary hearts, and leaving it all behind.
A Deeper Call
When [Jesus] had finished speaking [to the crowd], he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’
Luke 5:4 (NIVUK)
To have confidence in anything, there needs to be some certainty that things are as they seem and will stay that way.
You might’ve heard a bit about the Chinese AI platform that came out recently, and what that did to American tech stocks. Even if all this is a foreign world to you, it’s still clear to see what uncertainty can do to people.
The whole AI thing has been driven by American companies. They have thought that if we throw more and more power behind it, AI will get better and better. As a result, a company called Nvidia has quickly become the largest company in the world because they make all the computer chips that run AI software. Make sense so far?
The interesting thing about this Chinese AI platform is that it runs on old computer chips and much less power. It’s cheaper and more efficient.
Meanwhile, everyone in America panicked because they thought that no-one would need their computer chips anymore. This new Chinese AI has shown that bigger doesn’t always mean better.
As a result, Nvidia (the computer chip company) experienced the biggest single-day loss in U.S. history, amounting to nearly $600 billion (about 20% of their value). This was all because of the fear that U.S. technology might be doomed, and Chinese AI might take over. Since then, everyone’s realised it’s not as bad as they thought, and the world will go on.
This is just one example of how people fall into panic because of uncertainty. We can sometimes completely overreact because we assume the worst, forgetting that the sun will still come up tomorrow and life will go on.
It sounds easy for us who aren’t impacted in any way by all this AI stuff, but when live exports are banned or a 25% tariff is slapped on all Australian imports to America (for example), it won’t be so novel. Yet, the sun will still come up tomorrow and life will go on.
This kind of calm, even if you’re the CEO of Nvidia or a farmer whose entire crop has gone up in smoke, is only possible when we trust that things will be OK. That kind of trust can’t be aimless—it needs to be placed in something or someone.
In a world that is desperately uncertain, Jesus calls us into deep trust in Him. The logical thing is to resist this trust—why would Simon bother to let the nets down again when failure seems certain? Because he trusts Jesus’ word. “At your word, Jesus, I’ll let down the nets.”
Simon is just one of many like this in Scripture. Paul, once a Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, was called into something greater than he imagined.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
1 Corinthians 15:9–10a (NIVUK)
No one is inadequate in God’s eyes because He makes us adequate by His grace. Simon, a failed fisherman and a sinful man by his own admission, and Paul, an enemy of the Church, become two of the most influential Christian leaders of all time. I wonder what God might do with you and me.
St. Augustine famously said that “God provides the wind, but man must raise the sail.” God’s call is always there, but responding requires faith. Thankfully, faith is not something we conjure up, but it is instead a gift of the Spirit which we receive through the Word and the sacraments. In fact, it’s precisely when we have nothing to offer to God that He calls us to follow Him.
Empty Nets, Weary Hearts
Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’
Luke 5:5 (NIVUK)
We all know what it’s like to experience a lean season. There are times when we put our absolute best into something, only to come out with nothing or maybe even worse off than before. Whether you’re a farmer, a business owner, a school student, or even a retiree, you have more than likely gone through a lean season of some kind. Sometimes, a lean season can have a significant impact on your livelihood, particularly if the result is a financial loss of some kind. It can affect not just you, but your family as well.
Simon and his crew have returned from a hard night’s fishing with nothing at all to show for it. That would be fine for you and I who fish for fun off a jetty somewhere during the summer holidays, but for Simon, fishing is his life, his vocation, his income. It wouldn’t just be disheartening and embarrassing to come back with nothing as a professional fisherman—it probably also meant stress on him and his family. You can imagine the kind of mood he and his crew would have been in.
Jesus interrupted Simon’s day at precisely the wrong time. He’s at his worst—he’s exhausted, frustrated, disheartened, and probably stressed. Putting down the nets one more time only risks more failure and embarrassment, especially now that there’s a crowd watching. Jesus has a habit of sending people straight into volatile and risky situations. In Luke 10, when Jesus sends out seventy disciples to new villages and towns to share the gospel message, Jesus tells them that He sends them out “like lambs among wolves.” Even better, he tells them to bring nothing with them—no wallet, no bag, no change of clothes, no script. They have no practical help, and they have to basically wing whatever situation they end up in. In what seems to us like the worst possible way to do evangelism, there is no option but to trust that God will provide what they need. To us, that seems utterly ridiculous, maybe even stupid. Yet, this is how God sends people. The whole point is that He’s in control, which means we’re not.
Lean seasons make us recognise our own limitations. When we give everything and come back with nothing, we realise that we are severely limited in our ability to produce the goods we wanted to. We realise our weakness. We realise that we are not really in control.
I believe this is where the Christian Church around the world finds itself at the moment. We experienced surges in membership in the 40’s and 50’s. In those days, the church was at the centre of our society, often becoming people’s social life as well as the place for spiritual growth. Slowly but surely, the church has slid off to the side and been replaced by popular culture. Now, in the 21st century, the church is generally disconnected from the world around us. Statistically, most people don’t feel they need it or that the church is relevant anymore. They might be curious about the Christian faith, but not church. As a result, congregations have shrunk, some so much that they’ve had to close their doors.
The Christian Church around the world is in a moment of weakness. Our nets are empty—we aren’t hauling in as many people as we used to. We’re also tired after trying program after program and new service after new service. There comes a point where, like Simon, we just have to sit on the shore and cry for a bit before God finds us there and invites us to try something new. I think that’s a pretty accurate picture of where we are right now.
It’s at this moment that Jesus calls Simon. Despite his empty nets and weary heart, Jesus calls Simon to follow Him. But first, He’s got a little demonstration lined up.
Leaving It All Behind
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:6–11 (NIVUK)
Jesus’ call to follow Him requires complete surrender to Him and His will. It sounds simple, and you’ve heard it all before, but it is the single most difficult leap to take. It’s difficult because it means losing control ourselves and handing it to Him.
We maintain control by staying in the boat or on the shore, cleaning out our empty nets. There, we know how to do things and can generally predict the outcome of our work (except for the odd lean season).
We all know the basics of why the Christian Church exists: to gather, grow, and go in Christ. Congregations all word that purpose differently and might give different titles to different things.
However, just about all mainline churches function in an identical, and extremely predictable way:
We gather on Sunday mornings at a regular time, followed by tea and coffee in a separate but nearby space
One small group of people meet monthly on an agreed weeknight at 7:30pm to make sure everything is in order: money, property, maintenance, compliance, and managing volunteers. We call this the Church Council.
A separate group of people meet monthly on an agreed weeknight at 7:30pm to discuss what happens at the Sunday morning gathering, who will be involved, and who is unable to get to the Sunday morning gathering and will instead need us to come to them. You can call this group whatever you like.
If a specific project is undertaken, we form a separate group of people to organise it. We call these committees. These also tend to meet monthly on an agreed weeknight at 7:30pm.
There are other groups that meet in people’s houses or at cafés called small groups. These groups are for church people to connect socially, and sometimes to discuss a certain Bible text, often with the help of a selected resource. These can occur monthly on an agreed weeknight at 7:30pm, but it can vary.
Once or twice a year, all the church people meet in the same space as the Sunday morning gathering to discuss how the money has been managed by the Church Council. They also elect the members and leaders of some of the groups. There might also be some discussion around other projects or events, and whether a new committee might need to be formed to oversee them. These committees are rarely formed at the meeting, but tend to be left until everyone has forgotten about the new committee.
All information about the above is provided in a weekly publication called “the bulletin.”
I’m pretty sure I’ve just described your lifelong experience of how the Christian Church operates. You can travel across town, interstate, or even internationally, and probably find pretty much the same thing.
We know that the church is the people, not the building. We say this all the time. So, why does everything revolve around this building, the people that gather in this building, and how to organise what happens in this building? Because it has been deeply engrained in you and me, not just over our lifetime, but over centuries.
So, can an organised group of Christians like us, with all our buildings, committees, and resources, become a community of disciples who are being led by the Spirit? Are all these things just our empty net and our boat that Jesus is calling us to leave behind to follow Him? It’s possible, but I don’t believe God wants us to simply throw it all away. After all, it says in Hebrews 10 that we shouldn’t give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. We need to gather in some way to build one another up as we wait for Jesus’ return.
Believe it or not, but I do believe that an established church community like ours can absolutely change. You might all think I’m young and naïve when I say that. Who are we to limit what God can do? He’ll change us the same way he made Simon into Peter, the rock on which He would build the church. All Simon did was trust Jesus’ word.
As a congregation, we need to do less talking and more listening. As the whole Christian Church on earth, we need to do less talking and more listening. As we listen, we’ll be led to deeper trust in Jesus.
One small way we’re practicing listening already at St Martin’s is a practice called Dwelling in the Word which takes the place of an opening devotion at a meeting. Instead of studying and dissecting a Bible text (which has its place), we instead allow the Word to study and dissect us. We do this by listening intently, both to the Word and to each other. It’s less about what we think the Word says, and more about what the Word is saying about us.
It seems small, but Dwelling in the Word is a way of practicing surrender to God and the Spirit’s guidance. We park our own agenda and our own thoughts and instead allow ourselves and our conversation to be led by Him. It’s a way of letting go of control and allowing God to steer us. God is not done with organised churches like ours, but I do believe the future looks very different from the past. It risks losing some things we’ve held dear for many years, but this is what Jesus does:
He calls us to put down our nets, leave our boats, and follow Him.
Conclusion
The Spirit continually calls us into deep waters, just as Jesus did with Simon. He calls people who know their limitations and admit their flaws. He calls people when all seems lost and we have nothing to show for our hard work but empty nets. May we listen to Him and be obedient to His call to follow, even when it seems risky or costly. Let’s pray for His help as we do so.
Lord, when we are weary, strengthen us; when we hesitate, call us deeper; when we hold back, lead us forward. May we, like Simon, leave all to follow You. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
