O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading of the Day, Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed 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. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
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“Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Simon Peter’s plea to Jesus echoes the feelings of many of us once we get it through our heads that we are totally unworthy of the bountiful grace bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ. “All I did was let him use my boat!” “All I did was visit my friend in the hospital!” “All I did was pick this guy up and take him to a filling station.” “All I did was ask God to save the people in the wreck I passed.” “All I did was…”
Sometimes we are so aware of our limitations that we fail to see what we do that is good. More to the point, we equate the rewards we receive with the effort or sacrifice expended, as Simon the good Jew did, and it takes a real adjustment to fully accept God’s grace as an actual fact in our lives. Let us be grateful for the fact that our salvation is assured and that God accepts us as we are. In the movie "Oh God!" when the man God has chosen to speak for him is taking a shower and suddenly God is there, God says to the startled man as he reaches for a towel to cover himself, “That’s okay, son, I know what you’ve got.” Throughout the Bible, in the stories of how God constantly chose messengers with great limitations and even sins, God “knew what they had” and chose them just for that reason. God is the one who does the work.
The Nike slogan, “Just do it!” is also God’s admonition: “Just do it! I know what you’ve got.” “I will be your mouth if you will be my hands and feet.”
Simon Peter’s plea to Jesus echoes the feelings of many of us once we get it through our heads that we are totally unworthy of the bountiful grace bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ. “All I did was let him use my boat!” “All I did was visit my friend in the hospital!” “All I did was pick this guy up and take him to a filling station.” “All I did was ask God to save the people in the wreck I passed.” “All I did was…”
Sometimes we are so aware of our limitations that we fail to see what we do that is good. More to the point, we equate the rewards we receive with the effort or sacrifice expended, as Simon the good Jew did, and it takes a real adjustment to fully accept God’s grace as an actual fact in our lives. Let us be grateful for the fact that our salvation is assured and that God accepts us as we are. In the movie "Oh God!" when the man God has chosen to speak for him is taking a shower and suddenly God is there, God says to the startled man as he reaches for a towel to cover himself, “That’s okay, son, I know what you’ve got.” Throughout the Bible, in the stories of how God constantly chose messengers with great limitations and even sins, God “knew what they had” and chose them just for that reason. God is the one who does the work.
The Nike slogan, “Just do it!” is also God’s admonition: “Just do it! I know what you’ve got.” “I will be your mouth if you will be my hands and feet.”
Deacon Doug Freebern
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