“Because You Say So”
Have you heard about the man who was stopped by a game-warden in a State Park with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?” The man replied, “No, sir. These are my pet fish.” “Pet fish?” the warden replied. “Yes sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take ‘em home.” “That’s a bunch of nonsense! Fish can’t do that!”
The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, “Here, I’ll show you. It really works.” “OK. I’ve got to see this!” The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish into the water and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, “Well?” “Well, what?” the man responded. “When are you going to call them back?” the game warden prompted. “Call who back?” the man asked. “The Fish!” “What fish?” the man asked.
Luke 5:1-11
In our Gospel lesson for this morning, on an ordinary day, Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret and was being pressed by a crowd of people. Luke is the only Evangelist who describes the “Sea of Galilee” as the “Lake of Gennesaret,” located in the land of Gennesaret on the Northwestern shore between Capernaum and Magdala.
It would be ordinary because we don’t know what day of the week it is, we do know by the story that it’s in the morning but what day of the week it is we have no idea, it’s not recorded for us. Jesus spots two empty boats on the shore, their owners were nearby washing their nets; and He gets into the one belonging to a man named Simon and asks him to put out a little way from the shore so the crowd could see and hear Him teach.
Fisherman on the Sea of Galilee used nets, often bell-shaped ones with weights around the edges. A net would be thrown flat on the water, and the lead weights would cause it to sink around the fish. Then the fishermen would pull on a cord, drawing the net around the fish. Nets had to be kept in good condition, so they would be washed to remove weeds and then mended.
In these times the best fishing was at night when the water temperatures were cooler, and the fish came closer to the top. And we need to remember that these fishing boats wouldn’t be the same as those we see off the coast now or the “Jenny” that Forest Gump sailed.
When Jesus asks Peter to push out a ways for a fish—Simon complains that they had fished all night and had nothing to show for it. They were probably very tired and a little embarrassed.
For you fishermen in the house you know how you hate to go fishing and bring nothing home to show off. I heard about a man who had spent a fruitless day of fishing. In desperation he picked out three fat fish at the local market. “Before you wrap them,” he said to the clerk, “toss them to me, one by one. That way I’ll be able to tell my wife I caught them, and I’ll be speaking the truth.” Fisherman must all be alike.
There are some who believe that this was actually the second call for these disciples. After their first call, Peter, Andrew, James and John had gone back to fishing. From this point on, they left their nets and remained with Him. For us, following Jesus means more than just acknowledging Him as Savior. We must also leave our pasts behind and commit our futures to Him.
There are suggestions in this story which go beyond the physical facts. Jesus instructs Simon and his partners to push back out to the deep waters and even though Simon disagreed, Jesus’ words seemed to give them the lift to try again. His words can do that for us even in our most discouraging situations—go a little further—dig a little deeper—try a little harder—have much more faith!
Can’t never could do anything! That’s what my mom used to say to me. And if I asked why I had to do something she would come back with, “Because I said so.” And if I inquired further, I heard those immortal words, “Because I’m the parent. When you become the parent, you can make up the rules.” Anybody ever hear words like these? Anyone ever used words like these with your children?
So, Peter did as he was told, “Because You Say So” and the result was a catch so large they couldn’t contain it in one boat; they had to call to their friends for help. Whether it was meant so or not, this has become a symbol of what would happen to their souls. When Jesus would later call them to “follow Him,” they were putting out into deep waters. They were called to go places and do things they had never done before.
Simon Peter was awestruck at this miracle, and his first response was to realize his own insignificance in comparison to this man’s greatness. Peter knew that Jesus had healed the sick and driven out demons, but he was amazed that Jesus also cared about his day-to-day routine and understood his needs. God is interested both in saving us and in helping us in our daily activities, it’s His nature.
Like those disciples, we too are called to follow Jesus, to put out into the deep waters of our life. And just like those disciples then, when we follow the Master, we are changed. Simon, Andrew, James and John were all changed; even Simon’s name was changed to Peter; and we know that all three had important roles in the birth of the early church. All three went from being ordinary men with ordinary jobs to doing extraordinary things in the name of Jesus Christ. When we say yes to Jesus, we too go from ordinary to extraordinary.
Jesus said come and these ordinary fishermen went. That my friend’s is the heart of discipleship. To become a disciple doesn’t depend on knowledge or learning; diplomas on the wall or training seminars; it depends upon the impulse of the spirit that wants to follow Jesus; and when that impulse is answered, all the rest will fall into place. Jesus doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies those whom He calls.
Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and other books wrote that “Small ministries often make the greatest difference.” He said “The most important light in my home is not the large chandelier in our dining room, but the little nightlight that keeps me from stubbing my toe when I get up to use the bathroom at night. It’s small, but it’s more useful to me than the show-off light. (His wife says his favorite light is the one that comes on when he opens the refrigerator!)”
Jesus called these ordinary men to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men and according to our text upon their arrival on the shore they left everything and did just that. We are called to do the same! We may ask: what kind of bait do we use to catch them and what do we do with them when we do? In the words of John Wesley, “We offer them Jesus.” We use salvation, and love, and sacrifice; we use Jesus as our bait!
Life does not stand still. There isn’t a once-for-all experience. It was Winston Churchill who said, “Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts.”
There are going to be bad days. Sometimes we are going to fall on our respective faces. These failures don’t have to be endings. They can be avenues to experience God’s grace more widely and more deeply.
Andrew Young is known to many of us for his civil rights leadership and for his service as ambassador to the United Nations, as a member of Congress, as mayor of Atlanta, and as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Several years ago, he wrote his spiritual memoirs, entitling them A Way Out of No Way, based on the tile of an old African American spiritual. He captures something of the experience of those first disciples of Jesus, when he wrote in his memoirs:
“I have found that when God calls anyone to a task, there is usually a larger plan of which any one person is only a small but significant part. The way is already prepared. There are problems and challenges to be faced, but these are often there to help us grow stronger…I have come to understand that all of these obstacles are but a part of the divine process. Just as weightlifters get stronger by increasing the weight and strain on their muscles through practice and repetition, so spiritual strengthening comes as we learn to follow the plan of God and spiritually discern the hand of God guiding our lives.”
When the Lord calls any of us to a task, there is usually a moment in which everything seems to work itself out.
Jesus of Nazareth got into a boat with men who felt defeated. He sat down and taught for a while. When he had ceased teaching he told Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Maybe where you are fishing isn’t deep enough. Maybe your life is fenced in by low expectations. The worst sin is to aim too low!
Have you caught any fish, have you ever tried?
Have you told anyone why Jesus died?
Have you cast your net out on the sea,
Or is it lying crumpled there at your feet?
Do you cling to the shore, afraid to sail?
Do you refuse to go, afraid you’ll fail?
There’s only one way to be a fisher of men—
Take up your net and go follow Him.
Eastman First Methodist Church 