Luke 5:1–11

¹On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting 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. ⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷They 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. ⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." ⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and 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." ¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Our Gospel reading today is not about a miracle. Yes, it does talk about a miracle, but the miracle is not the point of reading. It is not about some razzle and dazzle thing Jesus did. It is not even about Jesus, the creator, showing his power over the universe. This gospel lesson is about how Peter was changed by a sermon of Jesus. In this case, the miracle was the sermon.

Let's go back a few days in the life of Jesus. It was a Sabbath and so Jesus went to church that morning. Peter and his brother Andrew also went to church along with James and John, their business partners. While they were at church, a man possessed by a demon came in. That demon knew Jesus and confessed him as the Holy one of God. However, the demon did not repent of his sin or have faith in Jesus so Jesus cast him out of the man.

After church, Peter and Andrew took Jesus home with them. John and James also went along. Peter's mother-in-law was on her death-bed and Jesus healed her. Peter witnessed another miracle of Jesus. That night, as word spread around town, people started bringing their sick and demon possessed friends and relatives to Jesus for him to help. He cast out many demons that night, and all of them knew Jesus and shouted out that he was the Son of God. But none of them repented or had faith in Jesus.

The next morning, people were came back, but Jesus told them that he had to go elsewhere because he had been sent to "preach" the gospel of the kingdom of God to other towns as well. Notice the strange use of words. He equated his miracles with preaching. In Jesus' mind, his miracles were sermons!

So by doing this miracle, Jesus was actually preaching a sermon. This miracle is connected to his teaching. Luke makes a special point that Jesus was standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee as people were pressing in on him in order to hear the Word of God. Jesus taught them in the form of a miracle. This miracle took place in a context of fishing; lakes, fish, boats, nets and fishermen are all the components that make up this miracle.

As Jesus was standing along the shore of the sea he saw two empty boats. The owners had been fishing all night but caught nothing. It was an unsuccessful night of work. The discouraged fishermen had left the boats and were on the shore preparing their nets for the next day's work.

Then the sermon begins. Jesus got into one of the boats. It was no accident that he got into the one owned by Peter. He called to Peter and asked him to shove out a little way from the shore. Peter, at Jesus' command, got into the boat and shoved out a short way into the water. Sitting down in the boat, Jesus began teaching the crowds who were standing on the shore. There was nothing remarkable that Jesus sat down. In the Greco-roman world it was customary for the teacher to sit and the students to stand in the classroom. So by sitting, Jesus is assuming the role of a teacher.

But Jesus was in the boat. The boat now became the place of Jesus' presence and where the Word of God was taught. Then Jesus commanded Peter and his fellow fishermen to set out further into the deep and drop their nets into the water. Peter objected, pointing out that they had been fishing all night in the same place and caught nothing. However, Peter had, as we have already seen, heard (or witnessed) a number of miracle-sermons from Jesus in the past 48 hours, so even though he did not have a great deal of faith yet, he knew enough to do what Jesus said. He dropped down the nets. And when they pulled them back up, they were so full of fish that they were about to tear. In fact, the catch was so great that it almost sank the boat. They had to call for help from their comrades to come and put some of the fish into the other boat.

End of sermon! Jesus had finished his teaching. But what is the message?

Obviously something had changed from the night before. They had been fishing all night by themselves and caught nothing. Now, Jesus was in the boat and by his word the net was cast out and the boats were filled to overflowing. Jesus was the difference. The Word of God was the power that caught the fish. The sermon was that by the power of God's word men are brought to faith, saved from eternal death and punishment and brought into the body of Christ which is the church. As Luther correctly teaches, the lake represents the world, the fish are the people, the nets are the gospel that is cast out and proclaimed and brings men to faith, and the boat, when Christ is in it, becomes the church. In fact, it is on account of this miracle that part of the sanctuary is called the "nave" which is Latin for ship.

With the miracle, Jesus also teaches that the gospel message would go out first to the Jews and then to the gentiles in all the world. That is why there are two boats, the first boat was the Jewish church and the second boat is the gentile church which was filled when the first was overflowing.

So much for the sermon. But what effect did it have on the hearers? We are told that by turning our attention to Peter. Peter, like most people, had heard many sermons, but they don't always sink in. Then there is that one sermon when suddenly, by the work of the Holy Spirit, your eyes are opened and everything comes clear. It is as if you finally catch on for the first time. This was the sermon that opened Peter's eyes. For the first time he put it all together and understood who Jesus really was.

This speaks volumes. It demonstrates that faith and understanding the Word of God is only made possible by the Holy Spirit who works in each and every person in his own time and his own way. Faith is not a matter of one's own understanding. Only the Holy Spirit can open your eyes and create faith in you through the Word of God. That is why when Peter and Andrew and James and John had been fishing all night, they caught nothing. But now, by the power of God's word, they cast out their nets and practically sank the boat.

As a result of this sermon, Peter realized for the first time who Jesus was. In fear he fell to his knees and confessed his sin: "Lord, depart from me, a sinner." Seems to be a common reaction to finding oneself in the presence of God. Isaiah in our Old Testament reading had the same reaction and cried out, "Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips." It is indeed dangerous to come face-to-face with a holy and almighty God. Sin cannot exist in the presence of holiness. We sinful mortals are placing ourselves in danger when we dare to come into God's holy presence. And that is exactly what we do when we gather in His house for worship and prayer. It is not something we can take lightly. As we pass through those doors we step onto holy ground and enter into holy space and time, because here is where the Word if God is proclaimed and God is present in word and sacrament. We dare not come into God's presence without awe and fear for the flames of God's righteous anger can consume us at any moment.

Then Jesus forgave his sins. Unlike the demons who had declared Jesus to be the Son of God but did not have faith, Peter had faith, and Jesus granted him forgiveness. "Do not be afraid," Jesus told him. That was the absolution. I will not destroy you but allow you to come into my presence on account of my death and resurrection.

In the same way we enter into worship just as Isaiah and Peter did by confessing our sins and entreating God to forgive us. In the same way Jesus forgives our sins and pronounces the absolution. Only after our sins are absolved can we respond with joyful praises to God by singing the Gloria in Excelsis or the praise hymn, "This is the Feast."

The sermon of Jesus changed Peter. We cannot but be changed by coming into God's presence and receiving him in word and sacrament. The Gospel is the power of God that changes us and gives us life. Peter's life was never the same after that.

Jesus by his word called Peter into the boat to shove off from the shore. Jesus gathered him into the church, the boat where Jesus is present and his word taught. Then Jesus told him to go out into the sea and cast out the nets. Jesus sent him out into the sea of the world to cast out the nets of the gospel to gather in the fish. "From now on you shall be fishers of men." Peter no longer lived just for himself, but now he was sent on a mission from God. His focus turned from inward to outward. From himself to Jesus and the world.

In the same way, Jesus gathers us into the boat in our baptism with water and then sends us out to sea with the nets of the gospel to gather the church.

Our lives are changed as Peter's was changed. That is a wonderful message right there. We, like Peter are changed. Our focus goes from inward on ourselves, to outward to God and the world We become new people with a new mission in life. Our cold, miserable hearts are changed to warm hearts of love. We are sent into the world to cast out the nets of the gospel in word and sacrament and to gather the fish into the boat. The kingdom of God comes through our proclamation of the word. The kingdom of God comes through the sacraments. We are the dispensers of Word and Sacrament into the deep, dark, murky waters of a lost and dying world. Jesus sends you and from now on you shall catch men.

Amen.