Fourth Sunday before Lent
“‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
Summary
“The start of Jesus’ ministry in John’s gospel begins with an excess of wine and in Luke 5:1-11, with an excess of fish. The characters in both stories begin with a fear of scarcity and move to a place of abundance. What causes them to move, to act on Jesus’ words, when all he has done is talk?: “we have worked all night and caught nothing,” says Simon, “yet if you say so we will let down our nets.”
The power of words is also explored in Isaiah 6:1-8. At the start of his ministry Isaiah is afraid because “I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips.” He does believe that he has the words to convey the promises of God and yet he is willing to try “here I am, send me.”
In today’s world we know the power of words, we have seen social media posts lead to violence and government announcements lead to market faltering. Each week we gather and declare our belief in the power of God, in the abundance of grace, in the excessive nature of God’s creative mercy but do we live as if we truly believed them? And, if we did, would it make a difference to ourselves and the world around us? Isaiah believed that God had given him “the tongue of a prophet, that I may sustain the weary with a word.” Words matter, let’s make ours count.
First Reading
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
GOSPEL
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, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 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. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, 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.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
