Epiphany 5C
Luke 5:1-11
Sunday, February 6, 2022
The Power of Knowing What You Do Not Know. This is the subtitle of the book by Adam Grant, Think Again. We will discuss Think Again at 11:00 AM today. Perhaps it is a fluke, dumb luck, a strange coincidence, or, perhaps, it is divine intervention that we reflect on Grant’s text this day. For today we hear about Jesus teaching the people from a boat, instructing Peter to cast his fishing nets one more time (all evidence to the contrary that this is advisable), and the amazing catch of fish as well as the call of Peter and his friends that ensues. Ironically, The Power of Knowing What You Do Not Know may be a key aspect to understanding this text.
Of course, the initial and familiar read on today’s gospel is that it is another miracle story that we get during the season of Epiphany. A sign of Jesus’ power and connection to God. The call narratives of Isaiah and Peter also receive attention. And, ultimately, Peter’s response to the overwhelming catch of fish seems sensible enough. Rather than revel in the amazing haul of fish, Peter recognizes that Jesus is a different kind of person altogether. If he can transform a fishless night into two boatloads of catch, there’s no telling what else he might conjure up--and I literally mean conjure up.
Thus, Peter’s response, “Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man,” contains more about Peter’s fear and desire for self-preservation than it possesses any desire to shield Jesus from a sinner. And akin to Grant’s insight, knowing that you are confronted by something that you have no idea about is, perhaps, the beginning of wisdom. It’s not exactly the Confident Humility of which Grant writes. However, it does express the recognition that one does not know!
Nevertheless, as Grant notes, the opposite is often the case. Pride breeds conviction and certainty. People opine on things that they have no idea about. He calls it the ignorance of arrogance. He cites a study where people rate their knowledge against others and then take a quiz to test their knowledge. Some of the questions include:
● Why English became the official language of the United States
● Why women were burned at the stake in Salem
● What job Walt Disney had before he drew Mickey Mouse
● On which spaceflight humans first laid eyes on the Great Wall of China
For those who haven’t read Think Again, how well do you think you rate? Where do you believe you fall on the spectrum? Just to help, here are the answers:
● America has no official language
● Suspected witches were not burned in Salem, they were hanged
● Walt Disney did not draw Mickey Mouse (Ub Iwerks did)
● And you can’t see the Great Wall of China from space
Likewise, the text for today raises issues that we may not even be aware of, but elements that ultimately impact how we hear and read the story.
For instance, the nets that Peter and his friends used were a specific type that impacts the story. As Robert Capon notes, “We have to avoid the temptation [of reading this story and] to act like a sport fisherman who is interested in speckled trout and hand-tied flies.” This is no story about a lone ranger type picking off her targets. Rather, what we know is that the nets used by Peter would gather in everything because they dredge the seafloor. As one commentator notes, “They capture wood and plants as well as fish. They capture inedible fish as well as edible fish.” Thus, “The community of peace that Jesus inaugurated in this world has the same characteristic of indiscriminateness.” Or as Capon concludes, “Disciples are called to be the worst kind of fishers. The only thing we are to discard is the temptation to reject the mess of creation and humanity. The Church will be transfigured to the extent that it is one and the same with the mess it intends to drag in.” Indiscriminateness as a key to the story.
Furthermore, the call of both Isaiah and Peter are of particular interest and note. After the fact, they become heroic figures. Isaiah becomes one of the great prophets. Peter is the rock on which the church is built. However, both are among the most unlikely candidates to be the mouthpiece for God and the disciple on whom Jesus begins his movement. Isaiah is a boy. And, as he says, “I am a man of unclean lips.” How is it that such a one should be made a prophet? Peter, by comparison, may have been a more unlikely candidate. Fishermen in the first century were not the sporting type of fly fishermen that Capon describes. Rather, they were uneducated, manual laborers, ordinary people who led a subsistent existence. Perhaps not the ideal candidates to give a fledgling movement wings.
Yet, these are the individuals whom God chooses. And the implications are many and profound for us. If, as Capon notes, we will be transfigured to the extent that we are one and the same with the mess we intend to drag in, then any and all are ripe for discipleship. No one is excused. Nor is anyone overlooked. All are necessary and vital to the sharing of God’s love. All possess a call or numerous calls during a lifetime. It is what we call in baptism the priesthood of all believers. No hierarchy of importance. Rather the church, at its best, recognizes the horizontal nature of life together. We all possess gifts to be used as they are needed, and we all can contribute in our own way. We are part and parcel of the mess that we drag in. Which, if you think about it, is the ongoing inbreaking of the presence of God in our midst.
Finally, Jesus’ words to Peter are critical for how we understand this text and our life in God. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." As Mary Hinkle notes, “The reason for the call is not to say to Peter, 'Buck up, little buddy, you're not so bad,' but rather, 'Stop being afraid now. We have work to do.'" And that is a key to understanding our lives and life together. We step out into an uncertain world, and we do not know what each day will bring. What we are promised is that there is one who journeys with us. Don’t be frozen by fear. See the work that we have to do together: healing those who are hurting, seeking peace with justice in a world rent by violence and injustice, reconciling those who are separated, sharing love with those who are outcast or on the periphery, providing food and shelter for those in need, offering hope to those who despair, and so much more. It happens not because God thinks in the way that sensible people do. Rather, it happens because God rethinks how our relationships and communities should be. The power of knowing what we do not know. Not bastions of right or wrong. Rather oases of acceptance, nurture and understanding that allow us to learn and grow while equipping us to strike out and follow the command of Jesus: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.