IT’S ABOUT GOD’S GRACE

Several years ago, I spent a weekend with friends in Cedros, a remote fishing village on the southwestern peninsula of Trinidad. Because I wanted to have a deeper understanding of Jesus’ life, I decided to go fishing. So, at midnight on Friday night, I
joined four fishermen on their small fishing boat. When we were about seven or eight miles from the shore, the men let down the anchor, put out the fishing nets, and braced themselves for a long night of waiting.

In the distance, an array of colorful lights framed the coastline of Venezuela, our closest South American neighbor. Behind us, a few dim lights hid behind the curtains of the wise ones – those who chose to spend the night in their warm, securely anchored beds. Above us, a multitude of stars snuggled into their heavenly blanket. But even the flirtatious twinkling of the stars didn’t distract me from a haunting awareness – the awareness that 1) only six inches of wood and metal separated me from the enormous, eerie depths of the ocean below, and 2) in less than a second, the ocean below could become the ocean above.

Well, the ocean did not devour us that night. . . but neither did it offer us many fish. Exhausted from a tedious night of waiting and watching and watching and waiting, disappointed with the meager result, and sick from being pushed around by restless waves for six interminable hours (that was me), we all were relieved to reach the shore. We gathered our paltry catch, peeled clingy seaweed off the nets and headed home for a hot breakfast and a long nap.

Quite likely the last thing any of us would’ve wanted to do was to head back out into the ocean. So, we can imagine what it’s like for Simon when, as he is cleaning his nets, Jesus, with a crowd pressing in on him, sees the boats, decides to get into Simon’s boat, and interrupts him with a request.

How does it feel when we are tired, hungry and frustrated, and someone interrupts us with a request?

On top of that, imagine how Simon might feel when:
Instead of noticing his empty nets, Jesus asks to use his empty boat.
Instead of meeting his needs, Jesus wants his help with meeting the needs of others.
Instead of making the fish come to him, Jesus tells Simon to go to them.

Didn’t he just come back from doing that?
What did Jesus think he was doing all night?
It’s a classic case of the carpenter telling the fisherman how to fish.
How does it feel when we are experienced at something and someone who doesn’t know much, if anything, about our field, takes it upon himself to tell us what to do? So many of us might understand it if Simon’s starting to feel frustrated with Jesus.

Yet, after telling Jesus about his night of lost labor, Simon decides to do as Jesus says. What is it about Jesus that leads Simon to try again, to go out into deep water, to do the work of putting down the nets again, to hope for a success so soon after experiencing failure?
Is it something Jesus says while teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat?
Is it something he learned about Jesus even before today?

Perhaps it was when Jesus healed his mother-in-law, or when Jesus spoke so powerfully in the synagogue, or when Jesus cast out demons.

Simon clearly has some history with Jesus. And, even though it didn’t seem like it at first, Jesus had noticed their empty nets! But this is the Jesus whose mission is defined neither by the fishermen’s needs nor by the needs of the crowd, but first and foremost by the will of God. This is the Jesus, who, not long ago, had gone to a deserted place, and, when a crowd had come looking for him, hoping to prevent him from leaving them, gave them a clear response: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Lk. 4: 43-44). Even though he noticed their empty nets, Jesus didn’t panic or feel compelled to rush in and fix things for Simon and his friends. He didn’t get caught up in the do-it-now/do-it-all-to-prove-you-care syndrome.

It’s true that Jesus doesn’t only care about the needs of others, he cares about Simon’s – and our – needs as well. But it’s also true that Jesus expects Simon – and us –to cooperate with him to get those needs met. So even though he’s probably tired, frustrated and discouraged, Simon decides to take a chance on Jesus.

And the result is almost unbelievable! The fishermen haul in a miraculous catch – a catch so amazing that it leaves the nets breaking, the boats sinking, and Simon quaking!

What is he to make of this sudden turn of events? What started out as a disappointing day is turning into a mind-blowing, peace-disturbing, life-altering experience! How does one respond when things take a drastic turn – for the better?

Coming face to face with the dazzling wholeness, the utter holiness of Jesus – and, as a result, his own brokenness, his own sinfulness – leaves Simon Peter longing to put some distance between them. “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Simon Peter’s response to Jesus is not that uncommon – many of us are tempted at times to put some distance between Jesus and us –
between his holiness and our brokenness,
his unpredictable methods and our wish to know exactly what’s going to happen next,
his uncontrollable ways and our desire to be in total control.
This is the Jesus who comes to us as we go about our daily lives, sometimes asking of us things we would rather not give – our time, our money, our talents. But this is also the Jesus who comes to us in the midst of our daily lives, often offering us things we would rather not receive – hope, grace, abundant life.

Living in a “you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-scratch-yours” culture, it can be hard to imagine someone wanting to give us something without strings attached. So we might wonder, “what’s it going to cost me?” or “How am I going to pay for this?” or “What’s the catch?” when Jesus comes bearing gifts. Some of us distrust his motives. Perhaps, like Peter, we need to sit and listen to what Jesus is saying to us, to see how he is at work in our lives, to develop a history with him, to appreciate his love for, and attention to us, before we can truly tell others about his love for them.

Others of us trust Jesus, but we distrust ourselves. Like Peter, we are all too aware of our brokenness. Like Peter, most of us are ordinary persons – with strengths as well as shortcomings, hopes as well as fears, joys as well as sorrows. Jesus knows that. And he still wants us! So the amazing, comforting and at times terrifying revelation is that it’s not about our worthiness. It’s about God’s grace. So:

“I’m just not good enough;” or “I’m just not a talented person,” or “I’m just an average guy” doesn’t make room for God’s grace. Accepting that it’s not about our worthiness but about God’s grace means:

Trusting that, although Jesus doesn’t allow our needs to dictate his ministry, he pays attention to our needs, and he has the best plan to meet them;
Accepting that Jesus is the leader and we are the followers, not the other way around;
Re-ordering our priorities to reflect God’s priorities, and
Daring to believe that God can do great things in us and through us – not because of our goodness, but because of God’s grace.

Sometimes an encounter with Jesus is what we need to see just how gracious God really is – to us and to others. Which reminds me of the story of the teacher who was explaining to her fifth grade class that, because of the way a whale is built, Jonah couldn’t possibly have been swallowed by it. One of her students, Bobby, was very upset by this. He had been taught to take the bible literally, and any notion that Jonah wasn’t actually swallowed by a whale was not only out of the question, it was the product of a sinful mind. He challenged the teacher on her point, and concluded with, “when I get to heaven, I’ll ask Jonah myself.” “And what if Jonah didn’t go to heaven?” the teacher countered. “Well, then, you can ask him!”

When we join Jesus in fishing for people, God doesn’t call us to judge which ones are good and which are bad. And even though some folks are certain that they know the good fish from the bad, thanks be to God for Jesus – the One who comes to tell us that it really is not about our goodness – it is all about God’s grace.