A Miraculous Catch

February 9, 2025 homily on Isaiah 6:1-13 and Luke 5:1-11 by Pastor Galen

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” — Luke 5:8

A Long Night

It had been a long night for Simon Peter and his friends. They had been fishing all night long but had caught nothing. 

I don’t know how common it was for this to happen, but I know it must have been discouraging. Simon was probably alternating between feelings of anger, frustration, and hopelessness as he and his partners cleaned their nets and prepared to go home to get a few hours of sleep before they had to come back and do it all over again that night. 

Speaking of home — I imagine that Simon probably dreaded going home empty-handed. His family depended on the fish that he caught for both income and food. What would he tell his wife when he got home? What would he say to his kids (if he had any) when they looked up at him with those hungry eyes?

Out of the corner of his eye, Simon saw the crowd gathering on the shore to listen to Jesus, the religious teacher and miracle-worker who had become quite famous in that area. The previous day, Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law (see Luke 4:38-39), so Simon had seen a glimpse of his power. But Simon was probably too preoccupied with his own thoughts to go over and listen to what Jesus was saying.

Simon’s Boat

But then Jesus started walking in his direction and called out to him, asking Simon if he could use his boat.

Simon was no doubt confused as to why Jesus wanted to sit in his boat to teach the crowds, but he agreed. I imagine that he felt somewhat honored that Jesus had chosen his boat. Plus, it delayed his inevitable return home.

Now the reality was that teaching from a boat was a genius move on Jesus’s part. Not only did it prevent Jesus from getting crushed by the crowd, but water amplifies sound. Teaching from a boat would have made Jesus’s voice sound louder as it carried over the water, making it possible for more people to hear what he was saying.

Of course, it also made Simon a captive audience to listen to what Jesus was saying. And so Jesus instructed Simon to go out a little way from the shore, and Jesus began to teach the people.

Exactly what Jesus taught the crowds that day we don’t know — it’s not recorded. But Jesus often told stories and used object lessons and analogies from the everyday working life of the people — stories that the people he was speaking to could relate to. We have a lot of parables in the Gospels about fields and grain and seeds and soil, and I like to think that Jesus told these stories while he was walking past fields of wheat, surrounded by people who knew what it was like to work the land. He probably told the parables about vines and vineyards while he was passing through wine country, and he told stories about sheep when he was standing in the fields talking with shepherds.

And so I like to imagine that as Jesus was standing there in Simon Peter’s boat, teaching the crowds of people gathered in that little fishing village, that Jesus probably told stories about fishing and fisherman to illustrate truths about God’s love, and the kingdom of God. Jesus was a masterful storyteller. I picture Simon, sitting there, struggling to stay away after his long night of work, only half-listening to what Jesus was saying. But I’m sure some of it was getting through.

An Absurd Request

And then, when Jesus was done teaching, he turned to Simon Peter with a rather surprising request. He tells Simon Peter to take the boat out into the deeper waters and to let down his nets and get ready to catch some fish.

This was an absurd request for multiple reasons. First, Peter and his partners were professional fishermen. They knew the best time of the night and conditions to catch fish, and even they had been unsuccessful at catching any fish. Jesus, on the other hand, was a religious teacher and the son of a carpenter. What did he know about fishing? Plus, Simon Peter and his partners had already cleaned their nets. They were exhausted, and if they set out into the deeper water and let down their nets they were going to have to clean their nets all over again.

But Simon Peter followed Jesus’s instructions — with perhaps only a little bit of snark in his response, saying essentially, “OK, if you say so!”

A Miraculous Catch

And of course, Peter and his friends got the catch of a lifetime. Their nets were filled to overflowing with fish — so many fish that the nets began to break and the boats began to sink. This was probably more fish than they had ever seen in their lifetime.

Simon Peter’s response was twofold: awe and shame. Simon Peter recognized the overwhelming miraculous power of Jesus — he recognized that he was standing in the presence of someone who was filled with the power of God. And he simultaneously recognized how far he fell short. His doubt, his skepticism, his imperfections all rose to the surface, and he felt overwhelming shame. He realized he was not worthy, that he was did not deserve to stand in Jesus’s presence. And so he fell to his knees and begged Jesus to go away from him.

When I picture Simon Peter, I picture him as this big burly bearded fisherman. And so I imagine him kneeling there in the boat. Kneeling on top of hundreds of squirming, wriggling fish, the boat about to sink because there were so many fish. Simon Peter realized he was outmatched. Jesus was far superior to him. Simon was so overcome with awe that he was afraid to be around someone with so much power and authority, and ashamed of everything that he had ever done or left undone.

But notice that Jesus didn’t condemn Simon Peter. He didn’t scold, or point his finger at him and say “yes, you should be ashamed of yourself!” Instead, I believe Jesus looked at Simon Peter with love. Jesus loved Simon’s humility, and also his boldness and his courage. Jesus saw Simon Peter — not only for who he was, but also who he could be.

And so he invited Simon Peter and his friends to follow him. And he told Peter that he didn’t have to be afraid, that Jesus was going to make Simon Peter a fisher of people.

I think this is so beautiful. Jesus accepted Peter as he was, and he saw what he could become. He didn’t tell Peter that he needed to change his identity or take up a different occupation or take on a new persona. Jesus accepted Peter as a fisherman and told him that he could use these skills to reach people with the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Response and Invitation

It’s striking to me that this story of Peter’s call to follow Jesus is so similar to the story of Isaiah’s call that we read earlier this morning. In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah had a vision of the throne room of God in heaven, where he was confronted with the majesty and splendor of the glory of God. Isaiah was speechless. But even as he was in awe of the wonder and majesty and power of God, he too became immediately aware of his own sinfulness and shortcomings. He felt unworthy and completely ashamed. But rather than condemnation, he received cleansing, and he was invited to go and share the Good News.

Both Simon Peter and Isaiah had an experience where they recognized God’s power and authority. They were awestruck, but they were also ashamed of how far they fell short. They confessed their sinfulness, they received grace and forgiveness, and they were invited to become bearers of God’s good news.

Perhaps this resonates with you. Maybe there was a time in your life when you were struck by the power and majesty of God, and when you came face to face with your own faults and failures.

Throughout life, there are times when each of us feel like we have come to the end of our rope, and realize that we can’t do it on our own and that we need God’s help. In those situations, we are often overwhelmed with shame and condemnation. We

May wonder if God could ever love us or forgive us.

But in moments like these, if we will but cry out to God, we will realize that God does not want us to live in perpetual guilt and shame. If we, like Peter, and like Isaiah, will but cry out to God in the midst of our guilt and fear and shame, we too will experience not condemnation, but rather God’s love and grace washing over us like a flood. Cleansing us and redeeming us. Transforming us. Accepting us.

And it doesn’t stop there. Because once we have been cleansed and forgiven, then we are also invited to participate in God’s mission. We’re called to share that Good News with others. And just like Simon Peter the fisherman, God invites us to use whatever gifts or skills or occupations we have to serve God. If you’re an accountant, you can be an accountant for God. If you’re a teacher, you can use your gifts in teaching to glorify God. If you’re an engineer or scientist or mathematician, then you can use those gifts and skills to serve God.

Our Weekly Pattern of Worship

As I think about these stories of Peter and Isaiah’s encounters with God’s grace and mercy, it strikes me that this is the pattern of worship that we are invited into every time we gather for worship on Sunday mornings. We gather together to worship God. We sing songs like Holy, Holy, Holy — songs that extol God’s greatness and glory. In doing so, we remember and reflect together on how good God is. We hear and reflect on the Word — the truth about God and Jesus. And as we are reminded of the greatness and the glory and the majesty of Jesus, we realize how far we fall short. We recognize our need for God, and we’re invited to respond accordingly.

We respond in various ways, and our response includes confessing our sins before the Lord, as we pray the Lord’s prayer together. We say, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” As we confess our sins before the Lord and as we respond to the Word that we’ve heard, we are reminded anew of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness. And then we are invited to go forth — back to our homes, our schools, our workplaces, or wherever God may send us, proclaiming the Good News that we’ve heard with others. 

And so this morning I invite us, like Simon Peter and like Isaiah, to be in awe of God’s greatness and glory. I invite us to recognize our need and dependence on God, to confess our sins before the Lord and to allow God’s grace to wash over us anew. And then, as people who have been forgiven and cleansed, may we too become bearers of God’s Good News to those around us, saying along with Isaiah “Here am I, send me!”

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. Have you ever had an experience where you were overwhelmed by the greatness or power of God? How did you respond?
2. How do you typically respond when you recognize your own shortcomings? With shame, avoidance, or a desire for transformation?
3. In what areas of your life do you struggle to believe that God fully accepts and loves you?
4. In what ways is God inviting you to “cast your nets” in deeper waters, even if it seems inconvenient or illogical?
5. What is one concrete way you can say “Here am I, send me” in the coming week?