1 Peter 3.8–15 and Luke 5.1–11
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and asks him to put out a little from then land. The crowd had pressed all around Him to hear God’s word, and getting in a boat on the water would make it easier for everyone to hear Him. Once He finishes preaching to the multitude about the kingdom of God, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins, He speaks to Simon. “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus wanted to adorn His teaching with a miracle to show the multitude that it was divine teaching. Typically, this is not the time of day for fishing in the deep. Not only that, but Simon had already labored all night, casting his net then drawing it up empty each time. But Simon trusts Jesus. He has good reason to. He’s been following Jesus for quite a while by the time this happened. He had seen Him perform several miracles already. If it had been anyone else telling him to cast his nets into the deep in the middle of the day after a long night of catching nothing, he probably would have balked. But he believes the preacher in his boat is the Messiah, so Simon says, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” “Since You have commanded me to do this, I’ll do it, though so far I’ve seen no results.”
Jesus rewards Peter’s trust in His word. Peter and company let down the net into the deep. “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.” They call James and John in the other boat to come help. They load so many fish on board both boats that both boats begin to sink under the weight. Jesus wanted to confirm His teaching with a miracle, so that His hearers understand that it was not the teaching of man but God. Peter understands not only this, but that the one using His boat as a pulpit is the same one who said on the fifth day of creation, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures” (Gen 1:20). The difference between the fifth day and this day is God in human flesh, by His word, brings an abundance of those living creations directly into Simon’s net. Simon, being suddenly aware of the fact that God Himself is in the boat with him, falls down at Jesus’ knees in humility. “Depart from me, for I am sinful man, O Lord.” The man who he had first called, “Master,” he now confesses as “Lord.” He also confesses that because he is a sinful man, the Lord God has no business being in his boat and blessing him with this miraculous catch of fish.
Peter acknowledges something that few are willing to acknowledge. He is a sinful man. Most are willing to admit that they have done wrong on occasion. Some may even be willing to call their wrong behavior “sin.” But Peter goes far deeper than the outward act. His confession even penetrates further than acknowledging sinful thoughts. He does not confess that He has committed sins—thought this is undoubtedly true—but that he has sin. St. Paul says it this way in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” He is a sinful man, born from sinful parents, of the line of Adam and Eve. And because he is a sinful man, with a heart turned away from God by nature, he commits actual sins in his thoughts, his words, and his deeds. With this heartfelt knowledge, Simon cannot but fall down at Jesus feet and confess his unworthiness to have God in his boat, let alone this net-breaking, boat-sinking provision of daily bread.
But Christ the Lord is gracious and merciful to sinners who acknowledge their sins as well as their sinfulness, that they are by nature sinful and unclean. Jesus does not depart from Simon. He draws Simon closer to Him. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” He isn’t called Simon to be a Christian. Simon was already that. He isn’t calling Simon to be His disciples and learn from Him. Simon was already that, too. He calls Simon His apostle—as well as James and John—an eyewitness to His ministry who will speak on His behalf before the world. As Christ’s apostle, Peter will cast the net of the God’s Word into the deep of the world. His net is the preaching of God’s word, forgiving the sins of those who repent and retaining the sins of those who refuse to repent, and administering baptism and Christ’s Supper, for all of these are the means God gives Peter—and all the apostles—to catch men and bring them into the boat of the Holy Church, the boat in which Christ is present.
What do we learn from Christ’s call to Peter to be His apostle? We learn that as Christ provided for Simon and called him to his office, so He provides for us and calls us to our offices. He doesn’t call us to be apostles. He calls us to various stations in life in the church, the family, and the world. In the Church He calls some to be pastors and ministers and He calls others to be hearers. The pastor teaches God’s word so that the hearers may be nourished with God’s word and live Christian lives. In the family, Christ calls men to be husbands and fathers who are to honor their wives and bring up their children in the teaching and admonition of the Lord. He calls women to be wives who submit to their husbands’ love and leadership and help them in the raising of their children. To men and women whom He has not called to marriage, He calls them to care for the things of the Lord—how they may please the Lord (1 Cor 7:32). In the State, Christ calls some to be magistrates and others to be citizens, each with their duties. The magistrate is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (Rom13:4). The citizen renders to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, suchas taxes, honor, obedience to lawful ordinances, and most of all, prayer. He calls all people to labor—not to specific jobs—but to enter a calling and diligently apply ourselves to the task. Then, finally, Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. These vocations aren’t unimportant. They are how God provides for us and our neighbor.
But Christ doesn’t call us to these holy orders and then just leave us to ourselves. He blesses the work we do in our callings. Do you ever feel like Peter? “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing?” Of course you have. Because of the effects of sin, we don’t always see the results we expect in our marriages, our families, our church, our country, and our jobs. But this is the great comfort that comes from knowing that it is Christ who has called us into these stations: Since He has called us to them, He will fill the net when it pleases Him. He will provide, and He will do it through our labor. Because God has established our vocations and their duties in His Word, we know that the work of our callings is God-pleasing work, regardless of how mundane it may seem at times. We’re able to say with Simon Peter, “We have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” “Because You, O Lord, have called me to this work, I will do it with all my might, with all my heart, and wait for You to bless my toil with success.”
The other thing about these stations, our vacations, is that we can never do them perfectly. Since they are all manifestations of the commandment to love our neighbor, we always fall short. Our love is far from perfect, and at times we do our duties out of sheer obligation instead of with a wiling spirit. When we see that our love falls short, that our diligence lags, and the heart just isn’t in it, Peter’s calling teaches us to confess, “Depart from me, for I am sinful man, O Lord.” Like Peter, we in no way deserve God’s blessings, for we commit sin, and we have sin in us. But Peter’s calling also teaches us that Christ is gracious and merciful, ready to forgive us as soon as well call upon Him, and ready to give us His Holy Spirit so that whatever you do in word or deed, you may do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him as Paul writes in Colossians 3:17. As Christ did not depart from penitent Peter, He will not depart from you as you live in repentance and look to Christ, trusting His mercy. The very same Simon Peter reminds us you this in 1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” He has caught you in the net of His gospel and drawn you into the boat of His holy Church, so that You may be with Him and He with you, so that each day, you can get after the work of your divine callings and holy orders, knowing that your work pleases God, and that He will bless it in His time. Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
