The Rev. Dr. Timothy Ives

First Congregational Church

Chappaqua, New York

January 28, 2001

Luke 5:1-11

I don’t know if you have noticed but I think I have changed since I became a father. And I know that this change has come in a multitude of ways. My perceptions are different. My goals have changed. Certainly my concerns have changed. Parenthood has made me different. Now most of the time I don’t notice but sometimes I am very aware. One strange thing that happens to me quite often is I find myself weeping over my children. And it is not because I am sad. Although I am sometimes sad imagining all the things that they will have to face in their lives. Or when I see them acting particularly badly.

Sometimes I hear Conner say something and it reminds me of some thing that I went though when I was a child and I wish that he would not have to know such a hurt, or really any hurt at all. But none of that is what makes me weep. It usually happens to me when I realize in a quiet moment that there was a time when these two were not here and it really is the most unlikely of events that have brought them into the world. And upon that thought or something like it I am overwhelmed by the mere fact that they are alive, and they are well, and they have there own little lives. Actually it is in such moments that my heart breaks in love.

I know it sounds silly but it happens all the time. The presence of my children just overwhelms my feelings and I weep.

Again it is not because I am sad, there is no sadness in this experience. But it touches me so deeply that I have no other response.

When I reflect on this experience, I realize that I am feeling over-whelmed by the Grace of God. It is incomprehensible to me that something so very good and important and sacred could happen to me. Of course if I had thought about I would have realized the same thing a long time ago because of course I have been given the gift of life. I am alive, most of the time! But with these children it is different. I don’t deserve them, and though I had something to do with their creation I couldn’t possibly create such creatures without an infinite amount of help. I do not claim to know the complexities of raising a child and so I am greatly humbled by the whole experience. And I weep.

When I look at my kids the abundance of God is revealed to me and I tell you it is overwhelming. I guess it is the same experience as seeing the sun rise over the ocean, if you could really fathom what was happening, you would be overwhelmed with God’s Grace. With your kids it is so much more apparent. The abundance of God is just undeniable. Who else could and would give such a gift?

Of course children are not the only beings that tell of the abundance of God. Such abundance is all around us. But to our detriment many of us do not see it or appreciate it or understand it. In fact I hear more about scarcity in life than about the abundance in life. And that is too bad because If scarcity is what you see then fear is all you will know but if it is abundance you perceive then you are free to live in the love and will of God.

It is such abundance that this reading for today is about. Abundance that is revealed to the disciples by Jesus. Jesus seems to have an acute sense of God’s abundance and his ministry is mostly about pointing it out and telling his disciples about living with such abundance. The problem is of course that people easily miss this abundance. If it were not true we would not think that Jesus’ ministry was such a profound event. If we saw the world the way he did then we would not have to search scriptures the way we do and I would be out of a job. But as I said, too often we choose to see scarcity because the abundance of God is not always apparent. In this story there was abundance all around but it took Jesus to point it out. Otherwise everyone would have agreed on scarcity.

The story goes that Peter was a fisherman. If we believe legend we would believe that he was a very good fisherman. And it is not clear how much interest he had in things of the spirit before Jesus came to find him. I am sure that Peter appreciated and was awed by Jesus’ attention to his mother-in-law. Jesus healed her and probably saved her life. When loved ones recover and are restored it is such a relief. But I am not sure that Peter understood the world the way Jesus saw it until after this story. I am not sure he ever quite completely did but this event must have given him a glimpse of Jesus’ world. Otherwise he would have never gone with him.

Peter and his crew fish all night and catch nothing. Now they know fishing. They know it as well as anyone and Jesus who they have never seen fishing tells them how to fish. It is an old story isn’t it? The upstart comes in and thinks he can tell the old hands something about what they have been doing for most of their lives. Usually the upstart faces some rude awakening that amuses the old timers. That story has been told a thousand times in a thousand different ways.

But this story is different. Jesus who does not know anything about fishing tells them how to fish and Peter and the rest actually do what he says. This is inexplicable except for the fact that Peter has seen him do a miracle. If Peter had not seen Jesus do that then there would be no way he would follow his instructions about fishing.

Now realize that they are clear that there are no fish out there. They have been at it all night. If they can’t catch fish then no one can. The fish are simply not down there. It is their experience and upon that they have created this perception and so there is no reason to go back and fish.

But Peter was an impulsive sort and though reluctant he decides to try it. He may have just wanted to show up Jesus. He might have just wanted to prove that there were no fish down there. He might have wanted to prove that he knew fishing and Jesus did not.

You know there are a million reasons to have faith not all of them are from saintly motivations. But the truth is that God doesn’t care what your motivation is if you are willing to just try things God’s way. Just try it and you will see. It is what Jesus is saying to these fisherman, who, though are excellent fishermen, are about to learn about God’s abundance.

They throw the nets where Jesus says and sure enough the nets are filled in no time.

The abundance that they were quite sure was not there was there. The scarcity that they were convinced of was no where to be found. And this event profoundly effected all of them.

If you were a poor fisherman and you just had the catch of your life what would you do? This catch was going to feed their families. This catch was probably going to bring prosperity to their community and if they could convince Jesus to stay they would be rich men. But none of that is even mentioned. It is not mentioned because this story is about abundance not scarcity. And once a person sees the abundance of God scarcity seems to lose its threat.

They didn’t cash in the fish. They didn’t ask Jesus to stay and make them rich. Such ambition must have seemed silly in the presence of such abundance. They went with him. It didn’t matter that they would be homeless and destitute they had experienced God’s abundance and they knew how truly rich they were.

It is what I experience when I see my kids just so: God’s abundance. And I know that God has lavished me with far more than I could ever have the right to expect. The truth is that it does not take too much reflection to realize that if you are alive God has lavished you with far more than you could ask for. And our response to God ought to be pure gratitude and humility.

If we realized only this we would know how rich we are and I think it would change everything. We would not envy. How could we when we were so filled? We would most certainly be generous because in abundance it is easy to be generous. We would fear little and love, and regard for our fellow humans would not be seen as suspicious but natural. Faith would be the order of the day because who would not believe in a God who gave so very much?