January 21, 2013
It's Martin Luther King day and a frigid sub-zero blustery
morning in Minnesota; a perfect time to sit inside with a hot cup of
something and spend time in introspection. I feel a ramble coming on.
I resolve to write a blog entry every day in 2013. Oh wait, that might be setting the bar a bit too high. Let me change that to every week. oops! It's already January 21st and I am only on the first blog. New Years resolution fail! Check!
Yesterday, the pastor at my church preached a sermon on Jesus calling the fishermen, Peter, James, and John in Luke 5:1-11. In the story, Jesus says to Peter, "Push out into deeper water, and let down your nets for a catch." Peter, (i imagine with doubt or sarcasm attached) says, "we've been fishing all night and caught nothing but if you say so." So they let down their nets in deeper water and catch so many fish they have to ask for help from James and John in another boat and both boats are so full they begin to sink. That's enough proof for the 3 fishermen to leave everything and follow Jesus.
There are several points in the story that really grabbed my attention. The first was Jesus invitation to go deeper and let down the nets. Whoa! how much deeper does he think I can go? Deeper? how much deeper? Exactly where? The second thing that jumped out at me was Peter's response. It's classic. "I already tried and got nothing." and then the challenge back to Jesus..."if you say so" I'm pretty sure that Peter expected to prove that Jesus was wrong. And then comes the surprise! Abundance! more abundance! Surprise! there is not only fish, there is more than enough. In fact there is more than enough for two boats...there is probably enough for a whole village or the whole earth. Why is it that I always think so small? In spite of the evidence, I continue to live as if I need to worry about there being enough. For Peter, James and John, this experience was a game-changer. they left full-time fishing to follow Jesus lead. I wonder what that would like for me. What do I need to leave behind, not because i'm bad at it but because it is time to move toward something deeper, something better?
And then, there is Martin Luther King Jr. He's one of those ultimate examples of living a life of discipleship, a life authentic to the call to bring justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our god. What would that look like for me? How do I bravely go into deeper waters and open the nets, open my heart to let love win?
I have a love-hate relationship with new year's resolutions. Usually they are just another reason to be disappointed in myself. I mean I signed up for a gym membership a month ago today and have gone 3 times so far. I've got a long way to go there. But then the fishermen and Martin Luther King set the example differentlly. Neither had any idea when they started how it would turn out. MLK didn't know that what he did would bring freedom. He simply had to say and live what he believed. Peter cast his nets filled with doubt and discouragement.. The abundance doesn't seem to come from me anyway. Maybe it is just about daring to let down, to cast our nets out and then just see what happens even if we have doubt.
Where have you been striving all night and come up empty? What deeper water are you invited to? How would you cast your nets?
Happy January!
sending you love,
jules
