SUNDAY’S COMING: BIBLE STUDY –
Bible Study for the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany (02/10/19)
The Gospel Reading: Luke 5:1-11Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
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Points to Ponder:
When the fisherman Peter worked hard all night and caught nothing at all, but then obeyed Jesus's command to sink his nets into deeper waters, he hauled in a catch of fish that ripped his nets and nearly sunk his boat. When he realized what had happened, when he grasped the inverse relationship between the power of God and his paltry faith, he recoiled before Jesus in fear: "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8).
Peter had other occasions to confess his faults, failures, and frailty. When he rebuked Jesus for predicting his suffering and death, Jesus called Peter "satan" (Matthew 16:23). After denying that he would deny Jesus, and then doing so three times, Peter "wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62). Decades later, Paul publicly rebuked Peter for his blatant hypocrisy in refusing to eat with ritually impure Gentiles (Galatians 2:11–13).
The upshot of these stories is that human sin, failure, and inadequacy were not obstacles to God's call. God's message never requires a perfect messenger. Because of this, embracing rather than denying our fallenness is a path of liberation and not humiliation. It's an act of candid self-awareness and not misanthropic self-hatred.
When we embrace the disparity between the divine call and human inadequacies, we move from illusion to reality, and from self-justification to divine acceptance. If we're lucky, we enjoy the paradox of the narrow boundary between more self-awareness and less self-consciousness.
Despite the abyss between divine transcendence and human finitude, we can still offer ourselves to God like Isaiah, "Here am I, send me." Without hedging our bets or adding contingency clauses we can imitate Peter, James, John, and their companions who "pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed Jesus." We can rejoice with Paul that "by the grace of God I am what I am."
To Isaiah's dread, Paul's deep regrets and painful memories, Peter's fears, and to our own deeply personal insecurities today, God whispers to us what Jesus said to Peter: "Don't be afraid" (Luke 5:10). And with the psalmist for this week we can confess: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble. . . the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" (Psalm 138: 7–8). - Daniel B. Clendenin
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The Take Away: What does this mean for my life? Some questions –
1. How are you like Peter; where do you fall short in your devotion to God?
2. What makes you think that you are unworthy of God’s call?
3. What is the message that God wants you to proclaim?
4. What would it mean for you to “leave everything”?
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After studying the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Bible Study for the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany (02/10/19)
The Gospel Reading: Luke 5:1-11Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
**************************************************************
Points to Ponder:
When the fisherman Peter worked hard all night and caught nothing at all, but then obeyed Jesus's command to sink his nets into deeper waters, he hauled in a catch of fish that ripped his nets and nearly sunk his boat. When he realized what had happened, when he grasped the inverse relationship between the power of God and his paltry faith, he recoiled before Jesus in fear: "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8).
Peter had other occasions to confess his faults, failures, and frailty. When he rebuked Jesus for predicting his suffering and death, Jesus called Peter "satan" (Matthew 16:23). After denying that he would deny Jesus, and then doing so three times, Peter "wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62). Decades later, Paul publicly rebuked Peter for his blatant hypocrisy in refusing to eat with ritually impure Gentiles (Galatians 2:11–13).
The upshot of these stories is that human sin, failure, and inadequacy were not obstacles to God's call. God's message never requires a perfect messenger. Because of this, embracing rather than denying our fallenness is a path of liberation and not humiliation. It's an act of candid self-awareness and not misanthropic self-hatred.
When we embrace the disparity between the divine call and human inadequacies, we move from illusion to reality, and from self-justification to divine acceptance. If we're lucky, we enjoy the paradox of the narrow boundary between more self-awareness and less self-consciousness.
Despite the abyss between divine transcendence and human finitude, we can still offer ourselves to God like Isaiah, "Here am I, send me." Without hedging our bets or adding contingency clauses we can imitate Peter, James, John, and their companions who "pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed Jesus." We can rejoice with Paul that "by the grace of God I am what I am."
To Isaiah's dread, Paul's deep regrets and painful memories, Peter's fears, and to our own deeply personal insecurities today, God whispers to us what Jesus said to Peter: "Don't be afraid" (Luke 5:10). And with the psalmist for this week we can confess: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble. . . the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" (Psalm 138: 7–8). - Daniel B. Clendenin
**************************************************************
The Take Away: What does this mean for my life? Some questions –
1. How are you like Peter; where do you fall short in your devotion to God?
2. What makes you think that you are unworthy of God’s call?
3. What is the message that God wants you to proclaim?
4. What would it mean for you to “leave everything”?
****************************************************************
After studying the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.