Introduction
Threee of the four lessons appointed for this Sunday deal directly with call. In the Hebrew Scripture lesson we read of Isaiah's call to serve as prophet to the people of God; in the Gospel Of Luke we hear how Jesus invited four fishermen to leave everything and follow him after filling their nets with a ship-sinking catch of fish; and in the Epistle lesson we hear Paul both explaining and defending his call to serve as an Apostle to the Corinthian church. So it seems that our focus in study and worship this week will center around questions of what it means to be called by God.
Isaiah 6: 1 - 8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filed the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"
First Thoughts and Questions
Picturing the scene Isaiah is more frightful than comforting...
I wonder what was going through Isaiah's mind as the seraph flew towards him with a "live coal" from God's altar? What would you be thinking in that moment?
The event is dated to "the year that King Uzziah died." I am curious to know more about King Uzziah and what his death meant for his kingdom and for the one who was to be called as God's prophet.
I am reminded that heat has frequently been used as a means of cleansing and purification. Do we "feel the heat" as we are called to confession and make our corporate and private prayers of confession at home and in worship?
Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord saying, and he responds, "Here I am, send me." Isaiah agrees to the call without knowing the details. In a world that is governed by credentials, certifications, mission statements, 1, 3, 5, and 10 years plans, position description, quality control inspections, and cost-benefit analysis' - I wonder - as Christians are we attuned to hearing the voice of the Lord and have we been prepared to respond as Isaiah did?'
Luke 5: 1 - 11
Once while Jesus was standing besides 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 htem 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 the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afriad; from now on you wil be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
First Thoughts and Questions
In our culture of celebrity fascination I am struck by how Jesus creates the first century version of a crows control barricades and bodyguards when he comandeers Simon Peter's fishing boat to put some distance between himself and the gathering crowds and proceeds to teach the crowd onshore from the boat. Of course, Jesus is much more than a 1st century celebrity, and yet, I do find it intriguing that he ultimately calls as his first disciples the fishermen whose boat he boarded and not anyone from the crowd that had been pressing in on him. Why do you think this is?
Luke tells us that the crowd in chapter 5 was pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. However, following the first miracles recorded by Luke at the end of Chapter 4 (see Luke 4: 31-41) I wonder if Jesus knew that the crowds were pressing in on him because they wanted a miracle for themselves? I wonder if once Jesus had put some physical space between himself and the crowds and sat down to teach them if one-by-one and two-by-two they slipped away until there were none left, "when he finished speaking", none left except the fishermen. Are we suceptible to this too? Do we walk away from prayer when we feel our prayers are not answered quickly enough, or answered in the way we want them to be?
Next, I am intriguied by Jesus' instruction to the fishermen to put out into "the deep water." The Jewish people of the 1st century were not a sea going people. They had an deep distrust of water, they preferred to stick close to the shore. It is worth nothing that in the Creation account of Genesis 1, the chaos of the creation yet unformed is described in this way, "the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Gen 1:2). Waters were present in that dark, chaotic void to which God brings light and order. As the Creation account continues God will divide the waters that are above the dome of the earth from those below (Jewish cosmology of this time depicted the earth as a chamber or bubble of order surrounded by waters of chaos). God will relegate the waters of the earth to their proper place so that the dry land may appear. It is not a coincidence that in account of Noah and the Great Flood (Gen. 6 - 9) it is through water that God chooses to destroy the earth, God merely opens to gate that holds back the chaotic primodial waters. Familiar gospel stories of Jesus rebuking storms on the sea of Galilee clue us in that the waters of seas and lakes in Israel could go from peaceful to treacherous on short notice as storms swept down upon the waters....
When Jesus invites the fishermen to head out into 'the deep water' he is pushing them outside of their comfort zone. He is instructing and inviting them to go out beyond the place where they have control. Dare we wonder - what 'deep water' is God me go to? Where does God want me to cast my nets? What would a super-abundant catch look like in those waters? What might those waters be for our Springs Presbyterian community?
Finally, a few other questions...
1) What do we make of Simon Peter's reaction to the miracle? He kneels before Jesus and exclaims, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" I think Simon Peter's reaction can be read in at least two ways. a) Go away from me for I am too sinful to be worthy of experiencing the holiness I percieve in you; or b) Go away because I am sinful and I do not wish to be confronted with my sin. How do you understand Peter's exclamation?
2) In economic terms the catch of these fisherman is equivalent to winning a lottery jackpot in our day and age. They had caught so many fish it was tearing their nets and causing both of the boats to sink. Yet after bringing their boats to the shore, all four of the fishermen walk away from it all - their boats, their nets, the fish, and their families. What does Jesus ask us to leave behind if we are to follow him?
I Corinthians 15: 1 - 11
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you - unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appreated to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit ot be called an apostle, becuase I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them - though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. whether that it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
First Thoughts and Questions
It seems to me that the legal mind of Paul the Pharisee is on display here. We know that the Corinthian congregation he established has hit some rough spots since Paul left them. Here Paul is laying out an argument. He begins by reminding them that of the Gospel, the good news, that heart of Christian faith - 1. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; 2. Christ was buried; 3. Christ was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; 4. The resurrected Christ appeared to Cephas (Peter), to the twelve, to crowds, to the apostles, and finally Paul insists - the resurected Christ appeared also to me!
Three routes of interpretation occer to me on a first reading...
1) Those who are cynical and suspicious of Paul will no doubt (and probably justifiably) see Paul's reminder to the Corinthians of his encounter with the resurrected Christ as a claim to apostolic authority. The resurrected Christ appeared to me! It's hard to read some of this when he then goes on to claim that he has worked harder in service of the gospel than any of the other apostles.
2) These first eleven verses are actually not the culmination of Paul's full argument in chapter 15, they are just the warm-up. 1 Cor 15: 12 - 58 are a prolonged defense of a critical teaching of the Christian faith - then and now - the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead in Christ. It appears that some members of the Corinthian congregation had been suggesting, teaching, or preaching that there was no resurrection. Paul challenges this head-on by asserting that he himself has seen the risen Christ, he then goes on with passion to describe the importance of the ressurection for Christian life and hope.
3) After asserting that the resurrected Christ appeared to him, Paul then reminds the Corinthians of his own past - that he was the greatest persecuter of the church. I think it is possible to read Pauls exclamation - he appeared also to me! - in this way....The risen Christ appeared also to me, even me, the most unworthy, the most sinful, the one striving the most vigorously against the Gospel. If the risen Christ appeared to me, called me to ministry and service - what possible barrer could there be to prevent him from appearing to you?
Which of these readings (or what combination of these readgins) of Paul's argument seems most on helpful or on-track to you? Can you percieve another way of understanding Paul's communication to the Corinthians? What is Paul's message for our Church today?
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