Hearing the Call

Luke 5: 1-11

Jim Gilman

Introduction

Many of you recall those annoying TV ads for cell phone service, from a few years ago. Remember the guy who hustles around to different locations speaking into his cell phone, repeatedly saying “Can you hear me now?” (new location) “Can you hear me now?” etc. That’s what this story of Peter is about; Jesus is calling to Peter’ “Can you here me now?” The difference between that ad and the Gospel lesson is that it’s not the speaker that must re-position himself in order to hear; rather, it’s the listener, Peter, who must get re-positioned in order to hear Jesus call to him. Through the events of his day, Peter is put in a position so that he can finally hear Jesus’ voice call to him, “follow me.” And the position he is put in, is a position of humility. And that’s Luke’s lesson for us. God puts us in a position of humility so that we can hear Jesus’ call to us to “Follow me.” hat’s what each of us needs to happen to us; we need to be put in a position where we can hear of the voice of Jesus call to us. That’s how Peter’s story is my story and your story. Unless we are willing to be put in the position where we feel in ourselves this same sense of humility that Peter felt, we will never be able to hear Jesus’ call to “Follow me.”

So, how does Peter come to feel humility? How does he come to feel so spiritually fragile that he blurts out, “”Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man?” There are two feelings Peter experiences that place him in a position of humility. First, the feeling of insecurity and vulnerability, and secondly, a feeling of inadequacy, of dependency. Once Peter feels these things, once we allow ourselves to feel vulnerable and dependent, then we are in a position to hear Jesus call to us.

Feeling Insecure and Vulnerable

Consider, first, how Peter comes to feel insecure and vulnerable. Peter and friends had fished all day; nothing. They were not novices; they were skilled fishermen. And yet, by the end of the day they catch nothing. Their livelihood is at stake and they catch nothing. Imagine how Peter and his friends felt. No doubt, they felt humbled by the experience; discovering how insecure they really are, how vulnerable their livelihoods are. Have you ever been put in a position to feel that way. It’s not a pleasant feeling; yet it’s a feeling many Americans experience today. Some have lost jobs and livelihood; others face the prospect daily. I’m sure we could all tell stories on ourselves right now, or stories of family or friends who have lost jobs or income; who are feeling vulnerable; who are experiencing personally how precarious life is. I have a family member who is suffering a severe reduction in income, and feeling how precarious and vulnerable his livelihood is. It’s humbling.

Even those of us who feel secure and confident in our jobs ought to feel how precarious and vulnerable our livelihood is; for two reasons. First, in gratitude we should feel “there but for the grace of God, go I;” and secondly, we should feel compassion for the suffering of others: what would it feel like if, like Peter and many today, I lost my source of livelihood and well-being? What a feeling of insecurity and vulnerability that would be. How humbling. Just as Peter finds himself feeling insecure and vulnerable; so should we.

Feeling Inadequate and Dependent

Consider, secondly, how Peter’s experience puts him in a place of feeling inadequate and dependent. Indeed, feeling inadequate and dependent is the other side of feeling insecure and vulnerable. A fruitless day of fishing was not the end of the story for Peter. Jesus accomplished miraculously what the fishermen could not accomplish naturally. How humbling, that a carpenter should advise a fisherman how to catch fish; and such a haul of fish that it takes two boats to haul it in. Peter’s reaction indicates that he is coming to realize from personal experience just how dependent he is and should be on God’s care and mercy. For him the great haul of fish strangely doesn’t make him feel like celebrating, like a good Episcopalian. Instead, he feels inadequate and unworthy to be the recipient of such a marvelous and unmerited gift. He’s overwhelmed and he blurts out, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter!!! Come on!! Two boatloads of fish. Where’s the joy? ButPeter comes to realize how dependent finally his welfare is on God and God’s care for him. He becomes fully aware of the fragility of his own life and his need to rely on the mercy of God. That’s the feeling of humility.

For most Americans such feelings of inadequacy and dependence, such candid honesty about how precarious life is is quite an alien feeling, if not down right heretical. From an early age we are taught self-reliance and expected to subscribe to the dogma of individualism, of independence and self-determination. For some it is shameful to admit otherwise; a weakness to admit that our lives are fragile and we are dependent for our welfare on God or others. This is perhaps the quintessential American deception. And unless we get personally over it, we’ll not be able to be in a position of humility where we can hear Jesus call to us: “Follow me.”

Hearing the Call

Why does Luke tell this story of insecurity and vulnerability, of inadequacy and dependency? One might read this plot as a grim story; a story of fruitless labor and feelings of guilt. But I think that would be to miss Luke’s point; his point is that we are not really in a position to hear the call of Jesus to discipleship until we allow ourselves to be put in a position where we can actually hear Jesus’ call. And we are in a position to hear only when we feel all those things Peter felt: feelings of spiritual vulnerability and dependency that places us in a position of humility.

A biographer tells the story of Picasso as a young school boy. Apparently Pablo grew up feeling insecure and vulnerable and very dependent on his father. His father himself was a painter and walked with a cane; every day he took Pablo to school and dropped him off. Every day the scene was the same. Pablo was fearful his father would not return after school to pick him up. So, he would entreat, “Won’t you come with me?... I don’t want to go in alone.” When that didn’t work , he would plead, “At least leave me your brushes; or your cane.” Pablo surmised that if he had his father’s brushes or cane with him, he could be certain that his father would return to pick him up from school. As I read on in the biography, I began to realize that these youthful feelings of insecurity and vulnerability and dependency never left this great painter; that always throughout his life as an artist Picasso felt a deep sense of insecurity and dependency, a feeling of humility before his muses who had conferred on him such a great gift. His whole life he had a keen sense of grace and humility in face of the gift he had been given, a sense of reliance, now not on his father but on his muse; a sense of grace and responsibility to the muse whose voice he was in a position of humility to hear all his long life. Picasso never deceived himself about his gift, never pretended to rely on his own ability. He always had a keen sense of insecurity, vulnerability, of dependency. It is this position of humility that allowed Picasso to paint with such confidence and courage and creative power.

And it is this very same sense of vulnerability and dependency and humility that put Peter in a position where he could hear the call of Jesus to “Follow me.” It allowed him to follow Jesus with confidence and courage and creative power.

Similarly, we as Christians should not deceive ourselves into thinking we are independent, self-reliant creatures; able to manage our spiritual lives on our own. Rather, we should tell to ourselves the same truth Peter discovered about himself: that we are spiritually vulnerable and reliant on God for our welfare. Only then are we in a position of humility to hear Jesus say, “Can you hear me now?” Only then, after perhaps many years of being a Christian, can we hear how it is that Jesus wants us to follow him.