February 6, 2022

The latest edition of Faith Tides, formerly the Diocesan Post, came to our email inboxes last week, if we signed up, and as usual Herb O’Driscoll’s column was excellent. He wrote about a 1984 event in Pennsylvania at which the other preacher was Desmond Tutu. Despite Tutu’s huge and heroic social justice discipleship opposing Apartheid, he also had a great sense of humour, and O’Driscoll reports how Tutu started his sermon:

In a hushed and solemn tone, his very first words were, “My friends, I wish to tell you a story about a clergyman who was in bed one night with his wife.”

To say that Desmond got the audience’s attention is an understatement. That single statement was so utterly unexpected, coming from so eminent a figure on such a solemn occasion, it electrified the arena. You could also feel a ripple of discomfort. Was this visitor going to spoil this special evening? How could this levity possibly serve the occasion? With perfect timing Desmond then added “She turned to him and said, ‘Darling, I cannot get to sleep; preach me one of your sermons’.” https://faithtides.ca/a-costly-discipleship/

I prefer a bit of Melatonin myself, but each to our own. Our gospel today also speaks of a sleepless night when Jesus tells Simon to go deeper into the lake ‘and let down your nets for a catch’ to which Simon responds that they’d been fishing all night and had caught nothing: “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” And then we hear the familiar story of how they ended up catching so many fish that their nets were beginning to break, and they had to call for help from another boat. This gospel story is about the call of Simon Peter, and also James and John, the sons of Zebedee – who were the fishing partners in the other boat. This theme of being called is also in our Isaiah reading today where poor Isaiah’s “unclean lips” are cleansed with a live burning coal from the fire. Today’s fishermen look quite lucky in comparison.

Our Bible Study group was quite shocked to see what William Barclay had written about this, especially his analysis of the actual miracle of the huge catch of fish. Here’s part of what he had to say:

There is in this story what we might call a list of the conditions of a miracle.

(i) There is the eye that sees. There is no need to think that Jesus created a shoal of fishes for the occasion. In the Sea of Galilee there were phenomenal shoals which covered the sea as if it was solid for as much as an acre. Most likely Jesus' keen eye saw just such a shoal and his keen sight made it look like a miracle. We need the eye that really sees. Many people saw steam raise the lid of a kettle; only James Watt went on to think of a steam engine. Many people saw an apple fall; only Isaac Newton went on to think out the law of gravity. The earth is full of miracles for the eye that sees.

(ii) There is the spirit that will make an effort. If Jesus said it, tired as he was Peter was prepared to try again. For most people the disaster of life is that they give up just one effort too soon.

(iii) There is the spirit which will attempt what seems hopeless. The night was past and that was the time for fishing. All the circumstances were unfavourable, but Peter said, "Let circumstances be what they may, if you say so, we will try again." Too often we wait because the time is not opportune. If we wait for a perfect set of circumstances, we will never begin at all. If we want a miracle, we must take Jesus at his word when he bids us attempt the impossible.

Barclay is usually seen as a moderate and traditional biblical commentator, so we were surprised on Thursday to see him suggesting that maybe Jesus just had the eye to see where the big hidden shoal of fish was located? What?! So it wasn’t an actual miracle, but instead just Jesus having a certain fish wisdom or a type of inbuilt fish radar?

While contemplating this reflection last week, I was also reading about Harry Potter facing the second big task of the Triwizard Tournament in which he had to go deep down into a lake to find where Ron Weasley and others were tied up in a ‘merpeople’ village, and the tournament champions had to rescue them despite many frightening challenges and perils along the way. Harry, Ron and Hermione had spent many days beforehand just trying to figure out how Harry could stay underwater for such a long time. If you’ve read that fourth book, you know that Harry displayed a monstrous level of procrastination for the longest time … perhaps feeling a little over-confident after he’d succeeded so well at overcoming the giant dragon in the first task.

Anyways, my friends, I think a big part of our lesson here – both in the gospel and in the Potter story is that we too are called to find ways to go deeper, to see what we may have missed when we stay too close to the surface. Can we also learn to trust God more deeply, when the task seems pointless or overwhelming? So that we too may come to SEE more clearly God’s calling for us at this time and place? May we cast the net wider and be prepared for some surprising results, Amen.