As we follow the Bible readings for this part of the church year, we begin Sundays at Bethlehem this February with a fishing story, Luke 5:1-11. In the story we meet three men who had been skunked after a night of fishing and yet had the faith to try again when a stranger told them how. Well, I have sympathy for the men in this story; I got skunked fishing the other day. So I thought I should talk to men of faith for advice.
First I saw my friend Mark and asked him, “Where are the fish biting on Clearwater?” “In the lake!”
With that bit of advice I went next to another friend, Jim. “I was skunked on Clearwater, what should I do?” “Making a hole in the ice first is a good start, pastor?”
Now thoroughly "enlightened" I went finally to Don, and asked what to do. He proceeded to tell me step by step, color of jig, size of bait, depth of water, and distance from the cliffs. So I have faith to try again. I am going to first auger a hole in that ice, drop a line “in the lake” and closely follow Don’s advice.
It would be unfair of me to not admit that after the one-liners I also got great advice from Mark and Jim as well—I always do. I ask these men for advice because I know they are experienced, avid fishermen. From them I can learn about the waters and the fish.
They have a passion for the outdoors and have logged in the lifetime of fishing and hunting to be trustworthy sources of good advice. But that is my story. It was different on Lake Galilee.
After Peter, James and John spent a disappointing night catching nothing in their nets, I am sure they were skeptical of the advice they got from this man of Nazareth who basically said, "Try again, this time in the daylight, and in deep water."
They knew their trade; he knew his, which we know was carpentry and preaching. And yet Peter probably surprised his fishing partners when Peter ignored his own knowledge of fishing and said, “But at your word I will let down the nets.”
We know that Peter knew a little about Jesus. He would have heard about the healings
Hop he had performed and e had seen Jesus heal h own mo her in-law. Just prior to this fishing advice, Peter had been listening to Jesus as he taught the people on the shore from Peter’s boat.
To me this suggests that spending time with the Lord and listening to God’s Word is the necessary first step to our encounter or our revelation of God’s presence in our lives. When Peter saw the nets bursting with fish he could have started whooping for excitement, or breathed a sigh of relief that he could pay his bills, but he instead fell on his knees in worship and addressed Jesus as “Lord.” Could it be that the Word worked with his experience and he encountered the divine presence?
I know this happens in our lives as well. When we spend time in God’s Word listening and reflecting on all that God has to say, when we take the time to hear all the wisdom, the advice, the comfort, the criticism, the warnings, the encouragement, the promises, the hope, and the love the Bible holds, then as we go about our daily lives, we are more likely to encounter God’s presence.
This happens because the Word has opened our perception in such a way that we are more aware of God in our world and in our lives. One of my trusted Bible teachers used to say “TheWord works but you have to work the Word”
What he meant by "working’" the Word is taking the time to read it well. I know it is trustworthy advice; it has worked in my life.
That reminds me of the fishing advice I have gotten recently. I know my friends will tell me I sure won’t catch any fish writing this article. Fishing takes work as well. It is time to pack the sled and get back on the ice. Thistime maybe I will "encounter" a keeper.
But I know when I open the Word, the Word works and there is no maybe to the guarantee of being encountered by God.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. For February, our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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