Bearers of Redemption

Sermon for SMHP, Year C, Epiphany + 5, Feb. 10, 2019

Luke 5:1-11                          

               ¹Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, ²he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³He 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. 

               ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 

               ⁵Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” ⁶When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. ⁷So 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. 

               ⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; ¹⁰and 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.” 

               ¹¹When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

          Shawn Green started selling drugs in the streets of Columbia, South Carolina, when he was thirteen years old.  He had joined a local gang, trying to give some meaning to his life.  He was good at it—gang banging.  He began to move up—supervising other dealers, becoming a lieutenant in his gang.

          You usually end up in one of two ways when you are living that life. 

          Dead.

          Or in jail.

          Shawn got lucky…and went to jail.  Once in jail, he had the opportunity to think about the direction his life had taken, and where he was going.  He had always been a man of faith, and he began to talk to God about changing his life.  One night, Shawn was in his cell, having an argument with God about what it would take to make a new life, when he noticed a shaft of light, shining on his library-issue Bible.  He continued to bargain with God:

          “God,” said Shawn, “I promise you if I open this book and put my finger on something and it don't make sense, I'll never open this book again.”

          And he opened that Bible to Second Corinthians, Chapter 7.  In Chapter Seven, Paul tells the church at Corinth that he realizes his last letter caused them grief.  And then he writes, “⁹Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us.¹⁰For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.”

          In that moment, Shawn chose godly grief…and redemption.  He fell to his knees and began to pray.  When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he wondered, “Is God touching me?”

          But it was his cellmate…

          …who knelt down with him and prayed with him.  At that moment, Shawn says, he left behind everything he had been before.  Like the disciples in our gospel lesson, he left everything else behind, and followed Jesus.  His journey took him to prison for drug trafficking and possession of a firearm, and there in prison he started Christ Hop—a gang for Christians.  He says, “I looked around and I saw all the groups taking care of their own—the blacks, whites, Latinos.”  And I thought, ‘Why don’t we have that for the Christians?’”

          So he started a gang…of Christians.  They met for Bible study, prayer, and worship.  And they looked out for each other.  Because they were Jesus’s gang.

          Shawn is out of prison, and Christ Hop continues to grow, as people are drawn to his authenticity and his message of redemption and grace.

          It is a message which could be preached by any of the disciples, and any of the prophets.  Indeed, it is a message that could be preached by pretty much anyone God has ever called into discipleship and service.  Because pretty much all of those people have stood in need of forgiveness and redemption.

          Because God has never been particularly interested in working with perfect people. 

          Think about it.  Think about the people God calls into service, and the people Jesus called into service.

          Abraham.  Sarah.  Moses.  King David.  Mary Magdelene.  Isaiah.  Peter.  James and John.

          Those last four are in our lessons for this morning.  There’s not much about James and John in the lesson, but many of us know their story, right? 

          The Sons of Thunder.  They needed redemption…early and often.

          When God called Isaiah, the fledgling prophet said what so many before him had said, “I am not worthy!”  Actually, his denial was one of the more interesting ones, wasn’t it?  He saw a vision and cried out “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!”

          [Slide]The seraphim—high ranking angelic beings—are also in attendance during this vision, and one of the seraphs takes a burning coal and touches it to Isaiah’s lips, saying, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 

          Your guilt has departed.

          Your sin is blotted out.

          In other words, you, Isaiah, a man of unclean lips, are now redeemed. 

          You are forgiven.  You are loved.  You are called.

          The prophet’s account goes on to say, ⁸Then 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!”

          This is pretty much the formula for call stories in scripture:

          God calls.  The person says, “Oh, not me, Lord.  I stutter.  I’m too old.  I’m too young—we heard that from Jeremiah, two weeks ago.  “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”

          And what is it that Peter says, when he sees Jesus’ power up close, and knows that he is being drawn toward discipleship?  “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 

          He falls on his knees at Jesus’ feet…and then says, “Go away from me.”  Bit of a mixed message, isn’t it?

          Anybody else ever send the Lord mixed messages?

          We want to be disciples, don’t we?  We want to follow Jesus, to be like Jesus, to show the healing power of Jesus to a hurting world…

          …but then we start wondering whether we are really the people to do that.

          I’m too old, Lord.  I’m too young, Lord.  I’m too busy, Lord. 

          And then the big one:  “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinner.”  You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff I’ve done…and surely you wouldn’t want me for a disciple if you did know it all.

          Anybody ever said that to God?  You don’t have to raise your hands.  I know I’ve said it.

          I’ve been sure I’m not good enough to serve God.  To serve Jesus as a disciple.  I’m sure there are some perfect people waiting out there to be perfect disciples.

         

Two things:

1.  Jesus knows everything about you.  Jesus knew everything about Peter.  And still gave him the keys to the church. [slide]

2.  Like his parent, Jesus has never shown much of a proclivity toward working with perfect people.  Jesus called…and continues to call…people like us.  People who stand in need of redemption.  People who get frustrated and say stuff they regret later and sometimes do stuff they regret later.

          Those folks make the best disciples.  Because disciples are called to bring a message of forgiveness and redemption to the world.  How can you do that if you don’t know that you have stood in need of forgiveness and redemption yourself?  The message falls flat.  People see right through it.

          Jesus called Shawn Green to serve, because he could talk about forgiveness.

          Redemption.

          He had seen it up close.

          Maybe you have too.  Maybe you’ve had the amazing experience of feeling God’s forgiveness wash over you.  Of realizing that you are loved, and forgiven, and that God has chosen you in particular, not in spite of what you’ve done and been, but because of it.

          Each of us has been on a journey, and each of our journeys has taken some turns.  Sometimes the road we turn down seems dark.  But God has been there, walking with us.  God has called to us, even in the midst of our darkness.  God has redeemed us, all the while knowing that we might wander down the road of darkness again. 

          On that road we might meet others in need of redemption.  And that is why God has called us, in particular.  Because only the one who knows forgiveness can bear forgiveness to another.  And only the one who knows redemption can bear it to the world.