February 6th: "The Great Re-Commitment: Re-Purposed"

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The First United Presbyterian Church of Loveland

“The Great Re-Commitment: Re-Purposed”

Rev. Amy Morgan

February 6, 2022

Psalm 138

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;

 2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.

 3 On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.

 4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth.

 5 They shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.

 6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.

 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.

 8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and 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." 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.Exegetical notes:

The fishing industry was thriving during the time of Jesus due to major investments in the industry made by the sons of Herod, Herod and Philip; more than 230 fishing boats working the sea of Galilee in that period

Fish was the most important source of protein for Jesus and his followers

Peter and Andrew’s boats would have been 23 feet long and seven feet wide and had a crew of 5

Fishing industry was part of an “embedded economy,” meaning no upward mobility, wealth flows upward to the ruling class and elite families

Still, fishing was a subsistence living, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Taxes and tolls chipped away at profits and enlarged ruling class coffers

Theme: God fulfills God’s purpose in us

Trouble in the text: The fishermen don’t have purpose

Talk about “embedded economy” from Peter and Andrew’s POV. 

Fishing all night with nothing to show for it – this was their window of opportunity, they were done for the day, they still had to do their normal “day work” even though it was profitless

Worker harder mostly benefitted those above them in the social order, so there wasn’t much incentive

They had very little autonomy in their life and work; it was mostly structured and dictated from above

Trouble in the world: Our work has lost purpose.

Grace in the text: Jesus re-purposes the fishermen

Cf. crowds pressing in on Jesus to miraculous catch of fish almost sinking the boats

Grace in the world: Jesus re-purposes us. 

Image: Re-purposed items. 

A coffee mug that holds pens and pencils instead of hot beverages. A hammock where stuffed animals rest instead of humans. Aluminum cans that hold the beauty of a flower-shaped necklace instead of carbonated drinks. A frame that has lost its glass displays chalkboard messages. These are just a few of the re-purposed items that have graced my life. 

A quick online search reveals even more possibilities for re-purposing. A flour sifter becomes a flowerpot. Pages of old books become wallpaper.  Pallets become plant-holders. 

And in our story from the gospel of Luke today, fishermen are re-purposed into fishers of men. 

To be a fisherman in the first century was to be a man caught in a net. A complex web of relationships between families, government officials, and ruling elites determined your profits, your competition, when you could work, who you could sell to, which fish you were allowed to catch. No matter how hard you worked, you were getting nowhere, while the coffers of the wealthy and powerful were filled to overflowing. 

And one morning, after a particularly pointless night, Peter and Andrew, James and John sit cleaning their nets. There will be no more fishing today. Only at night are the nets camouflaged enough for the fish to swim into them instead of avoiding them like a fisherman tries to avoid taxes and tolls. They have no fish to sell, but the daytime work must still be done. The nets must be cleaned and dried and folded. The boats must be repaired and washed. Maybe only so they can go and spend another pointless, purposeless night on the water. 

Then up walks Jesus, asking if he can repurpose their boat. He needs a floating pulpit. He has such an abundance of people, a miraculous catch, one might say, that he is sinking under their weight as they press in around him. He’s got to find another way to teach them, another place to preach from. 

And so the boat is repurposed by the purposeless fishermen. 

When class is dismissed, Jesus returns the boat to its original purpose – as a fishing vessel. But he makes what, to Peter and Andrew, sounds like the most ignorant suggestion. He tells them to put their nets out in deep water in broad daylight. Now, maybe in the shallow water the fish could be driven into the nets because they had nowhere else to go. But when the fish see the net, as they obviously will, especially since it is still covered in the previous night’s catch of weeds, they will simply swim under it in the deeper waters. We can tell from Peter’s response what a brilliant idea he thinks this is. “You know, we’ve been at this all night, when we had a fighting chance of catching something, and there are no fish to be had out here. But sure, since you say so, we’ll humor you.”

Peter sounds pretty convinced the effort is pointless. Much like his whole profession and life have become. Day in and day out, they catch fish, or they don’t. They sell fish, or they don’t. And their life is no better. Their family is no wealthier. Their people are no freer.

Peter, and his partners, and his people, have lost their purpose. They were once the proud people of Israel, God’s chosen ones, heirs of God’s promise. And now, they are subsistence living in a land controlled by people who worship pagan gods and impose usury taxes on everything they produce by the sweat of their brow. They are floundering for a purpose like fish in a boat and sinking under the weight of oppression and apathy.

And then Jesus comes along and re-purposes them. 

As the fishermen frantically haul in their nets, fill the boats with more fish than they were designed to hold, which was half a ton each, Peter stops and takes it all in. Their boats are sinking, just like their hopes of ever having a better life. Even a catch of fish this large won’t make a difference for them. With all the regulations imposed on their trade, the price will be slashed, the sales will be restricted, the product will be taxed, the processing costs will be increased. There were so many levers that could be pulled by those higher ups that even this enormous catch of fish would not improve their lot. 

Peter could see that. But he could also see something else. 

This was, in fact, a miracle. This man, this teacher, this whoever-he-was from wherever-he-was, had some kind of divine power. Even though he’d only been half-listening, this man taught with an authority their local rabbis lacked. He spoke about a kingdom that was night-and-day different from the one they were living in now. And he taught that the only way to get there was to turn and go in the opposite direction from where they were currently heading. He taught that they needed to repent. 

So that’s exactly what Peter does. Falls at Jesus’s feet, right there among the flopping fish, and owns his sin and brokenness. A man like this teacher has no business hanging around with him. He’s not only purposeless, he’s worthless, too. And worthless, sinful people in the presence of someone powerful don’t fare well in Peter’s world. So he wants Jesus to get as far away from him as possible as fast as possible. 

But Jesus is not like the powerful people who rule and restrict Peter’s life, rendering him purposeless. Peter has nothing to fear from him. Because Jesus is there to re-purpose people. Starting with Peter and his fellow fishermen. 

When Jesus invites them to fish for people, they have no idea what this really means. How could they? It’s a pretty bizarre thing to say. But from the miraculous catch of people they had already witnessed around him, it seemed like Jesus knew what he was talking about, at least. And the idea of joining him in some endeavor that didn’t involve subsistence living in an oppressive empire for the rest of their days was appealing. 

So Peter and Andrew, James and John, walk away from everything – the largest catch of fish they’ve ever had, their families, their community, their responsibilities – to fish for people, whatever that meant. But for the first time in their lives, they have a purpose. One that will use what they are – fishermen – in a new way. One that will impact people, not pocketbooks. One that will help create a new kingdom, not support an inhuman empire. These fishermen are repurposed to work for the reign of God. 

The Great Resignation that continues to create flux in industries, shortages of low-wage workers, and unionization efforts in some sectors is at least, in part, because some people are feeling that their work is pointless, that their lives have lost a purpose. As an article in the Longmont Leader put it, “the pandemic has reawakened in many the deep-seated desire for a job they actually enjoy… It is because workers expect more that they are no longer willing to put up with the status quo.” Our status quo may not be an “embedded economy” with no chance of upward mobility, but more and more people are experiencing, even in our capitalist system, a sense that the balance of power is so unequal that no matter how hard they try, how many jobs they work, how much good fortune may come their way – it is still nearly impossible to really get ahead or really make a difference in the world. People are longing for work they are passionate about, work that connects to their purpose in life and gives their lives meaning, work that will make a difference for people instead of the pocketbooks of the extremely wealthy. 

Even things like volunteering and serving on boards and membership in institutions can feel purposeless. If we keep doing the same thing, day after day, year after year, with the same result – no major improvement in our lives or our communities – then we start to feel like we are just banging our head up against the same brick wall. If the rich just keep getting richer and the poor just keep getting poorer, no matter how hard we work, then our efforts seem pointless. If we spend our time and energy and money working for justice and peace and equality, only to see rampant injustice, deeper divisions, and massive inequality, we may be justified in feeling like what we do all day doesn’t make a lick of difference. We’ve been told that our purpose in life in the last two years has been to keep each other healthy and safe. And even though we’re masking and social distancing and getting vaccinated, people are still getting sick and dying in devastating numbers. And so we wonder if even that noble purpose is working out. 

Purposelessness is a dangerous and unhealthy condition. Most psychologists agree that a sense of meaning and purpose is fundamental to our mental health, as well as our physical health and general wellbeing. Feelings of purposelessness contribute to anxiety and depression and can affect our levels of physical activity, our eating and sleeping habits, and our social relationships. 

But the good news is that Jesus will re-purpose us. He already is. 

We have already seen Jesus re-purposing things through this pandemic. TVs, computers, and tablets have been re-purposed into churches, classrooms, and social gathering spaces. This sanctuary has been re-purposed into a broadcasting studio, even as it remains a place of sacred worship. Some pastors have been re-purposed into podcastors, and some parents have been re-purposed into teachers. The re-purposing work of God is happening all around us. 

Jesus is here, in the midst of our floundering, purposeless experiences of life, to re-purpose us to work for the reign of God. What’s so wonderful about this re-purposing is that we can still use the gifts and skills and experiences that we’ve gained up to this point in our lives. We may be required to adapt and learn some new things, but nothing of what we are will be lost or useless in our new purpose. 

So I invite us, friends, to participate in God’s re-purposing work, to re-commit to God fulfilling God’s purpose in us. This may mean that we have to see how where we’re going is not working, and we may have to turn, like Peter, and go in another direction, admitting our brokenness and pain. It may mean that we have to leave behind our greatest achievements, our regular routines, or our default relationships. 

But Jesus tells Peter, and us, to not be afraid. To be re-purposed by Jesus is to work for the reign of God on earth. It is work filled with passion, promise, and purpose. It is the work we were created for, and it is work that will not fail. Let us re-commit, friends, to God’s re-purposing work, in us and in our community. 

To God be all glory forever and ever. Amen.