February 4, 2007

Pastor Charles R. Lane

5th Sunday after Epiphany

Luke 5:1-11

"Fan Into Flame"

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 5^th chapter.

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.  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.  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long, but have caught nothing.  Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.  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.  But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  They Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

This is the gospel of our Lord.

Greeting.

I saw a six year olds jaw drop a last winter, it was just about this time last February.  Here is how it happened. I don’t know if the Seattle Mariners do this, but each winter the Minnesota Twins have what they call the Twin’s Caravan. Twin’s players break up into small groups and head for the cities and towns of the upper Midwest.  It is obviously a marketing trip, but baseball fans, especially the little ones, love it.

I’m in the Rotary Club in my town, and two Twins players paid us a visit.  After their program, they announced that they would give out autographed baseballs to the club members who could guess their batting averages.  I got one of those baseballs.  It’s not that I’m such a fan, but one person guessed a batting average at .310.  The player gave a thumb’s up, calling for a larger number.  The next guess was .312.  The player turned his thumb down, wanting a smaller number.  My fellow Rotarians aren’t too bright, because I was the first one to figure out that there is only one number between .310 and .312. 

So I left with an autographed baseball.  When I was 6 that would have been a prize kept under lock and key.  Quite honestly, I don’t have much need for it now.  So I started thinking of 5 and 6 year olds I knew.  Immediately a family from church came to mind.  They are huge baseball fans, and I knew the six year old, named Thomas, was one of the biggest.  So I called his dad and set it up that I would arrive and present the boy with this autographed baseball.  When I gave him the ball and told him whose autograph was on it, the little guy’s jaw dropped.  Thirty seconds later, it was still in the same position.  He was thrilled.  I was more thrilled.  A couple days later I got a thank you note from him, prompted I’m sure by his mom – and my joy was complete.

When I read passages like our gospel for this morning, I find myself thinking about Thomas.  I find myself thinking that if Thomas’ jaw can drop when he receives a baseball, then our jaws ought to literally hit the floor when we think about all that Jesus has done for us. 

In our gospel for this morning, we find Jesus at the shore of the lake of Genneseret.  Here, at the very beginning of his ministry, we see so many key components of what Jesus did while he walked this earth, and what he has done through his followers ever since.  First, he was preaching the word of God.  Next, he called people to follow him.  And finally, he gives them the incredible privilege of inviting others into his family.

First, he was preaching the word of God.  To help us grasp this, think with me about the words of Martin Luther, who said that we are captive to sin, death, and the power of the devil – and Jesus has freed us from this captivity.  You would be captive to sin, except that Jesus died on the cross so that your sins and mine might be forgiven.  Each week you come to this sanctuary to hear the marvelous news that you have been washed clean of a week’s worth of dirt by the God whose love for you is unwavering.

You would be captive to death, except that Jesus rose from the dead, and you have God’s promise that someday you will too.  Death has been called the last and final enemy, but we know that that is not true.  Someday your life here will end – but your life will not end.  Through Jesus, you will have the last laugh at death, and you will be raised to live with Jesus forever. 

You would be captive to the power of the devil, doomed to leading a life that is just one meaningless event after another.  Jesus has changed all that by placing you in a community of God’s people and allowing you to be a part of his great purpose for life.

This is the word of God, that you are free from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  Is your jaw starting to drop?  I wouldn’t recommend it, but I wonder if we shouldn’t go through life with our jaws like this, marveling at the magnitude of God’s blessings.

There is one thing more about Thomas and his baseball.  I talked with his dad a few days ago, and he told me that Thomas still likes to show his baseball to family and friends when they come over to his house.  When you have something that makes your jaw drop, you don’t want to keep that to yourself.

And, of course, we should be like that as well.  When God’s blessings make your jaw drop, you don’t want to keep that to yourself.  Simon certainly didn’t, and we know the powerful results of his life.  Like Simon, you have the incredible privilege of inviting others into Jesus’ family. You know people who need to hear what you have heard – be like Thomas and Simon and make sure they hear it.  You have jaw-dropping good news to share – be like Thomas and Simon and share it.

I would suggest to you that this brings us to the “Fan Into Flame” program that you of St. Luke’s are kicking off this weekend.  This program is about proclaiming the jaw-dropping good news of Jesus through improving your church home so that you and others can better hear the gospel.  It is about making this facility better able to meet the needs of your members and your community.  It is about expanding your staff so you can more effectively proclaim that jaw-dropping news in your improved building.

Our gospel for this morning really is about the basic sequence of the Christian life.  You have been blessed by Jesus in unbelievable ways.  You have the wonderful privilege of sharing that very same blessing with others.

I want to close this morning by thinking for a few minutes with you about the richness of the title of your stewardship program – “Fan Into Flame”.  To do that, I need to tell you first that in the Bible, the word for spirit and the word for wind are the same word.  When the Bible talks about the spirit moving among God’s people the word that is used is the same word that is used to describe the wind blowing. 

Second, I need to tell you that when it is warm enough in Minnesota, I love to grill, and I am very particular, only a charcoal fire.  No gas grill has ever found its way onto my patio.

When I grill, I love the wind to be blowing, because that wind works its way through the holes at the bottom of my Weber grill, and literally fans the charcoal into flames.  The charcoal doesn’t just sit there and turn white, it is alive with flame.  When the wind is blowing, the fire can be 75, even 100 degrees hotter than when there is no wind.  And the food is so much better when the charcoal is fanned into flame.

We have God’s promise that over the next four weeks, the Spirit will be blowing through St. Luke’s Lutheran Church.  We have God’s promise that the Spirit-wind will blow here and will heat things up.  The jaw-dropping good news will be proclaimed here in new and exciting ways, and we will each be fanned into a most generous response.  And when all our responses are put together, the Spirit will have prepared one savory meal among us.

My prayer for you over the next five weeks is that you will have occasion to have your jaw drop.  I hope you will experience in a new way the incredible generosity of our God.  I pray that your jaw will drop in amazement as just how good God has been to you.  I also pray that God’s Spirit will fan your faith into flame – causing you to glow white-hot for the gospel.  And I know you will find a way to glorify God through generously giving to your church at this important time. Amen.

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