Go Away From Me!

Yesterday, I posted about Simon Peter's doubt when Jesus told him to let down his nets for a catch. But I missed another important element of the story. When Peter did obey, the nets were overwhelmed... and so was Simon. After spending an entire night of fishing with no results. Mind you, this was a "professional" fisherman who lived and breathed the vocation of hauling in the catch. It was his family tradition and primary source of income, so I think we can safely assume that Simon knew how to fish. And yet, nothing. A whole night of effort with no reward.

Then Jesus entered the picture, and everything changed. "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." I don't know where Peter spent his night fishing... presumably where he knew the deep underwater pools attracted the big fish to come and hang out for a midnight snack. To catch fish, you have to go to where they are. But for all his expertise, Simon and crew came up empty and exhausted. When Jesus hopped into his boat, I'm sure Simon was relieved to just sit there and listen to the Master teach the people. But when He was done, He told Simon to put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Can't you just hear Simon's incredulity...? (Sigh)... Okay, Master, if you say so. (Parenthetical, sexist remark): Obviously Simon was a married man, because he was trained to resign himself to doing things somebody else wanted... e.g., "Yes, Dear."

Then comes the shocking haul of fish. When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Wow, in the course of no more than a few hours, their labor went from fruitless to overwhelmingly abundant. By their own (legitimate) efforts... nothing, not even a minnow. However, after spending time with the Master... and consequently obeying His command... the nets begin to break due to the large number of fish in them.

Simon's response is what I'd really like us to consider... On the surface, it doesn't make any sense. Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! Gee, Simon - the Lord does an awesome, otherwise unexplainable work of grace through your obedience - and you tell him to hit the road! In the words of Jar Jar Binks, "How wude!" How about a simple, "Thank you", or "Wow, You're awesome, Lord!" Nope, Simon's response is, "I don't want to be near you." Why?

Perhaps the answer lies in the second part of his surprising statement... "I am a sinful man!" I mean, I try, Lord, I really do... but often times my efforts don't get me anywhere. I've been working at this church for so long... and it doesn't seem like it's any better off now than it was when I got here. Or how about this: I've been teaching Sunday School for years now, and have never been able to lead anyone to Christ... I've been praying for my prodigal son (or daughter) to come back home for years now, but they're still living a destructive life... I've tried to be nice to my pastor (or priest) but he's so callous and impersonal... why don't you step in and help me, God?

We live by confident faith that God watches over our coming and going... but we also live with an understanding that God doesn't always answer our prayers - He is not our puppet. We have to guard against having a demanding spirit toward God's benevolence. Often times, He quietly weaves His grace into our lives without our knowledge. Sometimes, He chooses to remain quiet when we're going through difficult circumstances... but no matter what our emotions might want to tell us in the dark of night... we can rest assured that our heavenly Father never stops loving us or caring about the storms of life we face in this world.

But sometimes, He shocks us... overwhelms us with His holy presence... and even though it's a really good thing... our mind goes into spiritual overload... and, like Simon, we can't handle standing there before Him, feeling naked and utterly unworthy. I think it's because when God reveals Himself to us... we simultaneously see His holiness and our unholiness... causing us to shrink away from such perfection. I wonder what it will really be like when we supposedly "stand" before Him in the day of judgment...? Regardless of what Romans 14:10 says, I can't see us standing before Him whatsoever... In fact, I'm pretty sure we'll all be flat on our face, trembling in the wonderful, paradoxical mix of fear and joy associated with meeting Abba Father in His throne room.

Wow... What a day that will be! In the meantime, there's much work to be done... so let's push out to deep water and go fishing!