JANUARY 25th, 2026 PASTOR DON PIEPER
A GOSPEL OF GRACE Rom 10:9-15/LUKE 5:1-11
“A MESSY BUSINESS”
As we continue in our series, Luke's travel-log Gospel of Grace takes us to the shore of Lake Gennesarat, if you're Greek, the Sea of Galilee to the Jews, or the Tiberias Sea, if you're Roman. Must have been challenging for those using mapquest. It's there that Jesus begins selecting his disciples, students he'll be teaching a new trade to. Good thing because fishing has been a bit sparse as of late!
My earliest experience fishing was with my sister, Beth, and my father's friend, Mr. Uphoff. I remember sitting in his motorized fishing boat, learning from him how to bait a hook. “You want me to do what with this worm? Icky-yuck!” In spite of our inexperience we somehow managed to catch a few fish. When we got back to his house, Mr. Uphoff, wanting to give us the full experience, invited us into the garage to help him clean the fish. I remember thinking, 'We just took them out of the water; how dirty can they be?' Of course what Mr. Uphoff meant was we'd be gutting the fish and removing all of the unwanted parts, including it's head. Ooh! More icky-yuck! I wasn’t able to eat fish for years!
Not to worry. Thanks to Dungenness Crab and steelhead salmon I've done a complete recovery!
One thing I learned that day: fishing is messy business. Luke confirms as much, telling us the fishermen left the entire catch, two fishing boats overflowing with fish, just sitting there in the sun. Can you say, “Peoo-eee?!” Messy, messy, messy...!
So, what’s going on here? Well, at one level it's about Jesus connecting with people in their areas of interest and experience. I love how Luke unpacks this, providing info not provided by either Matthew or Mark. “Stepping into one of the two empty boats sitting on the shore, Jesus asked Simon, it's owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowd from there.”
(Luke 5:3)
Jesus is like, 'Is this your boat, Simon? Nice...!' 'Uh, yeah, thanks – wait, how do you know my name?' 'Well, you know! Is this where you usually sit?' 'Uh, yeah, that's my seat. You've heard the old proverb about walking in someone else's shoes? How about stepping into their boat?
What's more, when he's finished teaching, he goes fishing with them. He not only tags along to help them catch some fish but in order to capture their hearts and imagination with his kingdom vision. He's offering them a much broader sense of purpose: “From now on you'll be fishing for people!”
(Luke 5:10)
He says that after helping them catch fish that had been so elusive the night before and they haul them on board. The excitement they felt wouldn't compare with what awaited them as Jesus later sent them out to fish for people. “Heal the sick and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you!”
(Luke 10:9)
But in his training he will also warn them that it won't be easy. He warns them that they'll often be rejected and face resistence. “I am sending you out as lambs among wolves!” (Luke 10:3) Not much has changed in that regard. Fishing for people, for Jesus, can be difficult, messy business.
“If the church is to reach emerging generations, we must be prepared to address struggles of brokenness. Broken people are wounded, often wounding people. They need a safe climate in which the healing work of God can begin in their lives. It will take patience and time. People will come and go, walking toward the light of freedom, then plunge back into the darkness. But they must see the church as a lighthouse; always there to lead them into the safe harbor of God’s grace.”
(from John Burke's Perfect People Not Wanted)
-2-
I read of a pastor who put together a special evening service by which to highlight Jesus' call to be fishers of men. In the morning he preached on the parable of the wise and foolish virgins and in the evening on Luke 5. Unfortunately, the person who put the sermon titles on their reader board didn’t realize the effect of having both sermon titles placed together. The sign read: ‘Five Virgins in a Crisis’; and then underneath, ‘What Can One Man Do?’ That caused a bit of a stir!
But he raised a good question: what can one person do? I like the story Nicky tells of the boy on the beach, tossing stranded star fish back into the sea. When a man stopped him to ask him what difference one or two could possibly make the boy responded, 'I bet it makes a difference to that one!' And with that he threw another one back into sea!
You know what I find most compelling about Luke's fishing story? For me, it’s the fishing nets. The first time they’re mentioned is in verse 2: “The fishermen left their boats...and were washing their nets.” (Luke 5:2) As when Mr. Uphoff talked about cleaning our fish it struck me as rather ironic that Peter and company are cleaning their nets. I mean, why were they doing that? As Simon told Jesus: “we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing!” (Luke 5:5) So why were they bothering to clean them? There hadn't been any fish in them since the last time they cleaned them.
It struck me that the act of cleaning their nets was, at least in part, out of frustration. It was busy work. Isn’t that kind of what we do sometimes? Out of frustration or fear of failure or rejection we busy ourselves with other tasks. We do this and that, tending to things that serve ourselves forgetting that the church was created by Christ not so much for those within but for those without. Peter and his buddies sitting around cleaning their nets resembles a church frozen in fear and frustration.
So it is that Jesus tells Simon not to give up, but to go back out and put those fishing nets to use. It's net reference # 2: “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” (Luke 5:4)
Jesus urges them to resist their reluctance and go out again, only this time he sends them to the deep part of the lake to fish. They must’ve thought he was joking. 'Good one!' Not only was it too late in the day to catch fish but any good fishermen knows that fish aren’t caught in the deep part of a lake, but in the shallows. “But Master,” they protest. But in the end, they reluctantly go: “if you say so....” (Luke 5:5)
Even now, Jesus is sending us into deeper waters. He wants us to reach out to those in deep water – to those swimming in polluted waters or sinking in the deep darkness of loss or woundedness. If the church is to be the hope of the world as Christ intended it to be we must put out into deep waters. We must be prepared to offer the hope and healing Christ offered to people like these discouraged fisherman, or like last week's oppressed man groomed in graceless religion, or like Mary Magdalene who was oppressed by multiple demons. Can we offer ones such as these love, hope and healing as Jesus did? How can we “go out where it is deeper and let down our nets”? (Luke 5:4)
Luke mentions those fishing nets yet again in verse six. Fishing Net reference # 3: “This time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!” (Luke 5:4) Fishing can be scary, messy business – but it is also extremely exciting! When a community is experienced as accepting, loving and a place of healing word spreads, nets tear and amazing things begin to happen!
Every time I’m in a small group where someone risks being real, sharing their struggle with addiction, or the anguish of being hurt, or whatever it may be – and those around them encircle them with love and grace I thank God that I get to see Jesus at work loving on those who feel lost at sea.
-3-
I love that Jesus invited misfits like Simon who rightly recognized that a sinful man like him had no rights to even be in the presence of the holy one of God, as Jesus was identified in last week's text. I love that Jesus responded to Simon, 'Don't be afraid!' as if to say, 'I'm not here to condemn you but to help you, to equip you!' Jesus came declaring that the time of God’s favor had come for the destitute, the oppressed, the broken and the spiritual misfits. I'm so thankful because God has used such people in my life as much as he has used me in theirs – for I too am a spiritual misfit. To connect with those in deep we have to be willing to show how we’re in deep too, of our brokenness that has led to our daily dependence on a merciful Savior who brings healing for our souls and hope for our future.
(Luke 5:10)
Did you notice the 4th time the fishing nets are mentioned, or rather, alluded to? It's in the final verse: “And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.” (Luke 5:11)
In other words, they left the fishing nets, as well as the cleaning apparatus, the fishing boats and even this amazing catch of the day, are all left behind so the disciples can do some real fishin’! In short, all other pursuits are empty and meaningless in comparison to the calling they now embraced. “From now on (they’ll) be fishing for people!” (Luke 5:10)
So how do we do that? How do you reach out in a culture that is increasingly indifferent if not hostile to Christianity and the church? How do you connect with those in deep waters?
First, to be an effective fisher for people, we need to do a lot more listening than talking. We need to hear their hearts, learn what their story is... Second we need to connect on common ground just as Jesus did. I love the way Jesus went fishing with fishermen, taking them out fishing in their own fishing boat, and then meeting their emotional and physical needs by providing the haul of their lives. Third, we need to communicate and model the love and grace of God in concrete ways.
I felt a nudge to do that this week. During my bike ride a saw a man holding a sign, “anything would help”. I turned around and went to talk with him. He shared his age, that he had noone to talk to, had syphillis and may've gotten frostbite on his feet the night before. So I gave him an Alpha flyer and told him I would bring him a QFC card, a couple of quilts and look into getting him a room. When I returned he looked anxious. I gave him the card, a bag of food and told him I had a quilt in the car and before I could proceed, he grabbed his stuff and angrily said he was tired of people harassing him. I was confused. I asked, “do you feel like I'm harassing you?” “I certainly do”, he yelled and took off.
My heart ached for him. I mean, it really ached for him. I realized Jesus sharing his feelings in the moment with me. I share this with you because many of my attempts to be like Jesus often don't end in what most would call success, but success is not based on how they respond, but how I/we do.
I recently stopped in at Moon's Cafe to buy a bagel. As I walked out a felt a nudge. I sensed that God wanted me to go back in and talk with the young lady behind the counter. I stood outside and silently argued with God. “I already bought my bagel. That'll be awkward, Lord. What would I say?” Finally, it was like Simon with his fishing net. “Okay, if you say so...” I went in and the last customers walked out, so I walked up and complemented her on how friendly she is to everyone. She thanked me and then asked me about my church. I asked her how she knew I was a pastor, she replied she didn't know that I was. That left me a bit dumbfounded – more than usual, that is to say. (Luke 5:5)
After telling her about our two services, I went home to eat my bagel. Afterwards God gave me another nudge. “Don, this Sunday is a combined service. You gave her the wrong time!”
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Wait - what? You want me to call her now? She'll think I'm pestering her. Ok, if you say so...
The next Monday she showed up to Alpha with her boyfriend and informed that she'd been having a bad day. Her family was in crisis mode and she had asked God for help and within seconds I called. God is so fun! Holly and Michael are enthusiastically taking Alpha again this winter. Praise God!
Most folks are open to spiritual dialogue but have grown up in a world of competing beliefs. They seek authenticity and relevance. Most don’t resist truth so much as they resist arrogance. They don’t tend to ask, “Is it true”, but rather, “Does it work?” or “Do I really want to be like you?”
As a Christ follower, that’s exactly where you can help. By imitating Jesus' compassion and by climbing into their proverbial boat, by relating to them. After all, it’s not our job to fix people – that’s God’s job. Instead, we’re called to accept and love people in order to reconnect them with God.
“If you saw a Rembrandt covered in mud, you wouldn’t focus on the mud or treat it like mud. You’d be ecstatic to have something so valuable in your care. But if you tried to clean it up yourself, you might damage it. So you’d carefully bring it to a master who’d guide you and help you restore it to the condition originally intended. When we begin treating one another as God’s masterpiece waiting to be revealed, God’s grace grows in theirs and our lives and we're blessed to be a part of it!”
(from John Burke's Perfect People Not Wanted)
“How can they believe in (Jesus) if they've not heard? And how can they hear about him if none tells them? And how can someone tell them unless they're sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring (and embody) good news!'” (Romans 10:14-15)