February 5, 1995	Let Down Your Nets	Isaiah 6:1-8

Luke 5:1-11

"Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

calling for you and for me;

See, on the portals he's waiting and watching,

watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home;

you who are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!"

When I hear the scriptures that were read this morning, the one from Isaiah and the one from Luke, I am reminded of this old hymn whereby many a sinner has answered the call of God in their life and headed toward a church altar rail to offer that life there before God. And I am reminded of my own call to be a Christian, my own call to lay it all down, to surrender it all to Jesus. And it all didn't happen at once. For me it was in stages. And, from time to time, I find God's call still coming at me again and again, even today. For no matter how much I seem to have given to God in the past, it seems that I always have a lot more in reserve that I have kept for myself. And, besides, the more I have given, the more I have gotten. So, God's call keeps coming at me even today, asking, "What else do you have to give? What else do you have to surrender, Paul?"

Our Old Testament lesson talks about God's call upon Isaiah. And, as Isaiah describes his call, it certainly sounds amazing. There he was, we are told, worshiping in the temple when he suddenly realized that he was in the very presence of God, who was sitting on his throne, surrounded by angels. And as Isaiah saw this vision he got the profound sense that he was not worthy to be in the presence of Almighty God and the heavenly host. But God immediately answered his concern by sending forth an angel with a burning coal to purify him with the Righteousness of God. And as the angel did so, Isaiah heard God call out with a mighty voice of invitation, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And, hearing this call, and joyfully knowing that God had purified him with the Righteousness of God he answered, "Here am I; send me!"

Now, as I said earlier, this sounds amazing. And it is! But, even so, this amazing event is more common than we may think. In fact, I believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit God's throne is much closer than we may think. Indeed, good liturgical, biblical theology strongly suggests that as we worship here today we actually join with all the saints before the throne of God. And, as we look upon this Lord's Table with the cross of Christ above it, and if we truly look with spiritual eyes, we may indeed see the throne of God and the angels, themselves, and hear the voice of God calling unto us: "Who will go for us?"

So, the question I ask this morning is, "How do you remember God's call upon your life?" Or, "How is God calling you, today?" For me, if I were describe God's call upon my life and use poetic words, they wouldn't be at all much different than the words used by Isaiah as God called him. For many a time have I experienced the very presence of God and his angels in the house of worship. And many a time have I felt the cleansing power of the Righteousness of God through the atoning love of Jesus Christ upon the cross. And many a time have I heard that voice calling forth: "Who will go for us?" And I and thousands of others like you and me have answered, "Here am I; send me."

Our Gospel lesson from Luke 5 is the story of Jesus' call upon the lives of Simon, and James, and John, fishermen in the sea of Galilee. We're told that Jesus was in Simon's boat speaking to the people gathered along the shore while Simon and the other fishermen were mending their nets. And when Jesus was done speaking he told Simon to quickly get into the boat, go out into deep water and let down his nets. Simon, protesting a bit, told Jesus that he had been fishing all night and hadn't caught a thing. Nevertheless, perhaps because he wanted to humor this "holy man," he did as Jesus told him. He went out into the deeper water and put down his nets and caught such a huge quantity of fish that James and John had to come to help bring in the catch. And, even then, both boats were so full that they almost sank.

But, then we get to the part of the story that is most moving of all: Amazed and awed, Simon gets down on his knees before Jesus and says, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." But, Jesus' answer to Simon, like God's answer to Isaiah, was one that seemed to brush aside his sin; and Jesus said, "From now on you will be catching people." And Simon, James, and John dropped what they were doing and followed him.

In many ways, God's call upon our life is like this, as well. Jesus comes to us where we are, even where we may be working, or playing, or wherever, and he asks us to do something that may seem ridiculous, at first. He may ask us to do something like, "Let down your nets." And we may even protest that his request may not seem sensible. But how blessed we are when we go along with his request and do what he says.

There is a story of a man who during the 30's walked the streets of Philadelphia searching for work. One day he happened to go into the office of a well-known businessman by the name of Girard. When he asked for a job, Mr. Girard answered, "Yes, I can give you work. See that pile of bricks out there? Carry them over to the other end of the yard and stack them up."

By nightfall the man reported that the project was completed and received his pay. When asked if there would be more work the next day, his employer said, "Yes, come in tomorrow and carry those same bricks back to where you found them." The following morning he came in early and got busy without a word. For more than a week he was instructed to carry bricks back and forth until it was evident he could be trusted to do exactly what he was told.

Then he was given a new and bigger responsibility — to go downtown and bid on a large quantity of sugar. Not recognizing him, the people at the auction were surprised by the bid of this total stranger. When it was accepted, the auctioneer asked who would pay the bill. "Mr. Girard," the man replied. "I am his agent." He had earned this position by being faithful to a seemingly senseless task.

And, sometimes God calls us this way, as well. You never know how God is going to get you involved in the kingdom's work! But, how good it is when we answer the invitation obediently. When we do, he casts aside our sins by the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, and makes us his worthy disciples.

That's the wonderful thing about answering God's call. No matter who we may be, or the shameful things we may have done, or what our secrets may be, or what our station in life may consist of, God comes to us and calls us. And by faith we receive the Righteousness of God and are given the grace to join with the saints around the throne of God. Have you heard that call upon your life? Can you hear that call today?

"O for the wonderful love he has promised,

promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,

pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home;

you who are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

calling, O sinner, come home!"

Amen.