January 29, 2022

Scripture Reading: 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, 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 to 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. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus understood he needed a diversity of disciples to carry out God’s plan for God’s people.  Paul put it this way in Romans 12:1-5, For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

I once worked in a hospital that was being rebuilt while conducting its mission. That resulted in the main parking lot’s closure requiring much of the staff to walk several blocks from a temporary lot located in a high crime area at all hours of the day. Most of the janitorial staff were women over 50, many did not have the appropriate clothing for the weather. The elite parking places near the entrance of the building were reserved for doctors, residents, and interns, most, at that time, were males in the prime of their lives. In a staff meeting, the issue of the long, unsafe walk arose. The leaders said the doctors are the most important staff in the hospital. Lives depended on their presence. To which one in attendance replied, “if the surgical theater was not spotlessly clean, the work of a surgeon could be meaningless.” There was silence and finally the comment “we will look into it.” That same week two vans began picking up and returning employees to the distant parking lot on a regular schedule.

God created an interdependent world where everyone has a purpose and is needed to fulfill God’s vision of God’s kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: Lord, enable us each to serve you as you have called us and enable us to work together in shalom. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.