Fifth Sunday after Epiphany: February 4, 2007
Preached at Kingston Road United Church by the Rev. Richard C. Choe
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. … 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 are 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.
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“Daddy, why is everything falling on me today?”When Michelle, my younger daughter, was about four years old, she kept dropping food on her lap during dinner one day. She looked at me with frustration, and asked, “Daddy, why is everything falling on me today?”
There are times when everything seems to be falling on us. There are times when nothing seems to go right no matter how hard we try to make it right. Simon Peter’s fishing was not going well till he took Jesus’ suggestion to throw the nets into the deeper water. Simon Peter seems to be experiencing self-doubt and feeling unworthy when he encountered Jesus at the Lake of Gennesaret. Simon’s reaction, when he recognises Jesus’ identity, is to push him away. But Jesus simply tells him: “Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching people.” (vs. 10 & 11)
Simon Peter’s encounter with Jesus reminded me of my own encounter with Jesus when I was 20 years old. I was studying science at the University of Toronto. I thought seriously about going into ministry when I was in high school; however, I was not quite sure whether ministry was what I wanted to do with my life. I was not sure whether I had the kind of patience, compassion, and faith that I experienced from the ministers I knew. My parents were clear that I should not consider becoming a minister. My parents felt that I should become a medical doctor. Furthermore, being a minister seemed to be so confining and way less glamorous than being a doctor or a lawyer. Most of my friends were in pre-Med or pre-Law. So I took the easy way out by studying science. It sounded good that I was studying for medical school. I was going through the motions and not really enjoying my studies.
I heard about my friend Stephen’s illness when I was in second year in university. Stephen and I were close friends when we were in high school. We met through the Hi-C gatherings in Toronto. We promised to each other that we would become ministers. If either of us could not become a minister for some reason, he would become a doctor or a lawyer and support the other’s ministry. I went to university a year ahead of him and I got caught up with my own life. One day, I heard through other friends that Stephen had cancer and that he was in hospital. A while later, I heard that his health was deteriorating and that he had committed his life to Jesus. I heard that he promised to God that he would become a minister if God would heal him.
It was fear that paralyzed me. It was a realization that people my age could actually die that prevented me from visiting my friend at the hospital. It was fear of “remembering” our promise to each other about our future that prevented me from visiting Stephen at the hospital. I had forgotten our promises and I did not feel worthy to be a friend with Stephen. Then, I heard from friends that Stephen died of cancer.
I remember walking into a church. I remember lining up to pay my final respects to Stephen. I remember standing in front of his coffin, looking at his emaciated face. It was then, as I was facing my friend lying in a coffin, that I remembered the promise we made to each other about becoming a minister. It was there, standing in front of Stephen, when I realised that I only have one life to live. Encountering Stephen’s death became a moment of transformation for me. I realised that I was trying so hard to fulfill the expectations of others. I was feeling so miserable trying to be the person I thought others wanted me to be. When everything seemed to be falling apart, when I was full of self-doubt about my own worthiness, I heard the voice of Jesus saying, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people and I will walk with you.” Jesus led me to a deep water of my fear and convicted me to accept his Call to ministry.
Whenever I am facing difficulties, I remember Stephen and the promises we made to each other. I know that he is walking with me in my ministry. I am also much less anxious about being my own self.
In 1945, Sydney Poitier was 18, taking acting lessons at the American Negro Theatre in Harlem, New York. He writes about his moment of transformation when he encountered Louise – one of his classmates at the acting school.
“How we see ourselves, how we see each other,” she said, “should be determined by us and not by people who generally don’t like us; people who pass laws certifying us as less than human. Too many of us see each other as ‘they’ see us … We are going to have to decide for ourselves what we are and what we’re not. Create our own image of ourselves. And nurture it and feed it till it can stand on its own.”[i]
Sydney Poitier portrayed a sense of dignity through characters in movies such as “To Sir, With Love” and “In the Heat of the Night” while much of the White American society was blind to the inhumanity of their way of being.
The year 2007 marks the 200th Anniversary of Britain’s Abolition of the Slave Trade. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade involved four continents and lasted for four centuries. Historians estimate that 10 -12 million individuals arrived from Africa to Europe, North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as enslaved people. Some scholars state that 25-40 million people were taken from Africa. Tens of millions of Africans perished in the Middle Passage.
I have been to a museum in the US where a section of a slave ship was created underneath the Plexiglas floor. I saw through my tear filled eyes men, women, and children chained together and packed like sardines in such a confined space. I have not yet found appropriate words to articulate the feelings I experienced at the museum.
An African American friend reminded me that those were free people who were kidnapped and “enslaved” by the Europeans and Americans for their economic gains. The devastating impacts of enslavement of Africans and African continent are still being played out in our time. Even in our own time, racism and prejudices prevent many in our church and society to see and embrace African Canadians as sisters and brothers in God. I hear Jesus saying to us, “, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be encountering people as your relations.”
In “All about Love,” Bell Hooks, an African American philosopher, quotes another great African American philosopher, Cornel West:
“Nihilism is not overcome by arguments or analyses, it is tamed by love and care. Any disease of the soul must be conquered by a turning of one’s soul. This turning is done through one’s own affirmation of one’s own worth – an affirmation fuelled by the concern of others.”[ii]
Simon Peter’s soul turned when he encountered Jesus at the lake of Gennesaret.
Calling of James, John, and Simon Peter at the Lake of Gennesaret shows us that God calls us the way we are. Our sense of unworthiness or even sinfulness does not deter Jesus from calling us as disciples. We also remember other disciples, like Mary and Martha, who accepted Jesus’ call to minister with him. For centuries, Christian church has not recognized ministries of women as authentic and worthy. For centuries, human beings have not been able to embrace one another as sisters and brothers. Jesus continues to invite us to not be afraid.
Today, Dylan Belanger and Sharon Smith have been baptized. Dylan’s parents made a decision for Dylan’s baptism with firm conviction that Dylan will be raised as an integral part of the Belanger family as well as the extended family called Kingston Road United Church.
Sharon Smith made a decision to be baptized as an adult. Her decision marks a transition in her life. Sharon and George, along with their child, Samuel, have also joined our community as members today.
Dylan, Sharon, George, and Samuel: May your lives be enriched by this momentous occasion of turning of your souls. May your lives be a blessing to those your encounter.
May our lives be tamed by love and care as we affirm ourselves as children of God who are created to be worthy by God’s compassionate breath.
Amen.
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[i] Sidney Poitier, The Measure of A Man: A Spiritual Autobiography, New York: HarperCollins, 2000, 78.
[ii] Bell Hooks, All About Love: New Visions, New York: William Morrow and Company Inc., 2000, 94.
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