A Sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

When I was growing up, my family took a vacation to Nevada and one day we drove out to see the Grand Canyon. I hope that you’ve had the chance to do that, too, because it really is incredible. It’s so vast, so large, so beautiful, it’s hard to describe the emotion that you feel when you’re looking at it and soaking it in. But I’m going to try to anyway. I think the primary emotion is just awe, you’re awe-struck with how amazing it is. But underneath that, there’s some more complicated things going on. I don’t know if this is just me, maybe I’m a little crazy, but when I was standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, looking down into it, I felt this urge to just… jump. There’s this draw towards it, it sucks you in, but as soon as you realize that, then you’re afraid, then you want to back away, because you know that you actually can’t get too close. There’s this big sense of awe that’s masking this more complicated, mixed emotion. You’re drawn towards it but you need to back away, you want to be closer but you’re afraid.

I think that Peter had a Grand Canyon moment sitting in his fishing boat that day. As the nets are breaking and the ship is sinking, he’s in awe of Jesus. He’s drawn towards Him, but he knows that he can’t get too close. We see in Peter a picture of the sinner confronted with Christ. Peter’s afraid and cries out, “Depart from me!” But Jesus stays and tells him, “Do not be afraid.”

Now, Peter’s reaction to the miraculous catch of fish is pretty reasonable. He’s in awe. “He and all who were with him were astonished.” He sees a miracle, realizes Jesus is divine, and is struck by his own sinfulness. But there’s actually a bit more than just that going on here.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Simon Peter. We’re in Luke 5, but he first shows up explicitly in Luke 4. Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and then goes to Simon’s house and heals his mother-in-law, who “was sick with a high fever” (v. 38). And after that, Jesus heals a whole bunch of other people and casts out demons.

The miraculous catch of fish isn’t the first miracle that Peter has seen. And it’s very possible that Peter had been around before that, too. He’s seen all kinds of miracles but he didn’t have that same dramatic reaction any of those times. So what’s changed? What’s different?

All those other miracles had been at arms’ length. It’s one thing to see Jesus heal someone you don’t know, maybe a bit more impactful to see him heal a relative, but even then, Peter’s just an observer to all this. But now, with the catch of fish, it’s different. Jesus is stepping into Peter’s life, his boat, his job. There’s nothing more personal for a man than how he makes his living, right, and now Jesus is turning that world upside down. The power of the Godhead is now speaking Peter’s language, voiced in his personal experience, and that hits him. Hard. He’s in awe of Jesus, drawn towards Him, but since it strikes him so intimately, he’s also conscious of his sin. So he’s afraid, he backs away, “Depart from me.”

There are times when we, like Peter, are struck with the reality of our sins. We become disgusted with ourselves after failed attempts to overcome pet sins. We see the horrible sins of others and identify similar tendencies within ourselves. We look at the cross and see only the agony of the passion. We look at everything God has done for us but can only see how unworthy we are.

When we are struck with who God is and who we are, as Peter was, there’s some tension. We’re in awe of Him, we’re drawn in, we want to get closer, but we shirk away in fear. We know that if we get too close, then we will be destroyed. God is holy and I am not. He’s perfect and I’m full of sin. We aren’t going to mesh well together.

Have you, like Peter, cried out in the depths of despair, “Depart from me.” “How could God love me after what I’ve done? How can I be in his presence, when I know that I’m not worthy?” We are drawn towards God, but that is overridden with fear and shame. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”

Peter’s request doesn’t make that much sense. For one thing, they’re on a boat in the middle of a lake, what does he expect that Jesus is going to do? But more than that, if Jesus had gone away from Peter, that would have been disastrous. So He doesn’t. Jesus stays.

Now maybe there’s not much comfort in that. If you tell God, “Get away from me,” and He just doesn’t leave you alone, sometimes it feels like you can’t get rid of Him. But what does Jesus say to Peter? “Do not be afraid.”

In these words, we see a greater miracle than the catch of fish. “Do not be afraid.” Why is Peter afraid? He’s confessed his sin! Fell on his knees in front of Jesus, “I am a sinful man.” He knows that he is not worthy to be in Jesus’ presence. So what does Jesus say? “Do not be afraid. Your sins are forgiven. You don’t need to fear to be in my presence because I have taken your sins away. There is nothing to separate us.” Jesus stays and offers Peter absolution. 

And Jesus does the same for you. We fall on our knees and confess our sins, “I, a poor, miserable sinner. I am not worthy to be in your presence.” And Jesus says, through His servant, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Though we would shirk back from Jesus, He draws us closer and brings us in. We are not worthy to be in His presence, but He stays and removes our unworthiness.

When we look at Christ on the cross, we see His great love for us that He would endure so much to grant us forgiveness. We stand in awe, drawn towards Him, with no fear, for He has removed our fear and our shame. We don’t have to stand timidly at the edge of the cliff or scoot over to the other side of the boat. We can take the plunge into Jesus because by His death and resurrection, all of our sins are taken away. There is no need to be afraid.

We not only enter His presence, but He brings His presence down to us and we receive His great gifts. In the Divine Service, He forgives your sins in the Absolution. He strengthens you through His Word. And He doesn’t just step into your boat, He steps into your mouth as you receive His Body and Blood and are united to His presence. Though our fear and our sin would drive Him away, Jesus stays and forgives your sins.

There’s a legitimate psychological term called the “call of the void” or “high-place phenomenon” that describes why people feel the urge to jump over a cliff. This is really common, it’s your brain sending a warning signal as a natural response to danger, which can sometimes be misinterpreted as an urge to jump. So I’m not that crazy after all. Your brain knows it’s dangerous, you’re not actually going to do it, it’s just a reaction to a potentially dangerous situation.

As Peter knelt before Jesus on his boat, he felt the call of the void. He was looking into the depths of his own sin. He didn’t really want Jesus to leave. But he knew that something was wrong. Jesus rescues us from the danger of our sin. He has snatched us out of the void of death, so that we can be in His presence. There’s no danger, no need for fear, because He loves us and forgives us. Do not be afraid. Simply stand and bask in that awe. Amen.