“Tasty Coal and Fragrant Fish”
By Father S. Peter Donatelli
(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version; OT4c)
JOKE:
A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. “That’s what I like to see,” said the priest, “A man helping his fellow man.” As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, “Well, he sure doesn’t know the first thing about shark fishing.”
INTRODUCTION:
Fishing stories call to mind exaggeration. Though we, here in Maine, respect our local fishermen, there is certainly a small amount of skepticism when one goes on about the “one that got away.” I grew up across the street from a really nice fishing family and as a child I was intrigued with the stories of sailing miles into the ocean and bringing home what would subsequently be a gourmet meal cooked by my mother. Now, the idea of going out to sea makes me sick. Though the “big fish” stories are fun and seemingly unbelievable, they are met with a lot more respect and credence then North Americans perception of politicians and priests. Though I cannot speak on behalf of politicians, I urge priests, prophets, and overseers to regain the trust necessary to build the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven because quite frankly our Faith, the Faith, is no fish story. Though there is a huge mountain ahead of us, we can never give up. I suppose people doubting us comes with the territory. Archbishop Oscar A. Romero said, “To believe, to hope: this is the grace of the Christians in our time. When many give up hope, when it seems to them the nation has nowhere to go, as though it were all over, the Christian says: ‘No, we have not yet begun.’” So getting back to 21st century North America, “We have just begun to evangelize this state!” So how do we do it? Well, first and foremost we have to understand that though we are experiencing technical difficulties, we have not done anything wrong thus far. Though at times we are discouraged, we need to still believe because if you really believe that someday you will catch the big, then some day you will. How does one discern the voice of a prophet? Well this morning I am going to go through the words of Scripture and hopefully you will walk away from here knowing God is speaking to our church.
POINT ONE:
God is the God of the obvious and of simple common sense. God is believable! In this week’s daily office reading, Abraham is trusting in God’s provision for a wife for Isaac. Genesis 24: 12 Then he said, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Really?! You’re prophetic gift is finding a woman who will offer water to you while sitting next to a well? This seems to be a rather obvious observation however sometimes God needs to work in the obvious. Amazingly though we as Christians are known for speaking the truth in love and being absolutely transparent still leaves many people in doubt. Most people come to some understanding of a higher power, yet they are fooled into believing in ideologies that either make no sense or are compatible with whatever lifestyle feels good. Either way, these false beliefs are self-destructive. Christianity is simply a faith tradition that glorifies a God who not only creates beauty but loves His creation. A Father who loves His children so much that He set up our lives so that by the mere choice of accepting His love through faithfulness and obedience we get to spend eternal life with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Our God is truly a God obliging us to worship and believe. Isaiah knew he was in the presence of some reality higher and loftier than any human or earthly throne. Isaiah 6: 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” 4And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.5So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Again, notice how the Kingdom is imitated on earth as it is in Heaven. Why do we do the “Ben Hur” Sanctus in our church? Because God must like the Heavenly refrain of the angels. Why do we burn incense every week at our church? Because we believe the Bible is not only the Word of God but the Bibles is the measuring stick, the Canon from which we live our life. Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.
That being said God wants us to say, “Yes Lord I believe. I will do whatever you ask of me through Your measuring sticks of Scripture, Sacrament, and Spirit-submission.” Let’s be a church of believers and when I say believers and mean a faith that we live by, which is the root of the word “believe”, and a faith that we will die for.
POINT TWO:
There is no room for doubt in a believer’s walk. Two weeks ago when we all went to Keith’s house for prayer and healing, I knew God was going to do something there. Maybe I did not know to what extent God was going to heal and praise God, Keith has stumped his doctors with the miraculous healing that occurred that day. St. Paul in today’s second reading knew that his preaching, his presence, and his prevalence warranted a faithful response from the Corinthians. This did not happen. In this passage, one of the most important passages in the New Testament, Paul has to deal with the Corinthians’ uncertainty and doubt about the resurrection of the dead. The older view was that the Corinthians held the Greek belief in the immortality of the soul as opposed to the Jewish-Christian belief in the resurrection of the body. More recently it has been supposed that as Gnostics they believed that through the sacraments they were already raised and therefore did not require a further resurrection of the body. Paul pulls out all the stops in this passage. 1 Corinthians 15: 1Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Amazingly those who are given much responsibility are overlooked when it comes to struggles with doubt. I looked up patron saints and I suppose the first person that comes to mind when I say “doubt’ is St. Thomas. However, one patron of those who struggle with doubt is actually St. Joseph, the stepfather of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe that when we sincerely seek the guidance of the Lord in times of doubt, God really will give you guidance. Sometimes we get clear words as Joseph did in a dream. Other times we observe life’s events that help us believe; a friend coming over to comfort you, a sunny day, or just a word from your daily office readings. God will dispel your doubts if you simply let Him.
POINT THREE:
When we finally acknowledge our Lord and Master, we realize our unworthiness and beg God to allow us to follow Him. Following Jesus is a rewarding thing and there is enough joy and presence to maintain the course. Simon had already witnessed the healing of his mother-in-law, and now he experiences the miraculous haul of fish. This creates in him a feeling of unworthiness: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Please realize by now we here at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor have witnessed enough miracles, enough healings, and enough to know that surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. Common sense tells us the God can not in any ways given the word for the Church of the Victor to come into existence only to have it fail. Therefore we must believe we have found a home, a call, and a responsibility to see this through even it takes the rest of our lives. Today Isaiah reminds us that in this realization he tastes the exhilarating flavor of coal. Paul reminds us that God’s grace is never in vain. And finally Peter reminds us that in overcoming a malodorous vocation, Jesus offers the metaphor from all disciples to seek our family, our friends, and our fellow citizens to reel them into the Kingdom. Luke: 5: 1So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
CONCLUSION:
In the immortal words of St. Augustine, “Christ says: Give me this fisherman, this man without education or experience, this man to whom no senator would deign to speak, not even if he were buying fish. Yes, give me him; once I have taken possession of him, it will be obvious that it is I who am at work in him. Although I mean to include senators, orators, and emperors among my recruits, even when I have won over the senator I shall still be surer of the fisherman. The senator can always take pride in what he is; so can the orator and the emperor, but the fisherman can glory in nothing except Christ alone.” Give me a struggling artist, some special ed. Teachers, some struggling musicians, an out of work paralegal, people in food management, and a manager of a dry cleaning facility and in Christ alone will the Church of Christ Jesus Victor flourish. Prosper the work of Your hands, Lord; prosper the work of Your hands! Amen! +++
