Luke 5:1-11; 1
Kings 19:11-21; 1 Peter 3:8-15
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
God’s ways are not our ways. You, and I,
all of us know that to be unequivocally true. But why? Are our ways always so
wrong? Do we never do the right thing, the righteous thing, the virtuous thing?
Of course we do. We build hospitals to heal the sick. We give food, clothing,
and money to provide for the poor. Our young men and women lay down their lives
to defend our freedoms and to secure freedoms for others. Of course, we also
destroy infant lives, we better ourselves at the expense of others, and we tend
to think more of ourselves than of anyone else. But why must God’s ways always
be so very different from our ways? Why must God’s thoughts be so completely
the opposite of our thoughts?
There is an answer to that question, and
I think that you will agree that it is every bit as true as the fact that God’s
ways are not our ways, even if you don’t find it very satisfying. The answer to
the question “Why?” is, “Because He is God, and you are not.” That’s why.
We so want God to act in the ways in
which we think that He should act. We so want God to be like us. It’s only
human after all. But God is not like us; God is not a human creature. God
created humanity in His image, not the other way around. So, whose ways must be
conformed to whom? Whose thoughts must submit to whom?
The greatest obstacle to faith, and the
greatest contributor to suffering, is pride. Pride is your idol, your god. An
idol is anything that you put your fear, love, and trust in before God; an idol
is anything that gets in between you and God. It’s a First Commandment thing:
You shall have no other gods before me – not even yourself. It’s an Original
Sin thing – man is not content to be created in the image of God, but man wants
to be God himself. We want to determine what is wisdom and what is foolishness,
what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. But it is pride.
It is arrogance. It is self-righteousness and self-centeredness and
self-ISH-ness. And it is sin. And it brings death. And it is utterly, and truly
foolishness.
Each of our lessons today speak to us of
foolishness. For it is foolishness in the eyes of the world that God would
speak to Elijah, not in a mighty wind, not in a jarring earthquake, and not in
a blazing fire, but in a still, small voice – even a whisper.
Likewise, it is foolishness in the eyes
of the world that you do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling but
rather do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those
who abuse you, even love your enemies.
And so also was it foolishness in the
eyes of the world, indeed foolishness in the weary eyes of Simon, James, and
John, when Jesus told them to “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for
a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at
your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed
a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.”
Foolishness. But the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. God’s
foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts,
neither are man’s ways His ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are God’s ways higher than man’s ways and His thoughts than man’s thoughts.
Man’s pride separates him from God. The
man who trusts in himself does not seek God – he is a fool. But God is merciful
and just, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. He calls the fool to
repentance and afflicts man’s pride to break it. Elijah feared for his life
because he trusted only in himself and knew that he had not the strength in
himself to survive. But in his self-despair, Elijah was receptive to God’s
Word. God demonstrated to Elijah that He would act, not in ways that men find
impressive – winds, earthquakes, and fire – but in His way, the way of His
Word.
Simon, James, and John despaired at the
failure of their own efforts to catch fish. But in their broken and weary
desperation they were receptive to Jesus’ Word “Put out into the deep and let
down your nets for a catch.” By that Word alone they put to their boats and let
down their nets, not expecting anything, but catching instead a great catch of
fish.
Why are God’s ways and thoughts so
different from ours? Because He is God and we are not – thanks be to God. In
His grace and mercy, God loves us enough to crush us; God loves you enough to
crush your pride, to beak your self-reliance, to destroy your
self-righteousness. It is a good thing to be broken by the Lord – for He is
powerful and willing to put you back together again, not as you were before,
but as a new creation, restoring you once again to His image.
God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s
wisdom. He does the unthinkable. He does what men would never do. He saves the
best wine for last. He eats and drinks with sinners, tax collectors, and
prostitutes. He touches the unclean with no concern for Himself. And He lays
down His own life for men who hate Him. Foolishness.
And so, thanks be to God, His ways and
thoughts are not your ways and thoughts. He afflicts your ways and thoughts. He
afflicts your pride, your reason, and your assumed wisdom. He breaks you, so
that He can re-create you in the image of His Son.
Through the foolishness of the Gospel –
the preaching of Christ crucified – a great catch of fish – you – is still
brought into the boat – the Church. The message of the cross is foolishness and
a stumbling block to the world; but to you, that cross is the power of God and
the wisdom of God.
In
the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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