Luke 5:4-11 Go Away From Me, Lord!

Luke 5: 4-11 Go Away From Me Lord….

[4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." [5] Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." [6] When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them.
And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. [8] But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." [9] For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; [10] and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. [11] When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Last evening a study group I facilitate was studying the stories of Abraham and Sarah, and the stories of Lot. We were discussing the hospitality that Abraham and Lot had extended, on two separate occasions to messengers of God. Abraham had killed the fatted calf and brought out the best of what he had for the three strangers. Later when they traveled to visit Lot in the village, he protected the three strangers from a rabid crowd who wanted him to give them the strangers for sexual sport and assault. Two of the questions we were working with were,
What do we do when hospitality is extended to us ? and Why do we extend or not extend hospitality to others? We were connecting our answers to these questions to the reality of God’s hospitality, or blessings, to Abraham and Sarah, Lot and his family, and to us. In Luke 5:8 it says this, after Simon had pulled in more fish than he could handle at Jesus’ direction: But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"
Has anyone ever given you a really nice, generous gift? How did you feel? How did you react? Most of us would feel really uncomfortable. How many times have you heard, especially at Christmas time, “Oh, but I didn’t give you anything!” It embarrasses us; sometimes we get ashamed, or even resentful.
We humans make a mess of gift giving. Nowadays we even tell others specifically what we want them to give us, like a catalogue order filler. We’ve taken the joy and surprise out of gift giving, perhaps because we don’t want to feel obligated or we simply don’t know what to do with the gift. Peter tells Jesus, when he realizes what he has done for him, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Jesus offered Peter abundance, generosity, overflowing boats of food and potential income. And Peter couldn't handle it. What did Jesus then say to Simon Peter? “Do not be afraid.” Jesus knew the feeling coming from Peter, and from all of us, when confronted with authentic generosity or love: the emotion of FEAR.
We are afraid, but of what? Obligation, unpaid debt? Fear that the giver will use the unbalanced scale to manipulate us through guilt? One of my group members admitted she often doesn’t’ feel she has EARNED the generosity. And there lies the rub, especially with God. If love is a gift from God, and if generosity is a form of love, are we not expressing our fear of love? Jesus is God’s manifestation of God’s free gift of grace and he asks us to repeat it, to do likewise. Otherwise, it stops with Jesus. What has to happen inside of us to learn how to accept God’s love and generosity, unearned? But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." You want to give me something in return, Peter? Don’t let fear stop you, or the fear of being unworthy because of your sin. From now on, Peter, you will be catching people! Questions for all of us: “Who would you like to catch? What fear is stopping you?” How are you asking Jesus to go away from you, because you are sinful? How is Jesus calling out for you to be not afraid?