The following sermon was preached at Holy Cross, Byfield, on Sunday 6 February 2022.

The occasion was the Fourth Sunday before Lent.

Scriptures relating are: Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11

You can listen to a recording of the sermon by clicking here.

Simon Peter was a fisherman. What did Jesus, a teacher, know about it? Every fisherman knows that you don’t catch fish in the heat of the day, or in the deep water. Yet here was this Jesus, mansplaining to an expert. Still, there was something about Jesus. ‘If you say so.’ Saying ‘Yes’ to God brought Simon Peter a reward beyond his expectations, a miracle. No wonder he ended up on his knees, feeling stupid and unworthy. But Jesus didn’t want him to feel ashamed. And he recognised that shame comes from our fear of getting things wrong, of being found out, found lacking. So, he reassured Simon Peter, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Then came the real test. Would Simon Peter leave his familiar world, step out of his comfort zone, and follow Jesus? Would he overcome his fear and let himself be caught up in God’s story? Would he let go of his nets and boldly go into the deep waters?

Do some of the things God seems to ask us to do feel foolish to us? Are we prepared to take the risk, even when it means leaving our comfort zone behind? Actually, it may not be as bad as we think. Many other Bible passages show us that Simon Peter didn’t have to abandon all his familiar people and things. He kept his house (John 20) and contact with his mother-in-law (Mark 1), and his wife – who appears also to have been a believer (1 Corinthians 9), and probably his boat too. Certainly there are several times when Jesus and the disciples used a boat, and it must have belonged to one of them. And what did Peter do after the Resurrection? Preach in the Temple? Heal the sick? Why, go fishing, of course (John 21)!

So, it seems that God asks us to take the familiar things of our lives – our skills and experience – and to use them to good purpose. Ordinary folk, ordinary lives, doing extraordinary things. All because we let ourselves get caught up in God’s story.

And then, it is worth recalling on this particular day that, exactly 70 years ago, on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth, a mum of two young children lost her dearly loved father. King George VI died while his daughter was travelling in East Africa and, at only 25 years of age, she was catapulted to the role of Queen! Although Elizabeth had known this was her future, she was unlikely to feel ready or prepared for it at that age. We can imagine that she would have felt out of her depth – coping with being thrust into the global limelight, along with a steep learning curve of how to be Queen – at a time of immense personal grief. This weekend, Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, becomes the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, after 70 years of service. It is an outstanding achievement – can you imagine working and having to keep to a busy schedule of engagements and discussions for 70 years!! A lifetime given in service.

Sometimes God calls us to do something that we feel ill-equipped to do. Queen Elizabeth has a strong Christian faith and speaks of how this faith strengthens her in her work. Spend some time praying and asking God how you can show his love to others. Be brave and ask God to bring the extraordinary out of your service.

What is God calling you to do? What do you already do, that can be used to spread the good news of God’s love? Even if at times you feel out of your depth, the next time you hear God say, ‘Whom shall I send?’ will you say, ‘Here am I; send me’?