Morning sky

This morning I sat out behind the house in the dark of the morning and watched and listened as the day prepared itself. I hear the rooster crow every morning and every morning I think of Peter and his apocalyptic rooster... a gentle reminder. But what struck me this morning was that as I gazed at the darkness of the sky that still has not begun to change to morning light, I'm able to see soooooo many stars ... and yet I know I'm only seeing the tip of the celestial iceberg. Ancient legend told that there was a vast darkness surrounding us and that those points of light were distant 'holes' through which flowed the light of heaven. I like that analogy, but know better from an astronomical perspective. But as I gazed out into the darkness this morning, I thought ... there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of this earth. "What is man, that you are mindful of him?" said Job. And I thought that my perspective would be somewhat similar to an observation post from 35,000 feet deep - buried under the darkness of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean - and looking up into absolute darkness and wondering about the magnitude of the oceans - and somehow I make a difference to the one who conceived it all! I'll have a better day.

Dirty Jobs

Dirty Jobs: Somebody’s gotta do it!
Peter & the disciples ( Luke 5:1-11; Luke 9:1-6; Acts 10:1 – 11:18 )
God often gives his people some challenging, difficult, and even dangerous tasks as he works out His purposes in this world. In scripture, we can see how GOD called, equipped, and empowered men and women for “dirty jobs” throughout biblical history. We also see how he sustained them through his powerful presence. In our lives together, building for the kingdom – we need to know that we may be called upon to do dirty jobs, and we benefit from the examples of faithful servants – both past and present.
Dirty Jobs, the new Discovery Channel series that profiles the unsung American laborers who make their living in the most unthinkable — yet vital — ways. Our brave host and apprentice Mike Rowe will introduce you to a hardworking group of men and women who overcome fear, danger and sometimes stench and overall ‘ickiness’ to accomplish their daily tasks … Diaper cleaner; spider venom milker; exotic animal cleaner; salmon carcass counter; septic tank maintenance technician; animal renderer; dung beetle breeder; and the list goes on… average folks tackling extraordinary tasks that simply must get done.
I would suggest that to follow David Lang’s introduction to this series is in itself “a dirty job”. Last week David had some of us relate our own experiences in dirty jobs and I think that Jerry Love won the prize. David last week made reference to Noah as having one of the dirtiest jobs in building the ark and following up with the whole repopulating the earth thing. However, I think the ‘dirtiest job’ title should go to Japheth. I would suggest that he was the youngest (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and that he drew the short stick to muck the animal stalls and be in charge of the compost pile. That had to be a dirty job. This week our story revolves around the apostle we know as Peter – a commercial fisherman from the Sea of Galilee – a man who was himself – “a dirty job”! I don’t know why I am so attracted to the television series “Deadliest Catch” except that it probably brings back to mind my own experiences as a commercial fisherman.
Here I relate story of my personal experiences in commercial fishing venture … on Saturdays and when we didn’t have a baseball game during the summer, I’d meet my friends (who were also ten) and we’d spend the day catching small perch from Cedar Creek in Will Hair Park at the ‘ups and downs’ so we could sell them to the bait house for 2-3 cents apiece! Sometimes earning as much as 60 cents! We withstood - the heat of summer; swarms of mosquitoes; red ants; slippery banks of the creek; the treacherous balance of walking the sewer line over the creek; falling in; fishing downstream from Gooch’s packing plant; fish hooks through the fingers, riding your bicycle while balancing a bucket and a fishing pole with a pocket full of bacon – all combine to make this a ‘dirty job’!
If you’ve ever watched the crews of the Time Bandit, the Wizard, the Kodiak, or the Cornelia Marie as they fish for Alaska King Crab in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea – you begin to understand something of the the rigors of a commercial fisherman… hard, demanding work, wet, stinky, slippery, cold, dangerous, constantly drenched in freezing water, continuing to fish – even through the night – exposed to the elements; cold! - hours on end – working beyond exhaustion – often bringing little onto the ship – and then there’s Captain Phil Harris – the ominous captain of the Cornelia Marie – scarred face, hands gnarled from years of fishing, as rough and tough a character as one could imagine from the crew of the Pirates of the Caribbean… I’m reminded of Peter.
Peter was probably a ‘larger-than-life figure for the churches of the first century. The gospels were initially written to Christians who already knew who Jesus was – and many would already know who Peter was (some even personally). I would imagine that the stories about Peter filled in and fleshed out the details to their personal knowledge of the disciple – and would give them hope and encouragement for their own journeys of faith… just as it does for us. Recounting how a legendary disciple got his start, how he repeatedly stumbled and then stood up again, how he loved and was loved – it is inspiring for all disciples.
Luke 5:1-11 - the calling of Peter
Commercial fishing is a dirty business (not crooked – just filthy). Physically demanding, lots of laborious upkeep on the boat and the equipment, there’s not always an equivalent relationship between the amount of work and the enjoyment of the results. All this to say that when the rabbi – who was a carpenter and not a fisherman – asks the professional to go out fishing again after a long night of nothing to show for it, you might expect Peter to tell Jesus to take a long walk on a short pier. But Peter’s first dirty job is to take the “newbie” out fishing when he already knew the fish were not biting [and typically they fished at night, because this was probably a fish known as ‘musht’ that feed in shoals and are closer to the surface at night because they are feeding and during the day they are deeper and not accessible by the nets of the Galilean fishermen!] Well – Peter speaks up to “re-frame Jesus’ expectations” but he is obedient!
Then… Shazam! So many fish that he has to call in the other boat and the boat is filled! Almost to the point of sinking! And as David pointed out - Peter falls to Jesus’ knees [usually we hear of someone falling at Jesus’ feet, but in this case the knees was as far as Peter could go, because they were knee-deep in fish!] “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Peter considers himself to be a dirty job for Jesus?
Perhaps this is an appropriate time to remind ourselves of the ways in which the Lord “called” Peter. In relating this story, Peter is referred to as Simon … an extremely common name. In fact there are references to at least seven Simons in the gospels alone. Among the twelve, two were named Simon – Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot. But Luke tells us in Luke 6:14 that the Lord gave him another name… “Simon, who he also named Peter.” Peter was actually a nickname, a derivation of the Greed word for “rock” – in Aramaic, he was called Cephas. This was not an “instead” name – it was a “both/and” name. He was called Simon … Peter … and Simon Peter.
When he was brash, undependable, vacillating and impetuous, reverting back to his previous self - the Lord called him Simon – symbolic of the “old” Simon who was not yet fully transformed into the rock upon which the Lord would build his church. When Tommy Lasorda was manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had a young pitcher who consistently threw an accurate fastball, but was timid and lacked self confidence, so Lasorda began to call him “Bulldog” – something he was not! But the more he referred to him as “Bulldog” the more he began to believe it, breaking Don Drysdale’s record for most consecutive shutout innings and becoming one of the greatest pitchers in the 1980’s – you might remember him as Orel Hershiser. He said when Lasorda called him “Bulldog” it reminded him of who he ought to be. So when Jesus tells Simon in his first introduction described in John 1:42 that “You are Simon, son of Jonah – you shall be called Cephas.” That is who Jesus wanted him to become.
Yes, I think Simon considered himself to be a “dirty job” for Jesus. How do we consider ourselves dirty, untouchable … often we are led to consider that we have become such a dirty job that he could not love, could not abide, or could not use us? We are reminded in Revelation 3 that we have been given a new name … perhaps one that reminds us of who we could become…are becoming … for our Lord.
So yes, Peter fall to Jesus’ knees and declares, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Jesus calls and commissions Peter, along with the other disciples: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” This is a high calling to be sure – but I suggest it is also a ‘dirty job’. Rather than Mark and Matthew’s phrase that we are accustomed to - “fishers of men” – Luke uses a Greek word that actually means to “capture alive”!!!
So how can it be a dirty job to tell / share / live the gospel? What do you think?