FAITH WALK: Embracing an Out of Control Discipleship
Epiphany 5
Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Paul Swartz - February 6 & 7, 2010

The hundred miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people” seeking freedom and family in the U.S. have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach U.S. soil.

The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the U.S. has agreed either to return rescued or captured boat people back to Cuba or transport them to a neutral third country. But once these soggy sailors’ feet hit dry land they are instantly transformed. They have the right to stay in the U.S. for at least a year. That qualifies them to get expedited “legal permanent resident” status and eventually even perhaps U.S. citizenship. The moment a Cuban refugee has “dry feet,” a whole new future welcomes them.

The first disciples Jesus calls in Luke’s Gospel are “dry feet” disciples. But they didn’t become dry-feet disciples until they were willing to be boat people. They launched into deep water at Jesus’ command. Once out there they see and experience things over which they have no control. Things they know with their hearts and souls are sure evidence of God’s providence and sovereignty.
But their wet water witness brings them to a “dry-foot” transformation. The moment their boats hit the sand, Simon Peter, James, and John walk off the bow of their boats and leave them behind. The moment their feet become “dry feet,” they are transformed into disciples.

Instead of “hunters” or “fishers” they are transformed into caught-and-taught “gatherers” — “catching” living men and women with hope and love, offering them a new life with a new vision of God’s kingdom.

But here’s the catch: getting to the point of “dry feet” first requires a no-holds-barred launching into the deep. Most of the boats used to cross that great expanse of ocean between Cuba and the U.S. aren’t very safe and aren’t very pretty. It first takes tremendous courage and conviction to get “wet” in order to get “dry.” Like the Hebrew people who passed through the Reed (Red) Sea with the armies of Pharaoh in hot pursuit, they first had to pass “through the sea” to get to the “dry land” (Exodus 14:22). They were leap-of-faith/“through the sea” wet refugees before they were “dry feet” Promised Land people.

Even the most skilled sailor knows there is no such thing as a guaranteed easy passage. Winds shift. Gales blow out of nowhere. Swells go from “choppy” to “cuisinart” in a matter of minutes. When the water, wind, and wave conditions get their dicey-est, sometimes the safest thing a savvy sailor can do is stop trying to control the ship’s every movement. Let go of the main sheet, stow the sails, lighten the load, hold onto the bare essentials, and let the power of the sea and storm be the guiding force.

Sometimes all you can do is pray and trust God. You are no longer the captain of your ship or your fate. You realize you are no longer in control of your life.

One of the first lessons Jesus taught His first disciples was to give up their control to God and EMBRACE AN OUT-OF-CONTROL DISCIPLESHIP.

Simon Peter, James, and John had a plan. They had a set schedule. They fished at night. They cleaned and repaired the nets in the morning. They rested in the afternoon. They spent evenings with their families. They went back out to fish when night fell once again.

But no matter how neat their schedule, they had one big problem: they were catching no fish. Their schedule was full. But their nets, their coffers, their lives were empty.

When Jesus arrived at the edge of the water, He first messed up their morning, then “messed up” the rest of their lives. When Jesus instructed them not only to head out into deep water but to prepare for a catch by lowering their nets, His advice went against all they knew as fishermen. Could that be us as well? Do we come to the deep water of worship preparing for a catch? Or expecting to be caught? Do we believe that a blessing is waiting for us? Expectations count with God. It’s all over the Bible.

Expectation is the first-born child of faith, “the substance of things hoped for.” No expectation, no real faith! When we say we believe in God, we are not saying I am agreeing with some abstract idea; we’re saying we expect the things that God has promised to us! We’re saying that we’re partners with the “Giver of every good gift.” And among those gifts God has promised us are fruitfulness and fish and forever!

Within minutes their nets were filled to the bursting point. They had more of a catch than any of them had ever imagined possible. Notice how Jesus keeps pushing Simon’s boundaries. “Leave the shore, Simon. Go into the deep, Simon. Expect a blessing Simon!” Those full nets showed Simon Peter how empty was the rest of his life. God had more to offer than a set schedule of daily duties, a rote rutted routine that allowed for nothing exceptional, nothing extraordinary, nothing unexpected. When the kingdom of God washed over Simon Peter, James, and John, it nearly sank their boats. And it totally deep-sixed their illusions of control.

Instead of being a fisherman or an independent businessman, Simon suddenly saw who he really was: “I am a sinful man!” The only control Simon Peter wielded was the ability to let go, to fall on his knees, and to confess his humble humanity. The last step Simon, James, and John ever made on their own was that step off of their boats and onto dry land. Once they had “dry feet” their lives went totally out of control, because they turned their lives, their trust, their futures, over to Jesus. And they followed Him.

Being “in control” has become an addiction, and not just for the Google generations. When was the last time you didn’t have some sort of “control” device in your hand or on your person. A remote. A cell phone. A mouse. Blackberry. A laptop. OnStar. Brinks. GPS, garage door opener, a button that you push to unlock the car or release the trunck? All are “controllers.”

Our digital kids are great at being controllers. They are growing up being the Directors of All Things Digital. Give them a controller — for an Xbox or PS3, a mouse or remote for a flat screen on-line system, an internet connected cell phone with projector — and they can control their whole world. ...Until they cannot!

What is the biggest thing keeping some of us from being full and authentic disciples of Jesus? We refuse to give up our control, or more accurately, our illusion of control. We are control junkies.

When the 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince it took down homes, it took down the capital building, it took down the cathedral. But the most devastating takedown was of the cell towers and the control tower at the airport. The electronic grid that had enabled people to communicate with each other was suddenly gone. Everyone, everywhere, was suddenly out-of-touch, out-of-control, on their own.

When forest fires, mudslides and drowning rains and hurricanes cascade upon unsuspecting communities, what is the biggest headache for emergency crews? People who won’t leave their homes for safety. People who refuse to evacuate areas judged to be in grave danger for killer avalanches, fires, or washouts. The people who stay think they are staying in charge of their property. They think they are keeping tabs on their “stuff.” They think they are guarding their “life.”

Control junkies think they can stare-down Mother Nature with some sandbags, a hose and a “plan.” Sure they are afraid of losing their homes, their incomes, their things. But the biggest fear is admitting they have lost control. Their lives are no longer in their own hands.

That is the biggest fear haunting a control junkie, letting go of the illusion that we can grasp and guide our own lives all by ourselves. Jesus is saying to Peter and to us, “Blessed are those who hand over their controllers.”

Have you handed over yours? Can you take your hands off the controls and pause for a minute? Can you see the fears and anxieties that are really driving you? Can you give up your control to God? Is Jesus the mascot of your life or the monarch of your life?

Can you trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey? That’s the reason we are offering the class on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm on Living Fearlessly. Of course, if you have no fears or anxieties in life, there’s no reason to attend.

You see, the dramatic call of the first disciples isn’t some archaic, First Century “fish story.” The step-by-step process into faithfulness that Jesus offers these fishermen, is the same developmental exercise all persons of faith must flex their way through. Before we look briefly at the three steps to the Faith Walk, we need to clearly understand this basic premise: our Lord doesn’t call the equipped…He equips the called. Do we really hear that? Ask yourself what experience, skill, knowledge did Simon, James and John bring to the “mission table?” What qualified them for the positions into which they were being called? Our Lord doesn’t call the equipped…He equips the called who are willing to let go of their contollers when they are caught (called) and allow themselves to be controlled and directed by their Lord and Master as He equips, trains, and teaches them.

The first step is “Trust Me!” Not having Simon Peter's first-hand experience of Jesus preaching in our home church, or coming over to supper at our house after services, or (by the way) healing a family member of a debilitating illness before dinner time, the trust issue is BIG for twenty-first century would-be believers.

But it's trust that plugs us into the power source that is Jesus the Christ. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." Peter understood that Jesus was Lord, and he was not. That’s when miracles begin to happen, when we agree that “God’s foolishness is wiser than any human wisdom.” “God is the Maker of heaven and earth…” and that all by Himself!

I love the story of Harry, a TV repairman, who was called to fix a television set that had neither sound nor picture. Left alone in the room, Harry spotted the cause immediately: the set was unplugged. Harry faced a dilemma: one part of him said he shouldn't charge the homeowner. The other insisted he be paid for his time. Finally, he presented the owner with a minimum-charge service bill, which read: "Restored isolated connecting cable to primary power source. $45."

You and I are isolated connecting cables that need a Power Source. Can we trust that Power Source enough to get plugged in? Second….
Jesus doesn't call us to take half or half-hearted steps. Jesus calls us to launch out into the deep waters of discipleship. The walk of faith is not about safety or risk-free living. The walk of faith is all about passion and compassion. In fact, I would insist that Christianity is demanding and serious stuff. When it's delivered as easy and amusing, it's another kind of religion altogether. It then becomes nothing more than “cheap grace” which Dietrich Bonhoeffer addressed in his book, The Cost of Discipleship.

Jesus doesn't call disciples to wade in the waters. Jesus calls disciples to launch into the deep with this promise: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Third, leave your old ways behind. Let God create in you a whole new way of being in the world.  What God has begun in you, God wants to complete in you. Will you press on in faith? Will you press on toward the mark of your high calling in Christ? Or will you keep looking back, yearning for the old you and the safe life rather than the new you and the adventurous life? AMEN!