Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Opening Prayer

O LORD, who didst teach the people from a fisherman’s boat, be present with us as we open thy Word tonight. Open our ears to hear thee, our minds to understand, and our hearts to obey. Grant that our speaking together may be honest and our listening patient, that we may go home nearer to thee than we came; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gathering

Before we open the text, think back over your working life, in a trade or a household or anywhere else, and tell the group about a time you worked hard at something and had nothing to show for it, and what that did to you.

The Reading

On this Fifth Sunday after Trinity the Church sits with St. Luke’s account of a failed night of fishing that becomes, at the Lord’s word, a calling.

Gospel · St. Luke 5:1-11

AND it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Those who wish to read further this week may take up the other appointed texts: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, 18-23, Psalms 62 and 63, and 1 St. Peter 3:8-15a.

Talking It Through

1. Simon has fished all night and caught nothing, and Jesus asks to borrow that same empty boat for a pulpit. What do you notice about what Jesus does before he ever mentions the nets?
2. Simon answers, we have toiled all the night, and taken nothing, nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. What do you hear inside that nevertheless, and what would it cost a tired man to say it?
3. When the nets fill, Peter does not celebrate; he falls down and says, depart from me, for I am a sinful man. Why might overwhelming blessing make a man feel his sin more sharply than failure did?
4. Jesus answers Peter’s confession with fear not, and then with a calling. What does it tell us about the Lord that he entrusts his work to the very man who just asked him to leave?
5. This Sunday’s collect asks that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered that the Church may serve God in all godly quietness. Where in this story do you see the difference between anxious toil and quiet, obedient service?
6. They forsook all, and followed him, leaving the greatest catch of their lives on the shore. What might that detail say to a parish about what success is for?

Bringing It Home

When some task this week has already failed once, consider borrowing Simon’s words, nevertheless at thy word, before trying again in the Lord’s strength rather than your own. And there is an old practice of naming one’s work to God each morning; one might offer him the boat, so to speak, and see what he does with it.

Closing Prayer

GO before us, O Lord, in all our doings this week, and further us with thy continual help, that our labour may begin, continue, and end in thee. Keep this company in thy peace until we meet again; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.