I See You
Tony E Dillon Hansen
Reflection based upon Luke 5:1-11
Let us pray from Psalm 19, that words of my mouth and the
meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable.
First, I want to thank you for spending this time with me
today. I have had an intense week of
work, and to be honest, being with you is somehow a reprieve from all of that. Thank you for your time and attendance
today.
How many of you have heard about Perpetua and Justin Martyr?
Yes this is part of how get the word martyr.
I have been reading a lot about the early Christian church (this
in addition to my work),
And caused me to ask what do perspectives of martyrdom teach us
today.
I will share with one common thing that I found from these is
that despite an excruciating execution,
they share a understanding of faith that propelled and guided
them.
They shared an implicit embrace of the spirit of Jesus in the
midst of certain death.
My own toils and trials fall pale in comparison to these early
Christians -- as I am not sure what I would have done in those circumstances
(being persecuted and executed for my beliefs).
For us here in our own trials and life issues, maybe that spirit
of Jesus can inspire and empower us to have courage and strength, like those
martyrs before us.
As I was thinking about the Gospel, I wanted to talk about being
a fisher of people,
but I don’t really know much about fishing as much as I have
tried.
I even bought a whole array of equipment one time and went out
to the catch fish at the lake.
I suppose it could be fun,
but I was kind of hoping to will
the fish into my cooler rather than wait for them.
So I guess I am not a fisherman -- yet.
Every time I say something like that, I have learned God has a
sense of humor about it. Someday, I may yet find myself in a boat (or otherwise)
fishing with actual results.
There is also this curious thing about Jesus climbing into a
boat with Simon-Peter.
Why does he do this?
Maybe, it is the crowd.
What does Simon-Peter think about this?
We don’t have much context of how or if these two have met prior
to this.
It is not every day that
a random guy with a crowd following him decides to just jump into your boat.
Think about it:
What would you do if a random guy or gal walked up to you and just
got into your car at the grocery store?
You might ask some questions and you might want to learn more
about this person.
These guys do not reject Jesus, but they get into the boats with
Jesus and they listen.
There is something here – not random.
They realize something about Jesus.
The next part of the lesson tells us what they realize.
Let us dive into the verse here.
Simon-Peter exclaims, “Go away from me because I am a sinner”
This line definitely resonates with me, and I am sure with the
many of us.
Simon-Peter knows he is broken and feels unworthy of Jesus.
Where are you in this story? How many times have we thought
of ourselves as not being worthy because “I am a sinner?”
Jesus persists and calls upon Simon-Peter and also calls
upon you and I. Why?
Traci Blackmon, UCC Executive Minister, talked to a group of
us last spring.
She came in the room and stood there looking at us
intentionally and decisively.
Then, she said, “I see you!”
She wanted us to know that God sees us where we are today
--with everything we are and everything we can be.
That is not always an easy thing to consider.
We might go our whole lives wandering in the shadows with no
one paying attention. You might think
that about where you are currently.
What happens when someone does pay attention?
That is happening now.
You may ask God sees me??
Today?
God wants this? Why?
Yet Jesus saw Simon-Peter. Why?
Maybe, Jesus has more faith in Simon-Peter does in
himself.
In the same way, God sees you.
Jesus wants us to be the best we can be with the gifts we
have.
Jesus will be there with us always and gives us even more.
Jesus inspires the best in us to shine through us – when you
be what God calls you to be.
When you let your heart shine, you are what God calls.
We like to think the reverse –
that religion is about telling us what we cannot do
and things we must do to earn our way to life with God.
There are valid arguments with this because our thoughts can
lead us astray.
Our actions can put us onto a path that separates us from
the holy.
Yet, I submit that we are exactly what God made us since we
are made in the image of God.
It took a while for me to understand my wrongs and
brokenness;
they don’t have to define me.
If we do let wrongs and brokenness define us,
we just might be separating ourselves from what we could be
-- from God.
We might not even get into the boat with God
We don’t have to continue “stinkin’ thinking” (Zig
Ziglar).
These bits of brokenness, however, can inform us as lessons
but they do not have to define us.
God is there for us
always and regardless of our brokenness.
God sees you and
wants you!
What happens here is that Jesus rejects Simon-Peter’s
self-effacing
and instead says “I see you.”
I see who you are and
who you could be. I see you. (look around)
God is ready to inspire you too, here and now.
So maybe like Simon-Peter’s words, we might feel unworthy,
but God calls us to be worthy.
It was not easy, but these new disciples let God be their
guide.
We may not be martyrs destined for painful execution because
of our beliefs,
but the spirit and grace can be powerful in its own right --
for us here and now.
The spirit is all around and God sees you. I see you.
We may not be good fishermen,
but we might realize and take solace in that God calls to be
who we are.
It is up to us to recognize that grace and let us be us –
let God be – let God guide us.
In fact, I submit that grace is right here, and we will see
it when we take time to see it.
Our purpose, gifts, and our brokenness are exactly why God
chooses us.
Thanks be to God!