We live in a fractured world but we also get glimpses of hope.  For the past several months, President Biden and Vice President Harris have been selecting their leadership team and that is what Jesus is doing in the reading from Luke 5:1-11 as he calls the first 3 disciples.

Jesus lives in a fractured world, just as we do.  A week ago we heard about how he was practically thrown off a cliff in his hometown because he was not saying what people wanted to hear.  The idea of listening only to the voices that match what you believe is not a new phenomenon!

In Luke 5, Jesus is preaching to a large crowd by the Sea of Galilee.  Whenever I hear or read about a large crowd, I shudder and worry about people being so close together—until I realize that this was before the pandemic!  But to socially distance, Jesus steps into a fishing boat.  Upon concluding his remarks, he asks Simon Peter to go out into the deep water.  Deep water is like the swirling chaos out of which God created the world and all that is in it.  It echoes Genesis 1:  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep…”

That chaos feels so much like our time—the never-ending pandemic, the economic toll it is taking on people’s lives, the deep divisions in our country, the long cold winter, and the limited supply of vaccines.  Peter, James and John were probably tired and discouraged after a long night of work, having caught no fish.  We too find ourselves tired and discouraged these days, wishing for glimpses of hope.  When Jesus suggests throwing out the nets again – a crazy idea – they comply and are shown God’s incredible abundance in the form of a miracle of so many fish it nearly sinks the boat!  God’s love and care and persistence in our world is that same overflowing abundance.  God is in this chaos with us and God will see us through this fractured time.  I encourage you to look for signs of God’s abundance in your day.

Blessings, Pastor Betsy