How Long, Lord?
For February 9, 2025:
How Long, Lord?
by Katy Stenta
Psalm 138 and Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
In the news: Everything seems to be coming apart. If you poke your head out of the sand, the deluge of news reports is overwhelming. There is a reason for that; it’s strategic. Trump is trying to overwhelm the opposition with a deluge of executive orders, appointments, and otherwise overwhelm the institutions so that they and the public come to a grinding halt and can no longer oppose him. To read about how this strategy works, I recommend this New York Times article or this Los Angeles Times article. And despite the chaos, there is a lot of good news that one can find, including a judge ruling against Trump’s executive order to stop all federal grants and the containment of all of the LA fires.
In the Scriptures
There are many passages that talk about hopeless situations. In Psalm 92, the evildoers that surround the psalmist are those who are stupid in such a way that they continue to make spiritually bereft choices over and over again, and are dullards and cattle because they spread nothingness and destruction wherever they go. However, the psalm writer ends up relying on God’s promises to reward the righteous.
“Righteous” is a word that might need some re-translating in the modern context. In biblical times, it carried a communal covenant of love — i.e., to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. The hope is that this faithfulness, in spite of the evil around us, is enough. Finding the threads of good, pursuing justice in spite of wrong, and seeking creativity in the midst of destruction all point to the fact that joy is an act of rebellion.
Psalm 138:7 speaks of similar comfort, giving faith in the midst of hardship: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.” The Psalms are really good in trying times and for rebuking those who are not acting mercifully toward the least of these. A good read for times such as these.
In the Sermon
When Isaiah accepts that everything needs to be rebuilt, in terms of his sneaking into the Holy of Holies, you can see his acceptance as a point of great dejection. He already knows the system is rotten and needs to be taken apart. Or, you can see the hopeful fact that God had to know that Isaiah was already there.
Isaiah is being sent because there are people who can see God even in the emptiness and destruction that is present. As Maya Angelou said, “Every storm runs out of rain.” This too will end at some point. God is already planting seeds for the future through Isaiah, even as God is taking apart the pieces that are not working. Isaiah can recognize God and is going to go out into the world and help others see God as well.
The hope of the world is that there is going to be an end to the deconstruction and that the world will start to be rebuilt even as it is taken apart. Are the seraphim not proclaiming the God they already see in the world? More people just need to be trained to see it. Hopefully, we are not letting the bad things of the world overwhelm us but are remembering, like Isaiah, to stop and spy on the good. For we know that this too will end.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Invitations We Accept
by Mary Austin
Luke 5:1-11
“No one is signing up for things,” people have lamented at every church I’ve ever served. Church cultures vary, so sometimes people don’t sign up and then come to the event, while in other places, they sign up and don’t come. One thing is always true: if you call people or talk to them at coffee hour, they’ll come. The personal invitation trumps every other kind.
As he shows up at the lakeshore, Jesus has the perfect trifecta to invite people into his life. He teaches, then brings the lessons to life with a big miracle, and then he personally invites the fishermen to travel with him. Information, plus action, plus a personal invitation. Who could resist?
These fishermen have been working through the night and are now done. They’re washing their nets, the equivalent of turning off the computer or closing the office door. Their work is over until Jesus suggests that they throw their nets in one more time. It’s too bad we don’t get tone of voice in the Bible. Was Peter excited? Skeptical that Jesus knew anything about fishing? Full of trust?
Jesus invites them into this new calling — catching people. The word used in the original language means “catching alive.” Or, as Brian Stofregen suggests, the text might sound better if it were translated, “You will be restoring people to life and strength.”
In calling disciples to travel with him, Jesus is expanding his work beyond what he can do alone. That’s an appealing call, maybe more interesting than catching fish every night. Jesus extends that same call to us.
But not everyone listening to Jesus accepts his invitation. Simon Peter, James, and John come with Jesus. We don’t hear that the people along the shore followed, and the other fishermen stayed there with their nets.
In this season of eroding democracy, when government web pages are being taken down and an unelected billionaire with no visible government oversight has access to government databases and financial systems, where is God inviting us to restore people to life and strength? As career civil servants, who are non-partisan, are locked out of their work, what is God asking of us, as citizens? As immigration raids spread fear and prevent people from going to work and school, what is our calling as people of compassion?
The followers of Jesus — us included — are called to restore people to life and strength, and Jesus is still inviting us into that work. As the new president breaks traditional norms, Congress, the media, and the American people also have to figure out how to act differently.
And, again, not everyone will be able to take Jesus up on his invitation. Some people are too frightened, and others have too much to lose. Others, like Black women, are exhausted after working hard on the 2024 election. Some people are turning inward or turning away from religion, associating Christianity with hatred.
Fred Craddock, in the Interpretation Commentary on Luke, talks about how Simon Peter responds to the miracle of the fish, writing, “Notice also that Simon’s response to the power and knowledge of Jesus is not a fisherman’s response; that is, he did not say, ‘Why did I not know where the fish were?’ Rather, his response is that of a human being in the presence of one he now calls Lord. Simon’s skill is not the issue; the issue is his life.”
The issue is our lives, too, and how we will use them to show the grace of God in a cruel world.
In the Sermon
If we were searching for followers, we might walk along the lakeshore and choose the people who have the biggest catch. “They look like they know what they’re doing,” we would think. “Let’s put them on the team.” Instead, Jesus picks the people who haven’t done very well. Are they willing to listen because they haven’t done very well? The sermon could explore how God uses our failures for growth, compassion, and new chapters.
Or the sermon might help people think concretely about how to be disciples in this chaotic time. Dana Portwood wrote this week, “The existential vacuum thrives on passive consumption and isolation. But it cannot survive contact with purposeful action and genuine connection.” She added, “Who fills the space when we step back from local meetings, when we decide our voice doesn’t matter? It’s people who want to ban books from libraries, who want our neighbors to be rounded up in raids, who want to end public education. Yes, the system feels rigged. Yes, it can feel pointless. But every time you choose to show up, you’re creating meaning, and you’re taking up space. This isn’t about shouldering the weight of every problem. It’s about choosing how and when you want to engage in a way that works for you.” How do we remain hopeful and awake, ready to follow God?
Brian Stofregen notes that the NRSV gives us Peter’s response to Jesus as: “Yet, if you say so…” Stofregen says that this translation “misses some of the nuances of the Greek, which literally says: ‘but upon your word (rhema)...’ It is in response to Jesus’ word that Peter acts.” Once again, the Word is creative, an agent of change. The sermon might explore where we find the word of God alive and creating change in the world.
Peter, James, and John have to leave a whole world behind to follow Jesus (although scholars now believe the disciples went back and forth between following Jesus and their work). The sermon might explore how people are following Jesus in these times. What are we leaving behind, and what are we taking up? What hopes, illusions, or habits are we leaving behind? What new work are we taking up?
In this time, we need to learn to follow Jesus in new ways. Jesus invites us to hear his call again, with fresh ears, and to answer his invitation to restore people to life and strength.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 6:1-13 and Luke 5:1-11
Calling. The Isaiah text gives us Isaiah’s account of his calling by God to the prophetic ministry, and the Gospel reading tells us of Jesus’ calling for Peter, James, and John to follow him.
Biblical Figures Who Were Called By God
The Bible is full of stories of people who were called by God to their individual ministries. Here are just a few examples:
Testing A Call
I first felt the call to ministry when I was attending church camp at the age of 15. Then I spent the next ten years testing to make sure that the call I heard was an authentic calling and not just me speaking to myself.
Here are some tests we can use to determine if our calling is an authentic one:
Called Soft And Loud
When I was a child in rural Indiana, my mother had different ways of calling us to come to dinner, depending on where she knew us to be.
If we were close at hand, in the house or the yard, she would just use her voice. Sometimes speaking softly so as not to wake the baby or disturb something else that was going on in the house. Other times, she would speak loudly and forcefully so she could be heard over the television or over our loud play.
If she knew we were at our neighbor’s house, she would ring an old-school bell like the ones teachers used to ring to bring kids to a one-room schoolhouse. It could be easily heard from a couple of houses away, and it was unique. No other mom in the area had one like it. We knew when we heard it that it was time to go home.
Finally, when we were still further away, somewhere in the neighborhood but not necessarily next door, she had a conch shell that she would blow like a shofar. That thing could be heard a quarter mile away, and it, too, had a distinctive sound that brought us peddling our bikes back to the house as quickly as we could go.
The call of God is not unlike my mother’s call to us when we were kids. Sometimes it’s soft and personal — other times it’s loud and unmistakable. But, like my mom’s calls to us, the message was always the same: “Come to me.”
* * *
Called To And From
When God calls us, the calling is usually from one thing to another. Saul was called from being a farmer to being a king. Jeremiah was called from being a teenage boy to being a prophet of God. Isaiah was called from being a minor factotum in the palace to being a prophet who confronted the king.
But not all calls, to or from, are authentic. Sometimes what we think is a calling from God turns out to be just our own wishful thinking.
The old joke offers that a young farmer was napping in the hammock in his backyard when he awoke with a start to see two clouds in the shapes of G and P. He immediately interprets the vision to mean “Go Preach.” So, he leaves his farm and his family and hits the road as a traveling evangelist.
But his success is fairly limited. Usually, after one or two sermons in a revival, he would be told by the people that it was time to move on. After a year of relative failure as a preacher, he shares his frustrations with a kindly old pastor. He tells the old soul about the vision and the clouds shaped like G and P.
The old pastor sighs, takes a stick, and draws in the dust, first a G and then a P. He points to each and says to the young man: “Go… Plow.”
* * *
Sacrifice For Good
The Isaiah passage and the Luke passage both include stories of a person or persons being called, but they don’t end there. Each story concludes with a word about some sacrifice that the one who was called had to make. Isaiah is called to a life of prophetic preaching but is told that his preaching will be largely in vain. The disciples whom Jesus calls walk away from their lives and their livelihood as fishers in order to follow Jesus. Often, doing God’s will involves sacrifice.
* * *
Sacrifice Amid The Holocaust
An internet search of the following names will provide you with illustrations of sacrifices made in the service of others:
A Polish priest named Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to die in the place of a man in Auschwitz after he overheard him cry out for his wife and children. The man he saved, Mr. Gajowniczek, died in 1995 at the age of 93.
Irena Sendler worked as a plumber in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II and saved over 2,500 Jewish children, smuggling many of them out in her toolbox.
A stockbroker named Nicholas Winton saved the lives of 669 Czechoslovakian Jewish children who were destined for Nazi death camps by taking them to England. He refused to take credit, and his accomplishment went unnoticed for 50 years until his wife found a scrapbook of the children that he saved and gave it to the BBC in 1988.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Luke 5:1-11
Maybe they didn’t like fish
At the start of today’s reading from Luke, there is a big crowd listening to Jesus. After speaking to them from Simon Peter’s boat, Jesus guides Peter and other unnamed fishermen to let their nets into the water, where they caught so many fish their nets began to break, and their boats (only two?) were so full of fish they (the boats) began to sink.
At this point, there are only the four fishermen and Jesus on the scene. Where did the crowd go? I’m thinking maybe they didn’t like fish.
As a transitional pastor, I move to new communities frequently. Parishioners often take the new pastor out for a meal to a favorite restaurant. (Thirty years ago, they would have invited the new pastor to their homes for a meal, but it’s a different era now.) So, I look at the menu in the beloved restaurant and I ask, “What do you recommend? Life is short and it’s a big menu; could you narrow it down for me?”
When the reply is “Everything is terrific here,” or “You can’t go wrong; the chef is superb!” it drives me crazy.
One new parishioner who had given an unhelpful response got another chance and asked, “Do you like fish?”
“No. So that narrows it down considerably, thank you.”
* * *
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
Read this passage to the end
Starting in v. 11, the Lord responded to Isaiah’s question of “how long,” do I have to hold this role as prophet with this response:
Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;
until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.
Even if a tenth part remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.
(The holy seed is its stump.)
[Isaiah 6:11b-13, NRSV]
“Isaiah, speak My word until everything is ruined, and the only remaining bit is the stump which contains the holy seed.”
The unnamed hero in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is entrusted, by the Once-ler, with the last Truffula seed at the very end of the book:
“SO…
Catch!” calls the Once-ler,
He lets something fall.
“It’s a Truffula seed.
It’s the last one of all!
You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all his friends
may come back.
[The Lorax, Dr. Seuss, New York: Random House, 1971.]
It’s a hope-filled ending in a desolate landscape.
* * *
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
About those feet…
Of course, you’ve selected “Holy, Holy, Holy” for the opening hymn today because that’s what the antiphonal flying, flaming serpent creatures call to one another in v. 3.
It appears they have exceptional upper body strength. While they’ve got six wings each, they only use two of their wings to fly. With two other wings, they cover their faces, presumably to keep from seeing the Lord; they saw Raiders of the Lost Ark and know the peril of looking directly at the Lord. With the remaining wings, they covered their, ahem, feet. Feet is a Hebrew scripture euphemism for “private parts.”
* * *
Psalm 138
Who’s singing?
Bibles identify Psalm 138 as “Of David,” and one can certainly imagine David composing this psalm of thanksgiving after several moments in his life. But it may also be imagined as being sung by anyone who is grateful to the Lord for the Lord’s reassuring, emboldening presence. For while being high, that is, exalted, the Lord still has regard for the lowly.
At Easter, Presbyterians sing “Christ is Alive!”
Christ is alive! No longer bound
To distant years in Palestine,
But saving, healing, here and now,
And touching every place and time.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: We give you thanks, O God, with our whole heart.
All: Before all beings we sing your glorious praise.
One: Let us give thanks for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.
All: When we called for help, you answered, O God.
One: Though you are high, you regard the lowly.
All: Do not forsake the work of your hands.
OR
One: God calls us to come and find new life in God.
All: We long to hear God’s words of comfort and peace.
One: God longs to have us answer and be made whole.
All: We will seek God and God’s wholeness for our lives.
One: God wants all to hear and respond to love.
All: We will share God’s love and call to wholeness.
Hymns and Songs
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
UMH: 64/65
H82: 362
PH: 138
GTG: 1
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELW: 413
W&P: 136
AMEC: 25
STLT: 26
Renew: 204
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
UMH: 66
H82: 410
PH: 620
CH: 23
LBW: 549
ELW: 864/865
W&P: 82
AMEC: 70
Renew: 53
O Worship the King
UMH: 73
H82: 388
PH: 476
GTG: 41
NNBH: 6
NCH: 26
CH: 17
LBW: 548
ELW: 842
W&P: 2
AMEC: 12
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
GTG: 4
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELW: 414
W&P: 138
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
UMH: 154/155
H82: 450/451
PH: 142/143
GTG: 263
AAHH: 292/293/294
NNBH: 3/5
NCH: 304
CH: 91/92
LBW: 328/329
ELW: 634
W&P: 100/106
AMEC: 4/5/6
Renew: 45
Tú Has Venido a la Orilla (Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore)
UMH: 344
PH: 377
GTG: 721
CH: 343
W&P: 347
Here I Am, Lord
UMH: 593
PH: 525
GTG: 69
AAHH: 567
CH: 452
ELW: 574
W&P: 559
Renew: 149
O Zion (Christian), Haste
UMH: 573
H82: 639
NNBH: 422
CH: 482
LBW: 397
ELW: 668
AMEC: 566
Lord, You Give the Great Commission
UMH: 584
H82: 528
PH: 429
GTG: 298
CH: 459
ELW: 579
W&P: 592
Renew: 305
Lead On, O King Eternal
UMH: 580
PH: 447/448
GTG: 269
AAHH: 477
NNBH: 415
NCH: 573
CH: 632
LBW: 495
ELW: 805
W&P: 508
AMEC: 177
Renew: 298
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who constantly calls your children to life and wholeness:
Grant us the grace to listen to your call and to follow your ways
that we may truly know eternal life and wholeness:
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you never cease to call us to wholeness and to life. You sent your Son that we might see the path clearly. Help us to hear you call us and to follow the Christ faithfully. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the way in which we listen to others rather than to heed God’s call.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us and we have stopped our ears. You entreat us to come to true life but our ears are tuned to the things of this world. You offer us life with you but we are lured by the call of things. Forgive us and restore our hearing that we may listen and follow. Amen.
One: God desires to be with us and to give us life. Receive God’s gift and share life with others.
Prayers of the People
We offer you our worship, O God, because you are the faithful one. You love us and call us to come to you. You desire us and our good.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us and we have stopped our ears. You entreat us to come to true life but our ears are tuned to the things of this world. You offer us life with you but we are lured by the call of things. Forgive us and restore our hearing that we may listen and follow.
We give you thanks for you loving presence that constantly surrounds us. We bless your name for your love that will not let us go. You have called us through creation, prophets, psalmists, and your Son. You have spoken through teachers, preachers, and friends. For all of this we are thankful.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We hold in our hearts those who are in need this day. We reach out in love to those who are sick, are dying, and those who are grieving. Many are caught in traps of poverty and want. Many suffer from violence and hatred. As your Spirit goes out to touch them we pray that we may be the means by which your love calls them to your healing presence.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Playing Catch
by Chris Keating
Luke 5:1-11
Prepare in advance:
• Some sort of “catching device.”(Unleash your imagination! You could use a large fishing net (probably stored with old VBS props), maybe a butterfly net, a large pair of BBQ tongs, or even one of those grabbing tools used to help reach items on shelves.
• A partner for the conversation about “catching” people.
This week’s children’s conversation involves two people — which is never a bad idea, but is also particularly appropriate given Luke 5:1-11’s emphasis on discipleship as a group activity. This is a beautiful story that is filled with all sorts of rich imagery. Obviously, fishing was an important part of Galilee’s economy. One can feel Peter’s frustration — not only is he embarrassed by his lack of success, but he may also feel some shame, too. Many people were dependent on his fishing company’s harvest, including his customers, his employees, his friends, and even the tax collector who grabbed a portion of the profits. Not catching fish spells disaster.
As the children gather, have your partner show up with their “People Catching Device.” After welcoming the kids, turn to your friend and say,
Pastor/Leader: Good morning! What in the world are you holding?
People Catcher: Oh, this? This is my ‘People Catching Device.’ It’s a super-duper invention that we can use to catch people so they can come to church. It’s easy to use — you just sneak up to someone and grab them (or ‘let the net fall on them’). I got the idea after reading our scripture today from Luke 5.
Pastor/Leader: You mean the story about Jesus calling his disciples?
People Catcher: Well, I guess so. I just call it the ‘People Catching Story.’
Pastor/Leader: Maybe I should read it for everyone to hear.” (Read Luke 5:1-10).
People Catcher: See what I mean? Jesus tells Peter he’ll be catching people from now on!
Pastor/Leader: (To the kids) I wonder if Jesus meant that in a different way. I don’t think he means for us to trap people and drag them back to church, do you?
People Catcher: Why would he tell the disciples that they will be fishing for people from now on?
Pastor/Leader: That’s a good question! I read someplace that Jesus is comparing the jobs the fishers used to do with the new job he is giving them. Before, they were fishing for food so people could have something to eat. Now, he is telling them, ‘I’ve got another idea. From now on, instead of catching fish, you will be finding people who need to know God loves them.’
People Catcher: You mean I don’t need to use my ‘people catcher’ device?
Pastor/Leader: I don’t think so. Look at how Jesus met people. The Bible tells us that Jesus went to people’s homes and ate dinner with them; he went to their places of worship and prayed with them. He went to where they were working and helped them, or came up to them on the street if they needed assistance. Jesus means that the disciples will be talking with people, meeting them, and helping them to know that God loves them.
People Catcher: But wouldn’t it be better just to hunt people down like fish and grab them to bring them back to church?
Pastor/Leader: Probably not! Don’t you think people would be scared? When you read the New Testament, you find lots of stories of how the disciples and apostles met new people. They welcomed them and listened to their needs. They ate with them and helped them. The people felt God’s love and then decided to follow Jesus. I think that sounds better than grabbing them off the street and dragging them back to church.
People Catcher: Maybe he meant we should invite people to our church or encourage them to get to know our church friends. Maybe that way they’ll learn something about God’s love.
Pastor/Leader: That sounds like a terrific idea. Why don’t we think about that as we close in prayer?
Dear Lord, help us to always be ready to talk about you. Encourage us to reach out to those who need your love. Teach us to listen to their needs and to serve them as if we were serving you. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, February 9, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2024 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- How Long, Lord? by Katy Stenta. When everything seems to be falling apart, the question on everyone’s mind is, “How long, Lord?”
- Second Thoughts: The Invitations We Accept by Mary Austin based on Luke 5:1-11.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Tom Willadsen.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children’s sermon: Playing Catch by Chris Keating. Instead of playing catch with people, your church can grow as its members reach out to those whom they meet.
How Long, Lord?
by Katy Stenta
Psalm 138 and Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
In the news: Everything seems to be coming apart. If you poke your head out of the sand, the deluge of news reports is overwhelming. There is a reason for that; it’s strategic. Trump is trying to overwhelm the opposition with a deluge of executive orders, appointments, and otherwise overwhelm the institutions so that they and the public come to a grinding halt and can no longer oppose him. To read about how this strategy works, I recommend this New York Times article or this Los Angeles Times article. And despite the chaos, there is a lot of good news that one can find, including a judge ruling against Trump’s executive order to stop all federal grants and the containment of all of the LA fires.
In the Scriptures
There are many passages that talk about hopeless situations. In Psalm 92, the evildoers that surround the psalmist are those who are stupid in such a way that they continue to make spiritually bereft choices over and over again, and are dullards and cattle because they spread nothingness and destruction wherever they go. However, the psalm writer ends up relying on God’s promises to reward the righteous.
“Righteous” is a word that might need some re-translating in the modern context. In biblical times, it carried a communal covenant of love — i.e., to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. The hope is that this faithfulness, in spite of the evil around us, is enough. Finding the threads of good, pursuing justice in spite of wrong, and seeking creativity in the midst of destruction all point to the fact that joy is an act of rebellion.
Psalm 138:7 speaks of similar comfort, giving faith in the midst of hardship: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.” The Psalms are really good in trying times and for rebuking those who are not acting mercifully toward the least of these. A good read for times such as these.
In the Sermon
When Isaiah accepts that everything needs to be rebuilt, in terms of his sneaking into the Holy of Holies, you can see his acceptance as a point of great dejection. He already knows the system is rotten and needs to be taken apart. Or, you can see the hopeful fact that God had to know that Isaiah was already there.
Isaiah is being sent because there are people who can see God even in the emptiness and destruction that is present. As Maya Angelou said, “Every storm runs out of rain.” This too will end at some point. God is already planting seeds for the future through Isaiah, even as God is taking apart the pieces that are not working. Isaiah can recognize God and is going to go out into the world and help others see God as well.
The hope of the world is that there is going to be an end to the deconstruction and that the world will start to be rebuilt even as it is taken apart. Are the seraphim not proclaiming the God they already see in the world? More people just need to be trained to see it. Hopefully, we are not letting the bad things of the world overwhelm us but are remembering, like Isaiah, to stop and spy on the good. For we know that this too will end.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Invitations We Accept
by Mary Austin
Luke 5:1-11
“No one is signing up for things,” people have lamented at every church I’ve ever served. Church cultures vary, so sometimes people don’t sign up and then come to the event, while in other places, they sign up and don’t come. One thing is always true: if you call people or talk to them at coffee hour, they’ll come. The personal invitation trumps every other kind.
As he shows up at the lakeshore, Jesus has the perfect trifecta to invite people into his life. He teaches, then brings the lessons to life with a big miracle, and then he personally invites the fishermen to travel with him. Information, plus action, plus a personal invitation. Who could resist?
These fishermen have been working through the night and are now done. They’re washing their nets, the equivalent of turning off the computer or closing the office door. Their work is over until Jesus suggests that they throw their nets in one more time. It’s too bad we don’t get tone of voice in the Bible. Was Peter excited? Skeptical that Jesus knew anything about fishing? Full of trust?
Jesus invites them into this new calling — catching people. The word used in the original language means “catching alive.” Or, as Brian Stofregen suggests, the text might sound better if it were translated, “You will be restoring people to life and strength.”
In calling disciples to travel with him, Jesus is expanding his work beyond what he can do alone. That’s an appealing call, maybe more interesting than catching fish every night. Jesus extends that same call to us.
But not everyone listening to Jesus accepts his invitation. Simon Peter, James, and John come with Jesus. We don’t hear that the people along the shore followed, and the other fishermen stayed there with their nets.
In this season of eroding democracy, when government web pages are being taken down and an unelected billionaire with no visible government oversight has access to government databases and financial systems, where is God inviting us to restore people to life and strength? As career civil servants, who are non-partisan, are locked out of their work, what is God asking of us, as citizens? As immigration raids spread fear and prevent people from going to work and school, what is our calling as people of compassion?
The followers of Jesus — us included — are called to restore people to life and strength, and Jesus is still inviting us into that work. As the new president breaks traditional norms, Congress, the media, and the American people also have to figure out how to act differently.
And, again, not everyone will be able to take Jesus up on his invitation. Some people are too frightened, and others have too much to lose. Others, like Black women, are exhausted after working hard on the 2024 election. Some people are turning inward or turning away from religion, associating Christianity with hatred.
Fred Craddock, in the Interpretation Commentary on Luke, talks about how Simon Peter responds to the miracle of the fish, writing, “Notice also that Simon’s response to the power and knowledge of Jesus is not a fisherman’s response; that is, he did not say, ‘Why did I not know where the fish were?’ Rather, his response is that of a human being in the presence of one he now calls Lord. Simon’s skill is not the issue; the issue is his life.”
The issue is our lives, too, and how we will use them to show the grace of God in a cruel world.
In the Sermon
If we were searching for followers, we might walk along the lakeshore and choose the people who have the biggest catch. “They look like they know what they’re doing,” we would think. “Let’s put them on the team.” Instead, Jesus picks the people who haven’t done very well. Are they willing to listen because they haven’t done very well? The sermon could explore how God uses our failures for growth, compassion, and new chapters.
Or the sermon might help people think concretely about how to be disciples in this chaotic time. Dana Portwood wrote this week, “The existential vacuum thrives on passive consumption and isolation. But it cannot survive contact with purposeful action and genuine connection.” She added, “Who fills the space when we step back from local meetings, when we decide our voice doesn’t matter? It’s people who want to ban books from libraries, who want our neighbors to be rounded up in raids, who want to end public education. Yes, the system feels rigged. Yes, it can feel pointless. But every time you choose to show up, you’re creating meaning, and you’re taking up space. This isn’t about shouldering the weight of every problem. It’s about choosing how and when you want to engage in a way that works for you.” How do we remain hopeful and awake, ready to follow God?
Brian Stofregen notes that the NRSV gives us Peter’s response to Jesus as: “Yet, if you say so…” Stofregen says that this translation “misses some of the nuances of the Greek, which literally says: ‘but upon your word (rhema)...’ It is in response to Jesus’ word that Peter acts.” Once again, the Word is creative, an agent of change. The sermon might explore where we find the word of God alive and creating change in the world.
Peter, James, and John have to leave a whole world behind to follow Jesus (although scholars now believe the disciples went back and forth between following Jesus and their work). The sermon might explore how people are following Jesus in these times. What are we leaving behind, and what are we taking up? What hopes, illusions, or habits are we leaving behind? What new work are we taking up?
In this time, we need to learn to follow Jesus in new ways. Jesus invites us to hear his call again, with fresh ears, and to answer his invitation to restore people to life and strength.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean FeldmeyerIsaiah 6:1-13 and Luke 5:1-11
Calling. The Isaiah text gives us Isaiah’s account of his calling by God to the prophetic ministry, and the Gospel reading tells us of Jesus’ calling for Peter, James, and John to follow him.
Biblical Figures Who Were Called By God
The Bible is full of stories of people who were called by God to their individual ministries. Here are just a few examples:
- Abraham was called to leave his homeland and become the father of many generations. (Gen. 12)
- Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and deliver God’s laws to them. (Ex. 3)
- Samuel was called as a young boy to be a prophet and judge over Israel. (1 Sam. 3)
- Jeremiah was called as a teenager to bring God’s prophetic word to the people of Judah. (Jer. 1)
- David was called to be king of Israel. (1 Sam. 16)
- Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 9)
Testing A Call
I first felt the call to ministry when I was attending church camp at the age of 15. Then I spent the next ten years testing to make sure that the call I heard was an authentic calling and not just me speaking to myself.
Here are some tests we can use to determine if our calling is an authentic one:
- Does the call align with the core beliefs of Christianity?
- Has God given you the gifts and graces to carry out the calling? When I examined my natural talents and abilities, they seemed to be some of the ones that would be required for a life of pastoral ministry.
- Does the call persist over time? Mine persisted for over 10 years while I explored other possibilities.
- What do your advisors and mentors think? Does the calling you are feeling make sense to them? I talked with my parents, my pastor, and my friends, and none of them were shocked or surprised to hear that I felt called to ministry. Some even said, “Well, it’s about time.”
- Does the calling you are hearing promise to produce fruits, e.g., personal growth, fulfillment of a greater purpose, etc.? I wanted to share the gospel with people in a way that would impact their lives.
- Does the calling you are experiencing stand up after much prayer and reflection?
Called Soft And Loud
When I was a child in rural Indiana, my mother had different ways of calling us to come to dinner, depending on where she knew us to be.
If we were close at hand, in the house or the yard, she would just use her voice. Sometimes speaking softly so as not to wake the baby or disturb something else that was going on in the house. Other times, she would speak loudly and forcefully so she could be heard over the television or over our loud play.
If she knew we were at our neighbor’s house, she would ring an old-school bell like the ones teachers used to ring to bring kids to a one-room schoolhouse. It could be easily heard from a couple of houses away, and it was unique. No other mom in the area had one like it. We knew when we heard it that it was time to go home.
Finally, when we were still further away, somewhere in the neighborhood but not necessarily next door, she had a conch shell that she would blow like a shofar. That thing could be heard a quarter mile away, and it, too, had a distinctive sound that brought us peddling our bikes back to the house as quickly as we could go.
The call of God is not unlike my mother’s call to us when we were kids. Sometimes it’s soft and personal — other times it’s loud and unmistakable. But, like my mom’s calls to us, the message was always the same: “Come to me.”
* * *
Called To And From
When God calls us, the calling is usually from one thing to another. Saul was called from being a farmer to being a king. Jeremiah was called from being a teenage boy to being a prophet of God. Isaiah was called from being a minor factotum in the palace to being a prophet who confronted the king.
But not all calls, to or from, are authentic. Sometimes what we think is a calling from God turns out to be just our own wishful thinking.
The old joke offers that a young farmer was napping in the hammock in his backyard when he awoke with a start to see two clouds in the shapes of G and P. He immediately interprets the vision to mean “Go Preach.” So, he leaves his farm and his family and hits the road as a traveling evangelist.
But his success is fairly limited. Usually, after one or two sermons in a revival, he would be told by the people that it was time to move on. After a year of relative failure as a preacher, he shares his frustrations with a kindly old pastor. He tells the old soul about the vision and the clouds shaped like G and P.
The old pastor sighs, takes a stick, and draws in the dust, first a G and then a P. He points to each and says to the young man: “Go… Plow.”
* * *
Sacrifice For Good
The Isaiah passage and the Luke passage both include stories of a person or persons being called, but they don’t end there. Each story concludes with a word about some sacrifice that the one who was called had to make. Isaiah is called to a life of prophetic preaching but is told that his preaching will be largely in vain. The disciples whom Jesus calls walk away from their lives and their livelihood as fishers in order to follow Jesus. Often, doing God’s will involves sacrifice.
* * *
Sacrifice Amid The Holocaust
An internet search of the following names will provide you with illustrations of sacrifices made in the service of others:
A Polish priest named Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to die in the place of a man in Auschwitz after he overheard him cry out for his wife and children. The man he saved, Mr. Gajowniczek, died in 1995 at the age of 93.
Irena Sendler worked as a plumber in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II and saved over 2,500 Jewish children, smuggling many of them out in her toolbox.
A stockbroker named Nicholas Winton saved the lives of 669 Czechoslovakian Jewish children who were destined for Nazi death camps by taking them to England. He refused to take credit, and his accomplishment went unnoticed for 50 years until his wife found a scrapbook of the children that he saved and gave it to the BBC in 1988.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:Luke 5:1-11
Maybe they didn’t like fish
At the start of today’s reading from Luke, there is a big crowd listening to Jesus. After speaking to them from Simon Peter’s boat, Jesus guides Peter and other unnamed fishermen to let their nets into the water, where they caught so many fish their nets began to break, and their boats (only two?) were so full of fish they (the boats) began to sink.
At this point, there are only the four fishermen and Jesus on the scene. Where did the crowd go? I’m thinking maybe they didn’t like fish.
As a transitional pastor, I move to new communities frequently. Parishioners often take the new pastor out for a meal to a favorite restaurant. (Thirty years ago, they would have invited the new pastor to their homes for a meal, but it’s a different era now.) So, I look at the menu in the beloved restaurant and I ask, “What do you recommend? Life is short and it’s a big menu; could you narrow it down for me?”
When the reply is “Everything is terrific here,” or “You can’t go wrong; the chef is superb!” it drives me crazy.
One new parishioner who had given an unhelpful response got another chance and asked, “Do you like fish?”
“No. So that narrows it down considerably, thank you.”
* * *
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
Read this passage to the end
Starting in v. 11, the Lord responded to Isaiah’s question of “how long,” do I have to hold this role as prophet with this response:
Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;
until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.
Even if a tenth part remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.
(The holy seed is its stump.)
[Isaiah 6:11b-13, NRSV]
“Isaiah, speak My word until everything is ruined, and the only remaining bit is the stump which contains the holy seed.”
The unnamed hero in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is entrusted, by the Once-ler, with the last Truffula seed at the very end of the book:
“SO…
Catch!” calls the Once-ler,
He lets something fall.
“It’s a Truffula seed.
It’s the last one of all!
You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all his friends
may come back.
[The Lorax, Dr. Seuss, New York: Random House, 1971.]
It’s a hope-filled ending in a desolate landscape.
* * *
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
About those feet…
Of course, you’ve selected “Holy, Holy, Holy” for the opening hymn today because that’s what the antiphonal flying, flaming serpent creatures call to one another in v. 3.
It appears they have exceptional upper body strength. While they’ve got six wings each, they only use two of their wings to fly. With two other wings, they cover their faces, presumably to keep from seeing the Lord; they saw Raiders of the Lost Ark and know the peril of looking directly at the Lord. With the remaining wings, they covered their, ahem, feet. Feet is a Hebrew scripture euphemism for “private parts.”
* * *
Psalm 138
Who’s singing?
Bibles identify Psalm 138 as “Of David,” and one can certainly imagine David composing this psalm of thanksgiving after several moments in his life. But it may also be imagined as being sung by anyone who is grateful to the Lord for the Lord’s reassuring, emboldening presence. For while being high, that is, exalted, the Lord still has regard for the lowly.
At Easter, Presbyterians sing “Christ is Alive!”
Christ is alive! No longer bound
To distant years in Palestine,
But saving, healing, here and now,
And touching every place and time.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: We give you thanks, O God, with our whole heart.
All: Before all beings we sing your glorious praise.
One: Let us give thanks for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.
All: When we called for help, you answered, O God.
One: Though you are high, you regard the lowly.
All: Do not forsake the work of your hands.
OR
One: God calls us to come and find new life in God.
All: We long to hear God’s words of comfort and peace.
One: God longs to have us answer and be made whole.
All: We will seek God and God’s wholeness for our lives.
One: God wants all to hear and respond to love.
All: We will share God’s love and call to wholeness.
Hymns and Songs
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
UMH: 64/65
H82: 362
PH: 138
GTG: 1
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELW: 413
W&P: 136
AMEC: 25
STLT: 26
Renew: 204
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
UMH: 66
H82: 410
PH: 620
CH: 23
LBW: 549
ELW: 864/865
W&P: 82
AMEC: 70
Renew: 53
O Worship the King
UMH: 73
H82: 388
PH: 476
GTG: 41
NNBH: 6
NCH: 26
CH: 17
LBW: 548
ELW: 842
W&P: 2
AMEC: 12
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
GTG: 4
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELW: 414
W&P: 138
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
UMH: 154/155
H82: 450/451
PH: 142/143
GTG: 263
AAHH: 292/293/294
NNBH: 3/5
NCH: 304
CH: 91/92
LBW: 328/329
ELW: 634
W&P: 100/106
AMEC: 4/5/6
Renew: 45
Tú Has Venido a la Orilla (Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore)
UMH: 344
PH: 377
GTG: 721
CH: 343
W&P: 347
Here I Am, Lord
UMH: 593
PH: 525
GTG: 69
AAHH: 567
CH: 452
ELW: 574
W&P: 559
Renew: 149
O Zion (Christian), Haste
UMH: 573
H82: 639
NNBH: 422
CH: 482
LBW: 397
ELW: 668
AMEC: 566
Lord, You Give the Great Commission
UMH: 584
H82: 528
PH: 429
GTG: 298
CH: 459
ELW: 579
W&P: 592
Renew: 305
Lead On, O King Eternal
UMH: 580
PH: 447/448
GTG: 269
AAHH: 477
NNBH: 415
NCH: 573
CH: 632
LBW: 495
ELW: 805
W&P: 508
AMEC: 177
Renew: 298
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who constantly calls your children to life and wholeness:
Grant us the grace to listen to your call and to follow your ways
that we may truly know eternal life and wholeness:
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you never cease to call us to wholeness and to life. You sent your Son that we might see the path clearly. Help us to hear you call us and to follow the Christ faithfully. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the way in which we listen to others rather than to heed God’s call.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us and we have stopped our ears. You entreat us to come to true life but our ears are tuned to the things of this world. You offer us life with you but we are lured by the call of things. Forgive us and restore our hearing that we may listen and follow. Amen.
One: God desires to be with us and to give us life. Receive God’s gift and share life with others.
Prayers of the People
We offer you our worship, O God, because you are the faithful one. You love us and call us to come to you. You desire us and our good.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us and we have stopped our ears. You entreat us to come to true life but our ears are tuned to the things of this world. You offer us life with you but we are lured by the call of things. Forgive us and restore our hearing that we may listen and follow.
We give you thanks for you loving presence that constantly surrounds us. We bless your name for your love that will not let us go. You have called us through creation, prophets, psalmists, and your Son. You have spoken through teachers, preachers, and friends. For all of this we are thankful.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We hold in our hearts those who are in need this day. We reach out in love to those who are sick, are dying, and those who are grieving. Many are caught in traps of poverty and want. Many suffer from violence and hatred. As your Spirit goes out to touch them we pray that we may be the means by which your love calls them to your healing presence.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMONPlaying Catch
by Chris Keating
Luke 5:1-11
Prepare in advance:
• Some sort of “catching device.”(Unleash your imagination! You could use a large fishing net (probably stored with old VBS props), maybe a butterfly net, a large pair of BBQ tongs, or even one of those grabbing tools used to help reach items on shelves.
• A partner for the conversation about “catching” people.
This week’s children’s conversation involves two people — which is never a bad idea, but is also particularly appropriate given Luke 5:1-11’s emphasis on discipleship as a group activity. This is a beautiful story that is filled with all sorts of rich imagery. Obviously, fishing was an important part of Galilee’s economy. One can feel Peter’s frustration — not only is he embarrassed by his lack of success, but he may also feel some shame, too. Many people were dependent on his fishing company’s harvest, including his customers, his employees, his friends, and even the tax collector who grabbed a portion of the profits. Not catching fish spells disaster.
As the children gather, have your partner show up with their “People Catching Device.” After welcoming the kids, turn to your friend and say,
Pastor/Leader: Good morning! What in the world are you holding?
People Catcher: Oh, this? This is my ‘People Catching Device.’ It’s a super-duper invention that we can use to catch people so they can come to church. It’s easy to use — you just sneak up to someone and grab them (or ‘let the net fall on them’). I got the idea after reading our scripture today from Luke 5.
Pastor/Leader: You mean the story about Jesus calling his disciples?
People Catcher: Well, I guess so. I just call it the ‘People Catching Story.’
Pastor/Leader: Maybe I should read it for everyone to hear.” (Read Luke 5:1-10).
People Catcher: See what I mean? Jesus tells Peter he’ll be catching people from now on!
Pastor/Leader: (To the kids) I wonder if Jesus meant that in a different way. I don’t think he means for us to trap people and drag them back to church, do you?
People Catcher: Why would he tell the disciples that they will be fishing for people from now on?
Pastor/Leader: That’s a good question! I read someplace that Jesus is comparing the jobs the fishers used to do with the new job he is giving them. Before, they were fishing for food so people could have something to eat. Now, he is telling them, ‘I’ve got another idea. From now on, instead of catching fish, you will be finding people who need to know God loves them.’
People Catcher: You mean I don’t need to use my ‘people catcher’ device?
Pastor/Leader: I don’t think so. Look at how Jesus met people. The Bible tells us that Jesus went to people’s homes and ate dinner with them; he went to their places of worship and prayed with them. He went to where they were working and helped them, or came up to them on the street if they needed assistance. Jesus means that the disciples will be talking with people, meeting them, and helping them to know that God loves them.
People Catcher: But wouldn’t it be better just to hunt people down like fish and grab them to bring them back to church?
Pastor/Leader: Probably not! Don’t you think people would be scared? When you read the New Testament, you find lots of stories of how the disciples and apostles met new people. They welcomed them and listened to their needs. They ate with them and helped them. The people felt God’s love and then decided to follow Jesus. I think that sounds better than grabbing them off the street and dragging them back to church.
People Catcher: Maybe he meant we should invite people to our church or encourage them to get to know our church friends. Maybe that way they’ll learn something about God’s love.
Pastor/Leader: That sounds like a terrific idea. Why don’t we think about that as we close in prayer?
Dear Lord, help us to always be ready to talk about you. Encourage us to reach out to those who need your love. Teach us to listen to their needs and to serve them as if we were serving you. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, February 9, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2024 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
