The Patient Obedience of Letting Down our Nets: Homily for the First Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church

 

Luke 5:1-11

           

Many people today scroll quickly through the many options they have in choosing how to identify themselves and live their lives.  It easier than ever before to try out all kinds of choices and to disregard those that we do not find immediately appealing or fulfilling.  Not only has our society formed us as consumers who want our immediate preferences satisfied, the digital age has made it even easier to flit from this to that whenever we experience just a hint of boredom, frustration, or disappointment. In such a culture, we are all at risk of forming habits that compromise our faithfulness to the way of Christ, which requires steadfast commitment and ongoing struggle as we persist in taking up our crosses each day of our lives. 

 The Church directs our attention today to two saints who provide powerful examples of what patient, selfless commitment to the Lord looks like.  St. Thekla is remembered as a Great Martyr and has the title of “Equal to the Apostles” because she accompanied St. Paul in founding churches and brought many to Christ through her teaching and example.  Converted at the age of eighteen by St. Paul’s preaching, she is remembered as the first female martyr because of her faithfulness throughout many extraordinary sufferings, ranging from rejection by her family to trials of fire, wild beasts, and physical assault.  The Lord delivered her from them all, and she lived her last years in prayer and solitude, peacefully completing her earthly journey at the age of 90.      

 We also remember today St. Silouan, a monk on Mt. Athos.   He had received the gift of unceasing prayer and knew great spiritual peace, but then endured fifteen years of deep spiritual struggle which prepared him to receive the Lord’s teaching: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.”  For the next fifteen years, he did precisely that, confronting and experiencing the brokenness and sickness of his soul that separated him from sharing fully in the life of Christ. Only then did he find healing for his passions.   

 Both of these saints are shining examples of humble persistence in faithfulness to the Lord, regardless of the personal challenges and sufferings involved.  Both could have easily abandoned their callings when the going got rough and did not gratify their passions or preferences.  No one forced St. Thekla to refuse to renounce Christ in the face of lethal persecution.  No one forced St. Silouan to undergo such bitter spiritual struggles.  But when such trials came, both saints kept taking up their crosses for decades and trusting that the Savior would not abandon them. They both endured so much in order to place loyalty to Christ above all else. 

 In this regard, they have something in common with Sts. Peter, James, and John in today’s gospel reading.  They were professional fishermen who had worked all night and caught nothing.  They knew from experience that it made sense to wash their nets, go home, and try again tomorrow.  But the Lord said, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  Peter’s answer showed his frustration: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!  But at Your word I will let down the nets.”  When they did so, they caught so many fish that their nets broke and their boats began to sink.  This unlikely and amazing scene helped Peter catch a glimpse of the state of his soul, for he said to Christ, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  The Savior responded, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” Then Peter, James, and John left their boats and nets behind as they became His disciples.

             Peter was the head disciple, but he struggled mightily in faith.  He denied the Lord three times before His crucifixion and then ran away in fear.  He had earlier heard the stinging rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan!,” when he had rejected the message that Christ would be killed and rise from the dead. After His resurrection, the Lord restored Peter by asking him three times if he loved Him and commanding him to “feed My sheep” in fulfilling his ministry. (Jn. 21: 15-17) Peter became the first bishop of the Church in Antioch and in Rome, where he made the ultimate witness for the Savior as a martyr.  At many points in his discipleship, he must have been as frustrated as a fisherman who had worked all night and caught nothing.  He was obviously tempted to do something other than following a Lord Who was lifted up upon the Cross.  But despite his many struggles, Peter kept letting down his nets and finding that the Lord continued to call and work through him, despite his imperfections and failings.  That is how he also became a great saint.    

             If want to pursue the Christian life with integrity, then we must follow the example of Sts. Peter, Thekla, and Silouan in persistently obeying our Lord’s command.  We must “let down our nets” in obedience by doing that which will open our souls to receive His healing mercy. That is not something to be tried once and then abandoned if we do not get the results that we want.  That is not something to refuse to do because it would be easier in the moment to do whatever we would prefer instead.  It is, however, something which must become a settled habit in our lives, a stable dimension of our character, as those who dare to identify ourselves as followers of Christ.

           We must be prepared, however, for our faltering steps of obedience to open the eyes of our souls to the truth about where we stand before Him.  After letting down his nets and catching that great haul of fish, Peter gained the spiritual clarity to know his unworthiness: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  His reaction bears some similarity to St. Silouan’s teaching: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.”  When we attempt even the smallest act of obedience, we open our darkened souls to behold the brilliant light of Christ.  The darkness in our hearts will then become all the more evident to us. Instead of being discouraged that we are more aware of our spiritual weakness, we must then call all the more for the Lord’s mercy as we struggle to remain on the path to the Kingdom. 

 We all have the experience of falling into our familiar sins again and again.  Instead of being disheartened to the point that we no longer struggle against them or despair of ever finding healing, or even give up completely on the Christian life, we must keep letting down our nets in obedience as we mindfully seek to redirect the desires of our hearts toward God.  Instead of despairing that there is no hope, we must humbly accept the truth about our spiritual state that is revealed by our weakness before our besetting sins.  While making no excuses for ourselves, we must trust that our ongoing battles are necessary for us to receive Christ’s healing.  We may not be in an arena with wild animals like St. Thekla, but we all face the arena of our passions, which are every bit as fierce.  St. Silouan wrestled spiritually for decades and never gave up.  We must do the same as we experience in our hearts the tension between our current brokenness and the holiness to which the Savior calls us.

 Looking to the example of the great saints we commemorate today, as well as to the model of those holy fishermen, let us repudiate the superficial, self-centered tendencies celebrated by our culture and undertake the daily struggle of obedience to Christ.  That means letting down our nets in obedience at every opportunity as we cry out for His merciful healing of our souls.  That is the holy habit that we must all cultivate if we want to become worthy disciples of the Savior.