SPIRITUALITY FOR THIS CRITICAL TIMES

SPIRITUALITY FOR THESE CRITICAL TIMESGrowing in Christ

They left everything and followed him. Luke 5: 1-11

5 Once while Jesusa was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. 5Simon answered, Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets. 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man! 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people. 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.2 Peter 3:17-18

17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.Good morning! Thanks God for this day. Praise His Holy Name! Let us pray.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen

Today's Sunday, the Cagayan de Oro -United Church of Christ in the Philippine is celebrating the 98th founding anniversary. I am grateful to be invited to share with what the Scripture says about this memorable occasion. May the message this morning be a blessing to all!

The Scripture that was read to us is very familiar to us. It is the call of the disciples.

The story starts with Jesus. He was preaching of the "word of God" to a crowd. Then Jesus decided to get into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon Peter. He sat down and taught the people from the boat. Simon Peter and company, Gospel says, had been fishing all through the night and had caught nothing. Jesus noticed this and turned his attention to the fishermen. The dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter, the fisherman, is quite revealing.

Jesus: Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.

Simon: Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.

And they caught an abundance of fish, enough to break the net, enough indeed to fill two boats and to cause both nearly to sink. Peter realizing what had happened confesses to Jesus that he, Peter, is a sinful man.

Simon: Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!

Jesus: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

The reading is fitting for our celebration today and your chosen theme - SPIRITUALITY FOR THESE CRITICAL TIMES with a sub-theme growing in Christ.

We can learn several lessons from the story.

The most important lesson is that SPIRITUALITY always starts with Jesus. Here, all the initiative is with Jesus. He got into the boat. He commanded Simon to let down their nets. He commissioned them to catch people for the Kingdom of God. It is not the disciples who have chosen Jesus, but rather Jesus who has chosen the disciples. He found them on the spot where they were working, engaged in their human task. Today still, Christ comes to us in the midst of our work, our joys, our sorrows.

What is interesting in the Gospel passage is that Jesus came in times of crisis. In this passage of the gospel, we hear Simon say to Jesus: "Master, we were hard at work all night and caught nothing at all." Jesus came upon the fishermen at a very low moment. They had tried every trick of the trade. They had persevered, keeping at it when most others would have given up long ago. Still, they had no fish to show for it. We know how they felt. We know what it is like to try our very best, do all that we know how to do, and yet still fail. We know what it is like to work hard, to train, to study our field, to get on-the-job experience, then to apply all of the wisdom, knowledge, and skill we have acquired and nothing comes of it. The loneliness of such discouragement and self-doubt is profound.

As you celebrate the 98th founding anniversary of the CDO-UCCP, let us remember that it was and it is Christ who calls you to be Christs Church.

The spirituality that we need these times of crisis is the spirituality that Jesus Christ imparts.

What are characteristics of this spirituality which Jesus Christ gives? There are four which I would like to mention. First, a spirituality of obedience. In verse 5, Luke describes, Peter, at first, was reluctant to lower his nets. and after thinking about Jesus' command, he finally responds, "Master, if you say so, I will let down the nets "(v.5). To Simon Peter, the command made no sense. Simon might not agree, but he did obey. Simon found something irresistible about Jesus. Simon recognized Jesus' rightful authority and obeyed his directions.Second, a spirituality of blessings. Biblical blessings are not primarily materials. The only true blessing Simon Peter received was Jesus Christ. When Jesus was not with Peter, Peter did not catch anything in his nets; but from the moment that he took Jesus on board, he caught a great many fish. This is an example illustrating the truth that, without Jesus, we can do nothing (Jn 15,5). But, with his help, anything is possible. "I can do anything in him who strengthens me" (Ph 4,13). Even in times of crisis and difficulties Gods blessings abound.

And this blessing is a gift! Its Gods gift! Hence, we cannot demand it! You cannot buy it! You cannot earn it! You cannot exchange it for something else. Gods gift is always freely given. Gods blessings are freely given. Peter receives the blessings freely.

In addition, the blessings Simon Peter received were shared with other fishermen. Simon Peter and company signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Blessings are to be shared.

And because the early followers of Jesus realized that blessing were to share we are now recipients of the Divine blessing. Cagayan de Oro UCCP is a recipient of this great blessing of salvation. It began 98th years ago. In 1921 CDO Evangelical Church (UCCP) was organized by

And that is the reason we are here today. To proclaim what God has to done for us. Jesus has come to us. He has gotten into our boat CDO-UCCP. We are truly blessed!

And I believe that God has provided the Church with blessings so much blessings to share to others. Paul said: God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2Cor 9:8) You have pastors who are ever ready to share their pastoral knowledge and skills in time of joy and in time of sadness. We have members, friends and pledgers who continue to support our various ministries of the Church. We have the local conference and national leadership which unite us with other local churches as UCCP. We have the seminary that prepares and trains men and women for the ministry of the Church. We have established networks and earned the goodwill of the larger community. Genuinely celebrate your founding by becoming a blessing to the community

Truly I tell you, Cagayan de Oro UCCP is like the boat of Simon Peter, you have received so much for God that your nets are beginning to break. God be praised!

The third point, is a spirituality of repentance.

Luke tells us that "when Simon Peter saw (the catch), he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!' "(v.8). What is going on here? Why is Peter so frightened? Peter knew Jesus was special--that is why he addressed Him as "Master "--but after this great miracle; after Jesus produced enough fish to sink 2 ships; Peter knew that he was standing in the presence of God.

And Simon Peter became afraid. Why? The encounter with Jesus brings him to an awareness of his sinfulness, of his unworthiness; he feels the fear of the All-otherness of God the Holy. When God likewise manifests himself to Isaiah, the prophet confesses: "Woe to me, I am lost, for I am a man with impure lips ... and now ... I have seen with my very eyes the Lord of hosts"(Is 6,5). Sinful human beings have to claim to God. Peter knows sin and holiness cannot co-exist together. In the presence of the Holy God, sin is extinguished. Could the same be said of us? When we are in the presence of the Lord we become afraid. We realized that we have not been faithful to the covenant. We begin to think more of our privileges of being the CHURCH of CHRIST rather than being called, elected and chosen by God. And that Christ needs us to accomplish his plan. We begin to think that we are indispensable to Gods plan. Without us, without me Gods plan will not succeed. When we realize that we are in Gods presence, are we afraid because we realize that we have glorified our church, our successes, our selves. Thank you Lord, I am not like those sinners. When the churches begin to think like God, we no longer listen to God. Let us return to the gospel story. Simon Peter knew he could not hide or run away from Jesus. He could not hide his sinfulness. He has no escape. In presence of Jesus, Simon Peter pleaded with Jesus, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord ! "(v.8). Jesus presence moves us to repentance. The call to repentance is demanded today. We have to accept the truth of who we are - that we are only creatures before our Creator, sinners before our Redeemer. The Church needs to open itself to Gods claims, and the existence of the Church needs to undergo Gods converting action.

Repentance involves three things. One, knowing that sin is destroying our life. Acknowledging that one is a sinner is quite difficult. Oftentimes we blame other things or other people instead of seeing that we ourselves are the guilty ones. Second, confessing the sin. Those who were really sorry for their sins confessed them aloud. This is important because it forces us to examine ourselves first to see what is wrong with in us. And if we confess our sins in the presence of others, they can give us help in overcoming our own sins. John Calvin made it a practice to have public confession of ones sins.

In these days some Christians dont take the time to confess their sins. Could this be one reason why Christians lack credibility? We only need to look back to our history as a people of God. And we realized that we have not lived up to the calling- the crusade, the inquisition, the burning of the heretics, the religious wars, the conquest of the new world, genocide, violent evangelization, Imperialism. I could go ongo on mention the many sins we have committed in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot boast that we dont need repentance. We need it yesterday and today.

Fourth, a spirituality of discipleship.

The fishermen were not called because of their qualifications, character, or potential. Gods call is as unpredictable as it is unmerited. Second, the call to discipleship did not come in a holy place (the temple or a synagogue) but in the midst of the fishermens daily work. The point is significant not because God does not call people in a holy place (cf. Zechariah in Luke 1) but because it is a further sign of the work of Gods kingdom reaching into the arena of human life.

In today's gospel episode, we see five persons leaving their home for a new life. Jesus leaves Nazareth, and two pairs of brothers leave their profession and their family. For all of them, this must have been painful and challenging, yet they went ahead with it. Their continued growth as human beings and as children of God required this break from their past. And they consented to the call of God to greater growth.

For us too, all the various events of our lives can be seen as a call to greater growth. But growing up is painful. Shall we consent to the pain? What may help us is to look at the end result of human growth the risen Jesus in all the glory of a man who accepted at each step the pain of going forth into the destiny prepared by God for him. To each one of us Jesus says, "Share with me in my pain and you will share one

day in my glory."

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