Abundant Mercy
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
By our way of thinking, the blessing of God never seems to
come when we want it. By our way of thinking, God’s answer to our prayers never
seems to come when we need it. We cry out to the Lord especially in our hour of
need, and we pray most earnestly and most fervently when we are in crisis. At
that moment, we are sure God is not listening, that His blessing will not come
right then and right there. But because we need to remember that God does
listen, does do for us, and does bless us even when we can’t see it, even when
we’re desperate—that’s why we pray. Despite what we think in our direst
moments, God’s mercy precedes our prayer. God’s blessing comes even before we
pray. His compassion overshadows us and surrounds us even before we see the
crisis, even before we think to pray. That’s true of us. And that was true of
the disciples.
They were fishermen who had toiled all night and caught nothing. No doubt, they were
frustrated beyond measure. After a long hard night, they had nothing to show
for it. So they gave up, brought their boats in, and let Jesus borrow them so
He could preach. He got into Simon’s
boat and sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. Then He said to Simon, “Launch out into the
deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Think about it for a
moment. These fishermen—Peter, James, and John—they had spent all night
fishing. They were frustrated and exhausted. They were in no mood to mess
around again—especially at the wrong time of day and in the wrong place in the
water.
But by the grace of the Holy Spirit, Simon and the others
believed Jesus. They heard His outlandish command, and they did it. They did
not fight or resist or walk away. They said what every Christian should say: “At
Your word I will do what you say.” They were blessed beyond measure.
Our Lord is merciful to them in a way they didn’t imagine, and at a time they
didn’t expect. So merciful was He that they
caught enough fish to tear their net. They got another boat and filled that one too, so much so that both
boats began to sink. This is how our heavenly Father is with His mercy.
He doesn’t skimp. He doesn’t give us only so we get by. He overwhelms us with
His kindness. He is abundant in His blessing. He gives more than we know what
to do with, more than we need—more than enough.
And then it hits us: we do not deserve any of our Lord’s
mercy. We are unworthy of any compassion from our Lord. We grumble and complain
instead of trusting and receiving what He gives. We want something else; we
want more, instead of receiving with thanksgiving whatever our Lord gives. And
we even curse what our Lord gives us for our blessing.
When that happens, when it hits us that we are unworthy of our
Lord’s mercy, then we should imitate Simon Peter. When Simon saw the catch of
fish, he fell down at our Lord’s feet,
saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” But just
as Peter’s knees hit the ground, the Lord surprises him once more with His
mercy. He says, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” That’s
how it is with the Lord’s mercy. It goes more deeply than we can imagine; more
deeply than we ever dared to hope.
It is no mistake that this happens over water, for we first
meet our Lord’s mercy in the waters of Holy Baptism. And it is no mistake that
this story climaxes with the Lord saying, “Do
not be afraid,” for that is what He says to us in Holy Absolution. God’s
mercy comes to us in ways we would never expect, in amounts beyond our wildest
imagination. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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