BE ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.

IT came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Let us pray -

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be always acceptable unto Thee, O' Lord our God, our strength and our Redeemer.

~Amen~

Our gospel today (Luke 5:1f.) can be read as a meditation on futility. “Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing.” This connects with our first lesson from today’s Morning Prayer in which the preacher observes, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). These passages call to mind the seasons of life when we worked hard but were left with a sense of emptiness.

In the gospel, the answer to the fishermen’s futility was found in a faithful and obedient response to God’s word. “Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.” Just so, when we hear God’s word and respond with faith, our own sense of futility is replaced with a sense of meaning and purpose. Our lives become fruitful.

The miraculous catch does not merely represent economic gain. The point of the miracle was not its impact on Peter’s business—which he promptly abandoned. A fruitful life is one in which we know we are doing God’s will and know God’s work is being done in us. Prosperity apart from the service of God will leave us unsatisfied. And we can find fulfillment in times of struggle if we know God is with us; if we can see the growth in virtue and holiness that God is causing in us; if we can see the positive impact we are having on the lives of other people.

Now, in the gospel today, Jesus gave Peter a direct, verbal command. In our lives, the movement from futility to fruitful labor is not always so simple. We can’t always hear the voice of Jesus so clearly. So we must pray and listen for that voice. We must seek, hoping to find, and knock, hoping that the door will be opened.

We begin with the Scriptures. We read the Bible not in an attempt to find magical verses that will provide simple answers. We read the Bible to learn the larger, recurring themes of God’s dealings with man so as to discern the same themes in our lives. We read the Scriptures so that our lives are formed by the biblical story and not the story told in the media—for they are not the same story.

For example, a recurring biblical theme is that God calls his people to do things that require great faith and great obedience. God called Noah to build an ark—a huge project—when there was no visible evidence of any impending flood. God called Moses to take on Pharaoh—one the world’s most powerful rulers at the time—believing that God would somehow use him to save Israel. Jesus was called to be obedient unto death, trusting the Father would raise him from the dead. Jesus called Peter to fish in impossible circumstances.

Thus, if we think God is calling us to do something that requires a great step of faith and obedience, we should take it very seriously. And we should beware of voices that call us to play it safe or take the easy route.

Reading the Scriptures as a habit of life teaches us to recognize the voice of God in contrast with the voice of Satan, the impulses of the flesh and the lures of the world. God does speak to us in ways that are clear. But his voice competes with these other voices. As we read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Scriptures as a habit of life, we learn to discern the difference. Like a child who knows which messages are consistent with the character of his earthly father, so we learn to discern the heavenly Father’s voice in contrast with the voices of our enemies.

Everyday practice of prayerful silence is helpful in learning to hear God’s voice. The busy-ness and noise of the world can drown out the voice of God. Thus, it is necessary at times to withdraw from the cell phone, the computer, the TV and radio, the mp3 player and the continual urgencies of life that demand our attention so that we can better listen for the voice of God in quiet prayer.

We must also listen to the voices of other, faithful Christian people—Christians who are not afraid to tell us we are wrong. For the church is the body of Christ. And Christ will most often speak to us through one of his bodily members. We are often so wrapped up in the details of our struggle that we cannot see what is obvious to another believer. Many Christians head off on the wrong path merely from failure to hear a second opinion.

And we must pay attention to how God speaks through the events and circumstances of our lives. If we believe that God is Almighty, then we must believe that God can speak to us through the story line of our lives. We can, by faith, discern the meaning of coincidences and propitious events, for they are either most often God's everyday miracles, or satan's tomfoolery.
Discernment comes from a combination of silent prayer, bible study, and FAITH!

Remember the words of St. Paul; "be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves".

We can see from this brief consideration that hearing God’s voice is not a simple thing—not always so clear as the simple command of Jesus to Peter. This is part of the test of faith. Are we willing to seek until we find? Are we willing to knock until the door is opened?

If we stop trying to discern and follow God’s word and will for our lives, we will be left laboring with our own unaided human effort. We will, inevitably, be left with a sense of emptiness, of toiling all the night but gaining nothing.

As Hebrews says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that HE IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Let us pray -

And now unto God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed as is most justly and rightly due, all might, majesty, power, and dominion, both now and forever more.

~Amen~