Faith and Action: Trusting in the Unknown

In today's reading we encounter a pivotal moment in the Disciples of in the disciples life Jesus standing by the lake tells Simon Peter to cast his Nets again after a night of unsuccessful fishing Simon is tired frustrated and doubtful much like some of us are right now retired because we said this may happen we're frustrated because we continue to Echo the same yet it goes and is unheard and we're doubtful because we don't see much changing at Jesus's words his cast his net once more and then the result is miraculous they catch so many fish that the Nets begin to break story isn't just about a miraculous fish catch but about faith Trust TR and willingness to step into the unknown right now what's ahead of us as a country is unknown it's uncharted waters. [00:06:31]

Let's take a look at Thomas Edison have any of you heard of him a few I'm sure you you've never heard of the inventure of the light bulb but did you know that Edison failed thousands of times before he succeeded he once said I have not failed I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work even when the odds seemed impossible Edison kept going and changed the world imagine if he had given up after his first 4, 1,000 failure think about that the lesson here is that sometimes like Simon Peter we need to throw our Nets one more time. [00:07:46]

In a different context let think about Malala you saf I can't pronounce her last name at just 15 years old Malala was shot by the Taliban for advocating for girls education in Pakistan the world expected her to give up but malala's faith and education and her belief and her calling drove her forward after surviving the attack Malala continued her advocacy work even though it seemed dangerous and uncertain her message was clear despite the fears and struggles the world needs us to cast our nets for a better future like Simon Peter Malala stepped into an unknown future with courage following the call she knew was right. [00:10:12]

Another example comes from a local small business owner Maria who open a bakery in a small town during a tough economic time many people told her it wouldn't work there were too many challenges High comp competition rising cost and the constant struggle to get customers in the door s familiar Bakery church but much like Simon Peter Maria didn't let the doubts take over she followed her passion trusted in her work and worked tirelessly with faith that things would improve one day her Bakery was discovered by a food critic and a steady stream of customers followed she went from struggling small business owner to an example resilience in her community Aria story reminds us that Miracles can unfold when we listen to our calling even when it seems impractical or too complicated. [00:11:08]

I may have shared this before I don't recall I know I shared it in my ordination paper that years back when I first officially took my first move towards ordained Ministry while I was still Catholic I had just met Jacob actually a few months into that I applied to the priesthood and of course some of you know that the priest in charge of vocation said Well we'd have to send you to a psychiatrist not psychologist psychiatrist and see if your damaged goods or salvageable because of my sexuality think of that this is a person who supposedly represents God we're supposed to Shepherd people telling someone else we'd have to see your damaged goods what would that have done to you to many they shut down the door that's why we have less and less people in our pews in churches across the world in this country because wrong thing is said sometimes inadvertedly we say the wrong thing but this was an intentional saying. [00:12:34]

I picked up the phone right at that moment didn't ring nothing I just happened to pick it up see that's much what Jesus is asking you to do is be prepared to answer the call even when you don't hear the ringing the call is there in the Gospel reading Jesus calls Simon Peter to trust and cast his Nets again Peter does so despite his doubts and the Miracle happens now in my case of that phone call the miracle Isn't So literal but here I'm going to hch myself 20 plus years later the miracle was I got to be in ordained clergy not of priest but still ordain Clarity think about that a miracle doesn't always happen in the sense that we know from the Bible a miracle can happen in different ways different aspects but we have to be willing to see that to experience that to welcome it and to embrace it. [00:16:19]

Jesus call to Peter wasn't just about fishing it was about following trusting stepping into the the unknown and being part of something greater than oneself ask yourself those of you who have been part of this church Community for decades what is more important to you the building or the church Community the feel of family if the building were to crumble tomorrow does that mean the end of Christ Church you succeed or is that just the end of the building in which Christ UCC recited we too are asked to cast our Nets whether in our careers relationships Community work or faith we asked to trust that when we listen to God's call we may be surprised what by what happens. [00:17:34]

The Outreach committee when it started was it last year or the year before last last year right no two years ago I don't know it was so I know it was over a year ago and Judy was volun told in a sense to be chair when we started I had somewhat of a vision of what that would be the me the committee members were at that time three I think right we're like where do we start ASO we'll see where we start and they've come a long way if you haven't paid attention I encourage you to pay attention to what your fellow congregants are doing in the name of the ministry of this church and I bring that up particularly because in March they will be doing the sunrise sharing breakfast basically a very continental breakfast and thanks to George and Kathy for kind of contributing some more ideas and for George actually going physically and getting some more stuff for that it's in your bulletin it's in the newsletter and you'll be seeing it every Tuesday Morning in March from 7:30 to 9:30 whether you can afford it or not you're welcome to come and you can pick up your your breakfast you can sit down or you can take it to ghost if you know someone encourage them to come in. [00:18:31]

Today's world because it is a luxury item they'll be offering an hardboiled egg for protein and baked muffin a on other stuff it's a pilot March will determine if this goes forward March will determine how much people are receptive to coming to that it's also a matter of you having trust in the Outreach committee as your representatives and supporting them in how much you can help in whether it's passing out flyers to people you know word of mouth or saying is there anything else that you need that we can help provide or the Sunday before the breakfast helping them pack those brown bags right brown bags with all the little goodies that will be going in there for Tuesday morning it's that simple I want you to think about that many of the churches in this place do offer some sort of meal per week and this is whether it might not seem like it it is a big task to take on because you don't know if it's going to be five people or 50 people so your support is extremely needed I encourage you make sure sure you're listening to that call because maybe your phone is on silent and it's vibrating and if you're making too much noise you're not going to hear that vibration. [00:21:19]

Loving and gracious God thank you for calling us to follow you we acknowledge the times we've doubted felt that our Nets were empty and been hesitant to trust we ask for the strength and courage to cast our Nets again Knowing You Are are with us in every step help us trust your guidance embrace the unknown with faith and continue boldly on the path you set before us may our hearts be open to the Miracles that await when we follow your call amen. [00:22:01]