“Enough Talk” (Luke 5:1-11)

There is a story about a young ministerial candidate who had to submit a paper about his faith to the ordination committee.  The young man spent much time writing the paper and upon completion he felt that he had written a perfect submission.  The paper was filled with quotes from his favorite theologians and bible scholars, after all, the candidate was quite well read.  He was certain that he would have no problem impressing the committee that he was ready to become an ordained minister.  So, he submitted and waited.

After a while, the committee asked to see the candidate.  Certain he was going to be told good news, the candidate walked confidently into the room.  Standing before the committee, the silence was broken by one of the older members of gathered group.  He told the young man that it was an excellently written academic paper . . . well referenced . . . and, had the thoughts and ideas of many of the great theologians and biblical scholars.  The committee would give the candidate that much, but . . . but, the paper did not meet the requirements of the assignment.  There was nothing in the paper about his faith.  There was a lot about other people’s ideas and thoughts about faith, but there was nothing that indicated the candidate’s own personal faith.  It was too much talk and not enough action.

Growing up as a kid, I can remember the phrase my father would use with us kids whenever we didn’t do something that we said we would do.  He would say, “Are you going to sit on the pot all day or are you going to use it.”  I can also remember being told by lots of older folks that “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”  And, more than once in my lifetime, I have been told to “put up or shut up.”  I hope that you can guess where I am going with this because this is sort of the point of our scripture reading this morning.

We hear how Jesus is talking to a crowd of people by a lake.  As the crowd grows, they press in towards Jesus to hear what he is saying.  Feeling hemmed in, Jesus jumps into a nearby boat, tells the men to push out, and continues his talk.  Upon completion of his talk, he tells the men on the boat to throw out their nets into the deep water to catch some fish.  Now these men are professional fishermen . . . years of learning the trade, years of experience . . . and, what Jesus asks them to do makes no sense to them.  But, they decide to humor Jesus, and they throw the nets over.

Much to their surprise . . . the nets are full of fish.  A lot of fish.  So many fish they call for help because their nets are breaking with the weight of the haul.  It fills two boats full of fish to the point that the two begin to sink.  Needless to say, this caught the attention of one of the fishermen—Simon Peter . . . who immediately falls on his knees before Jesus because he recognizes the holiness of the person before him.  He waffles and demands that Jesus leave because he is unworthy of the holiness before him.

But, Jesus is having none of it.  Nope . . . enough is enough.  Jesus issues a call to Simon Peter to “put up or shut up.”  Actually, he tells him: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 

Like any good person of the Jewish culture and faith, Simon Peter was raised with religious training growing up . . . that was the educational system.  In that training was learned the words and rituals . . . all the scriptures and dogma . . . all the prayers and ceremonies that form the foundation of one’s faith.  Simon Peter had the knowledge.  Now, Jesus was calling for him to live the faith.  As far as Jesus was concern, enough talk . . . action was required.  No more talk . . . put up or shut up.  Jesus was telling Simon Peter that the time had come to do as he was doing.

For Jesus faith always comes down to action . . . always comes down to how one puts the words into play, how one takes what’s in the mind into the world.  It is one thing to read and study the scriptures daily . . . to pray daily . . . to worship . . . to receive communion; and, it is another to go out into the world and do what those scriptures, prayers, worship, and communion call people to do.  As far as Jesus is concern, when it comes to faith, words don’t compare to action.

I have told the story before about the little boy who was finally given the opportunity to go to the grocery store for his mother after relentless onslaughts of assurance that he was old enough to do the job.  So, the mother gave the boy a list of things he was to buy and the money to pay for all of it.  On cloud nine, the boy ran off to the grocery store to get the job done.  With the help of the grocer the boy got everything on the list, payed for it, and picked up the paper bag of groceries to head home.  He was pumped!

Then it happened!

The boy tripped on the sidewalk outside the store . . . the bag flew into the air . . . groceries were everywhere . . . the milk jug broke, the eggs were crushed, jars were smashed . . . the mess was everywhere.  The boy couldn’t believe it . . . heart-broken, he began to cry.

Of course, a lot of people saw the accident.  Many stopped by and said consoling words to the boy about how sorry they were for him.  Some attempted to help clean up the mess.  And, the boy continued to cry as the people attempted to console him by telling him they were sorry for him.  Finally, a man walked up to the boy, pulled out his wallet, got out some cash and gave it to the boy.  He looked at the people gathered around and said, “If you feel so sorry for the boy, then help him with his need . . . give him money to replace what has been broken.”

Enough talk.  Jesus doesn’t want talk.  Jesus wants action.  Jesus calls his followers to act on their faith, not speak about their faith.  He wants followers who will physically feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bind the wounds, comfort the lonely . . . open the door to the stranger.  Jesus wants people to love as he has loved . . . to do as he has done.  Jesus just wants his followers to just do it.

The reality is that Simon Peter and all the other disciples had the necessary knowledge and training in what faith was . . . they had been trained in it all their lives.  They probably could have spouted it off with the best of them because it was up there in their minds.  Jesus calls them to action . . . calls them to put the words into action . . . and, he would show them the way.  He shows all of us the way.

The question becomes . . . how will we respond?  Will we respond with words to show our faith, or will we live our lives in such a way that no words will be necessary for another to see our faith?  Jesus us tells us that there is a correct way . . . he tells us to just do it.  Enough talk . . . just do it.  Amen.