Put Out Into the Deep Water – 6 February 2022

Luke 5:1–11

“The word of God” (v 1) is Luke’s shorthand for the full Christian message; it occurs fourteen times in Acts. This is the message that the people are “pressing in on [Jesus] to hear.”

Telling the miracle story is fairly straightforward: Jesus commands what seems to the experts to be a ridiculous action, but they trust him and do it. The result is a bounty suggestive of the rich outpouring of the reign of God. This amazing outcome leads to faith, specifically to Peter’s affirmation of initial belief (v 8). In response to this incipient faith, Jesus gives Simon a mission: “From now on you will be catching people” (v 10). When the boats came to shore, not only Simon but also James and John—Jesus’ closest companions among the twelve— “left everything and followed him.” –– Gordon E. Truitt

Isaiah 6:1–8 [9]–13

There is an immediacy to this description that recalls earlier notions of the One God as a physical presence whom some people can see without dying (see Ex 24:11; 33:11). It is set above the Jerusalem temple, with the temple itself serving as a kind of footstool around which God’s robe is wrapped (v 1).

The seraphs, literally “fiery beings” and therefore closer to the spiritual world than the physical (v 2), are guardians of the court who cover their faces and their sexual identity out of reverence for the divine presence (“feet” is a euphemism here; see Isa 7:20). The acclamation that they chant. . . became part of the kedushah prayer in the Amidah, prayed in common, and in other parts of the daily and Sabbath synagogue services that may be prayed privately. From there, of course, it entered Christian liturgy as the first part of the Sanctus.

. . . The message God gives Isaiah (vv 9–13) is one of utter destruction. God has simply had it; there is no longer any divine interest in repentance. . . The only hope in this bleak picture is the final part of verse 13: “The holy seed is its stump.” New life can emerge even from otherwise unmitigated disaster. –– Gordon E. Truitt

1 Corinthians 15:1–11

Paul summarizes his preaching as a foundation for arguments that he will make in response to a denial of the resurrection (15:12). . . Using a creedal statement that probably originated in Palestine and modifying it only slightly, Paul indicates that the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection happened “in accordance with the scriptures” and that there were witnesses to these events: “Cephas and the twelve” (vv 3–5). The physical nature of the death and resurrection are important to Christian belief. . .

Acknowledging how unworthy he is because he persecuted the church (Paul calls himself an “abortion” in verse 8, though the NRSV translates the word ektromati as “one untimely born”), Paul still claims a link to apostolic authority and therefore to the truth of his preaching (vv 8–11). –– Gordon E. Truitt

Gordon E. Truitt, Roman Catholic, holds a doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Homily Service 43, no. 1 (2009): 137–150