“TESTING, TESTING, TESTING”
Given at St. Stephen’s Church, Harrisburg, Illinois
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch,” Jesus said to Simon Peter…
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything….” Simon answered.
If I were doing a modern (a very modern) paraphrase of this exchange between Our Lord and Simon Peter, or if I were giving this section a title, I’d probably say something like, “Simon Peter gets a test”.
Testing is a part of our lives…we test everything, whether we know it or not: we test the chair we’re about to sit in, glancing at it to see if the seat seems solid, not broken or sagging….Our mechanic, after he or she gets through installing a new water pump on our car, tests that new pump to make sure it isn’t leaking…..We wouldn’t make it through school without a whole bunch of tests, of one sort or another.
Tests have a definite purpose: for one thing, they ensure that something we are about to use meets a certain standard so that we can trust using it…..think of the example of the chair: we want to know that it meets a certain standard of construction and of good repair, so that we can sit in it.
Another purpose of a test is to see if a person is trustworthy, perhaps to see if they know enough, or have the right skills, to take a certain position (think of the old typing tests that people used to take in order to be a secretary, for example).
Tests can also be used to see if a person is willing to obey someone, as when an order is given to do something.
I suspect that our Gospel story for today is in this last category: Jesus is testing Simon Peter to see if he will obey the Lord, perhaps to see if he will be able to meet the tests that will come along as Simon becomes Peter, and Apostle of the Lord….
Today’s encounter, recorded by Luke, has a lot of similarities to two earlier incidents that Jesus cited in our reading for last Sunday, from Luke 4: 21 – 32….
To set the stage for today’s reading, let’s remember the two Old Testament stories that Jesus used to remind His hearers in the synagogue at Nazareth about tests, from last week:
The first story [1]was about the widow of Zaraphath, in the Gentile region of Sidon (located in modern Lebanon)….The widow was tested by the prophet Elijah, who asked her for a cake of bread. Remember that the widow told Elijah that she and her son had just enough meal left to make one cake, after which they were going to sit down and wait for death. Elijah then asked the widow a second time to bring him a cake, and she did so, in faith. The widow woman passed the test of her faith, which was posed to her by Elijah. As a result, the widow’s supply of meal did not run out all the time that Elijah stayed with her, until the end of the famine that plagued Israel.
The second story[2] involved a Syrian general named Naaman. Naaman, despite his success in battle, was plagued by leprosy. When a captured Israelite servant girl suggests that the prophet Elisha could heal him, Naaman seeks Elisha out. As Elisha tells Naaman that he must go and bathe in the Jordan River seven times, Naaman objects, asking Elisha, “don’t we have better rivers in Damascus than you do here in Israel?” The direction is repeated, and Naaman goes and does as Elisha has directed him, and is healed as a result.
These two stories have a similar pattern, each of which involves a test of the person’s faith. The pattern is:
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch,” Jesus said to Simon Peter…
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything….” Simon answered.
If I were doing a modern (a very modern) paraphrase of this exchange between Our Lord and Simon Peter, or if I were giving this section a title, I’d probably say something like, “Simon Peter gets a test”.
Testing is a part of our lives…we test everything, whether we know it or not: we test the chair we’re about to sit in, glancing at it to see if the seat seems solid, not broken or sagging….Our mechanic, after he or she gets through installing a new water pump on our car, tests that new pump to make sure it isn’t leaking…..We wouldn’t make it through school without a whole bunch of tests, of one sort or another.
Tests have a definite purpose: for one thing, they ensure that something we are about to use meets a certain standard so that we can trust using it…..think of the example of the chair: we want to know that it meets a certain standard of construction and of good repair, so that we can sit in it.
Another purpose of a test is to see if a person is trustworthy, perhaps to see if they know enough, or have the right skills, to take a certain position (think of the old typing tests that people used to take in order to be a secretary, for example).
Tests can also be used to see if a person is willing to obey someone, as when an order is given to do something.
I suspect that our Gospel story for today is in this last category: Jesus is testing Simon Peter to see if he will obey the Lord, perhaps to see if he will be able to meet the tests that will come along as Simon becomes Peter, and Apostle of the Lord….
Today’s encounter, recorded by Luke, has a lot of similarities to two earlier incidents that Jesus cited in our reading for last Sunday, from Luke 4: 21 – 32….
To set the stage for today’s reading, let’s remember the two Old Testament stories that Jesus used to remind His hearers in the synagogue at Nazareth about tests, from last week:
The first story [1]was about the widow of Zaraphath, in the Gentile region of Sidon (located in modern Lebanon)….The widow was tested by the prophet Elijah, who asked her for a cake of bread. Remember that the widow told Elijah that she and her son had just enough meal left to make one cake, after which they were going to sit down and wait for death. Elijah then asked the widow a second time to bring him a cake, and she did so, in faith. The widow woman passed the test of her faith, which was posed to her by Elijah. As a result, the widow’s supply of meal did not run out all the time that Elijah stayed with her, until the end of the famine that plagued Israel.
The second story[2] involved a Syrian general named Naaman. Naaman, despite his success in battle, was plagued by leprosy. When a captured Israelite servant girl suggests that the prophet Elisha could heal him, Naaman seeks Elisha out. As Elisha tells Naaman that he must go and bathe in the Jordan River seven times, Naaman objects, asking Elisha, “don’t we have better rivers in Damascus than you do here in Israel?” The direction is repeated, and Naaman goes and does as Elisha has directed him, and is healed as a result.
These two stories have a similar pattern, each of which involves a test of the person’s faith. The pattern is:
- A personal need
- A direction from the prophet
- An objection to the direction
- Obedience – and an answer to the need
The same pattern is present in today’s reading: Simon has a need (no fish) – Jesus offers a direction (“put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch”) – Simon objects (“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”) – obedience – an answer to the need (there were so many fish that Simon had to ask for additional help).
Now, it’s interesting to note that this test occurs immediately following the call of these first disciples, including Simon.
Testing was a part of the disciples’ training…Think about the many times Jesus would ask them, “have you understood all this?”, for example.
The tests would continue, and would intensify, once Jesus had been arrested (think of Simon Peter’s own response to Jesus’ arrest: he drew out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants).[3] A little later, Simon Peter would deny that he knew the Lord three times.
For each of the disciples, once they had become Apostles and had been sent out in the Lord’s name following Jesus’ Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven, testing would continue as they preached the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, ending in the ultimate test, their martyrdoms for the faith they proclaimed.[4]
Do we think that we will be tested by God? If so, how are we tested?
I think that the Scriptures make clear that testing is part of having faith, just as it was for Simon Peter in today’s Gospel reading….Consider what we read in James 1: 2 – 3: “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” And a few verses later (verse 12), we read, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
Testing is a part of faith.
How are we tested?
I think the answers to that are many and are varied…Whenever we’re asked to deviate from the standards that we know God has set for His faithful people to abide by, we are tested to see if we will stray from those precepts.
All testing involves meeting a standard….Think of the example we began with, that of the chair: there are certain standards for a chair, which, if we are going to make use of that chair, it will have to meet.
The same is true of Our Lord’s followers: there is a standard which God, in Christ, asks us to meet.
In order to meet that standard, it’s necessary for us to put ourselves alongside that standard, to see if we measure up (again, remember the example of the chair).
Just living life, being alive in the 21st century, will present many opportunities to make a choice to be cognizant of God’s will for us, or to respond to the world’s “siren song” of choices that the pagan culture around us offers.
But there are two specific standards which our weekly gathering for worship together offers us as opportunities to see God’s standards clearly, put ourselves alongside God’s standards:
Now, it’s interesting to note that this test occurs immediately following the call of these first disciples, including Simon.
Testing was a part of the disciples’ training…Think about the many times Jesus would ask them, “have you understood all this?”, for example.
The tests would continue, and would intensify, once Jesus had been arrested (think of Simon Peter’s own response to Jesus’ arrest: he drew out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants).[3] A little later, Simon Peter would deny that he knew the Lord three times.
For each of the disciples, once they had become Apostles and had been sent out in the Lord’s name following Jesus’ Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven, testing would continue as they preached the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, ending in the ultimate test, their martyrdoms for the faith they proclaimed.[4]
Do we think that we will be tested by God? If so, how are we tested?
I think that the Scriptures make clear that testing is part of having faith, just as it was for Simon Peter in today’s Gospel reading….Consider what we read in James 1: 2 – 3: “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” And a few verses later (verse 12), we read, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
Testing is a part of faith.
How are we tested?
I think the answers to that are many and are varied…Whenever we’re asked to deviate from the standards that we know God has set for His faithful people to abide by, we are tested to see if we will stray from those precepts.
All testing involves meeting a standard….Think of the example we began with, that of the chair: there are certain standards for a chair, which, if we are going to make use of that chair, it will have to meet.
The same is true of Our Lord’s followers: there is a standard which God, in Christ, asks us to meet.
In order to meet that standard, it’s necessary for us to put ourselves alongside that standard, to see if we measure up (again, remember the example of the chair).
Just living life, being alive in the 21st century, will present many opportunities to make a choice to be cognizant of God’s will for us, or to respond to the world’s “siren song” of choices that the pagan culture around us offers.
But there are two specific standards which our weekly gathering for worship together offers us as opportunities to see God’s standards clearly, put ourselves alongside God’s standards:
- Testament, and a Gospel reading, interspersed with a selection from the Psalms. “God’s word written”, Holy Scripture, offers us the chance to compare God’s revealed will for human beings, and in the hearing, offers us a chance to compare our faith, our behaviors, and our attitudes, to what we know about God….We set ourselves alongside the Divine standard that Holy Scripture presents us.
- The Holy Eucharist: Each week, as we approach this altar, we are brought face-to-face with the holiness of Jesus Christ, present in the Sacrament. Perhaps the contrast between Jesus’ holiness and our unholiness ought to make us more than a little uncomfortable….Maybe the confession that we say before the passing of The Peace and the Offertory ought to be taken a little more seriously….Perhaps our prayer might be more fervent that the holiness of Jesus Christ would become more and more a part of our bodies, our minds, and our spirits, as we feed upon him spiritually and actually, week by week.
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch”, Jesus said to Simon Peter.
“Put out into the deep waters of life, endure the test, and prepare for rich blessings” Jesus might be saying to us today.
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”, Simon said in reply.
“But Lord, we’ve gotten nowhere fast to this point” we say, “and have little to show for our efforts.”
The Lord tests those He loves, proving them to be trustworthy for the blessings He bestows, provided we are faithful.
AMEN.
[1] This story is found in I Kings 17: 1 – 15.
[2] Found in II Kings 5: 1 - 14
[3] It is John who tells which one of the disciples it was who drew the sword (John 18: 10).
[4] Tradition tells us that all but one of the Apostles suffered a martyr’s death.
“Put out into the deep waters of life, endure the test, and prepare for rich blessings” Jesus might be saying to us today.
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”, Simon said in reply.
“But Lord, we’ve gotten nowhere fast to this point” we say, “and have little to show for our efforts.”
The Lord tests those He loves, proving them to be trustworthy for the blessings He bestows, provided we are faithful.
AMEN.
[1] This story is found in I Kings 17: 1 – 15.
[2] Found in II Kings 5: 1 - 14
[3] It is John who tells which one of the disciples it was who drew the sword (John 18: 10).
[4] Tradition tells us that all but one of the Apostles suffered a martyr’s death.
