Rev. Kevin M. Pleas

Luke 5:1-11

February 4, 2007

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

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In all of my efforts to define the nature of my Christianity over the last few months, one thing I've said repeatedly is that I'm not a biblical literalist. I do not believe it's necessary, or even always desirable, to take the Bible literally. The story Vicki just read to you is a good example of why I feel that way. If I'm a literalist, I'm required to read this story as a faithful, historical, eyewitness account of what actually happened one day on the shore of Lake Gennesaret (another name for the Sea of Galilee). Jesus did some teaching, he caused the fishermen to pull in a miraculous catch of fish, and then he called them to leave their nets and follow him. If I take the Bible literally, then my job, basically, is simply to believe that all this happened just the way Luke said it did.

The problem is, I know too much about the Bible to be satisfied with that. I know, for instance, that this story didn't become part of Luke's gospel until about fifty years after it was supposed to have happened. I know that until Luke wrote it down, it was passed around among the believers, who told this and other stories about Jesus over and over so they wouldn't forget them. Although I imagine they did their best, it's reasonable to assume that some of the details may have been lost in the shuffle. At at this late date however, we have no way of being certain. I also know that Matthew and Mark both agree with Luke in that Jesus called his first disciples by the Sea of Galilee, but the way they tell the story, the part about Jesus teaching people from a boat happened on an altogether different day, and neither one of them mentions anything about a miraculous catch of fish. Now John does mention the miracle. In fact he tells much the same story that Luke does, except for one small detail. In John's version, the whole episode took place, not at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, but at the end, after he had already died and been resurrected.

Now, none of this information is secret. You don't have to learn Greek or Latin, or spend years studying the Bible to find these things out. All you have to do is a little background research with a good commentary. Trust me, it won't take long for the contradictions begin leaping out at you. The scales will fall from your eyes, so to speak. But usually, ministers don't talk about the contradictions. Usually we ignore or gloss over or play down the contradictions in the Bible. Have you noticed that? Why do you think that is?

Well, there are three reasons I can think of right off the top of my head. First, we've all been taught to think of the Bible as a sacred book and we don't usually want to do anything that might make it seem less sacred. Pointing out contradictions can feel a little like using the American flag for a beach towel. Many people would say it's something you just don't do, and some want to make it illegal. The Bible, like the flag, seems to deserve more respect than that.

Second, especially when we're up here preaching, there just isn't time to deal with all the subtleties and complications that arise from any given passage. Fifteen minutes on Sunday morning doesn't allow much room for digging. If we spent every service talking about contradictions, there won't be time for anything else.

Third, and I think most important, the reason we don't usually deal with the contradictions, is that when we do, it tends to make people feel that the Bible isn't trustworthy. You see, these days even if we're not literalists where the Bible is concerned, most of us do tend to be literalists when it comes to what's true and what isn't. We have been taught to value the literal more than the non-literal. We believe that science has more to say about reality than art or poetry does. When it comes to truth, we often think in relatively black and white terms. There is reality on the one hand and then there is fantasy on the other. Reality is valuable, true and trustworthy, fantasy is, well fantasy is fantasy. It may be interesting but you wouldn't want to depend on it.

When we bring this kind of either/or thinking to the Bible (true or false, fantasy or reality) and then discover a book that is full of contradictions, we are going to be hard pressed not to put it in the fantasy category, regardless of how much we may have been taught to treat it with respect. So, for all these reasons, and I'm sure there are others, ministers don't usually point out that the Bible is sometimes contradictory. But not today baby. Today I'm talkin' about it.

Why would I do that, you may be wondering. Well, partly because I think it's a good idea to be honest about something you already know anyway. I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to most of you that there are contradictions in the Bible. But if I don't admit it, if I don't get it out on the table, then maybe you'll get the idea that it's something we not supposed to talk about. We may end up treating the Bible like some kind of ancient, sacred relic that none of us ever actually reads. Either that or we may end up rejecting it wholesale.

It's very important that we not treat the Bible in such black and white terms. It has many layers, many levels of truth and wisdom. Even where it is historically questionable, it is often psychologically and spiritually brilliant. It carries the stories of our faith. It speaks to the conditions of our lives, even two thousand years later. Though we may not know precisely how it happened, we have no reason to doubt that Jesus called his first disciples away from catching fish, and taught them how to catch people up in the Spirit. In every generation since, we have passed on these stories, with all their contradictions, because we have been called to do likewise.

I'd like to close with a story. There was once an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you, but I don't understand it. And what I do understand, I forget as soon as I close the Book. What good does reading the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster; but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he wanted to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible. But he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got very far. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and, for the first time, he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. That is the work of God in our lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His Son."

Yes, there are contradictions in the Bible. But my advice to you is, don't get caught up in worrying about them. Just read, and allow the Spirit to speak to you through your reading. If you do that you will discover, layer upon layer of meaning, and it will slowly transform you into the image of Christ.

Amen.