I thought things would change with retirement. When I officially retired during the pandemic, I thought the pace of my life would change. No more alarm clock, no more night meetings, no more putting out fires of discontent. Some of you know what I mean. It is the stress of responsibility. Something had to give. For while, I stopped writing. Then I cut back on my reading. Then came the feeling of discontent. I understood how Peter felt after the death, resurrection, and first two appearances of the risen Lord Jesus. Like Peter, after all the excitement of what God had been doing in me, around me, and through me for years, I went back to fishing so to speak. Read about Peter’s experience in John 21:3-4.
Thinking back to those pre-retirement years, everything I did from daylight to dark seemed to focus on some form of work. Sermon preparation, visitation, committee meetings, WMU, Men’s Ministries, weddings, funerals, chaplaincy calls for emergency services and the hospital consumed my time. It all became burdensome. When the enthusiasm wanes into routine, it is easy to fall into a rut. One clever person said the only difference between a rut and grave is the depth of the hole.
Do you remember what Simon Peter was doing when Jesus first called him? Read Luke five to find out. It was the middle of the day and Jesus told him to go out into the deep water and put out his net for a catch of fish. This was the way it was done. This was not the when or the where. Peter did not know this man, but he reluctantly obeyed. Suddenly a miracle occurred. No one caught fish at this time of day, but Peter’s net was filled with so many fish that the boat began to sink. Peter calls to his partners to bring their boat, but they also began to sink under the weight of the fish. It was at that moment in that sinking boat that Simon’s perception of Who Jesus was changed. His panic subsided as he fell to his knees and said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus simple reply was, “Do not fear. From now on, you will be catching people.”
Even in the aftermath of spiritual mountain tops, we can, like Peter, fall back into the rut. Peter says to his fellow disciples, “I’m going fishing.” Once again, he is confronted by the living Jesus who lovingly confronts him with that initial call – “Follow Me and I will make you a fisher of men.”
In the calm of my little boat or the solitude of my little office, Jesus spoke to me again. He reminded me of my call with great patience and encouragement. He told me to not settle for the rut. Like Peter in John 21, I was reminded that the call was irrevocable. Feed My little ones. Take care of My sheep. Nourish My growing ones. Do not worry about what I have called others to dol. You follow Me! It was like Déjà vu all over again. Thanks, Lord, for the reminder and for pulling out of the rut.
