Watching children grow up is an amazing thing, isn’t it? How quickly they grow and how quickly they learn! When we look at babies we dream about what they might become when they grow up: will she be the one who finds a cure for cancer? Will he be the first man to walk on Mars? And as kids get older and we get to know who they are, and what their interests are, we may find out we have a budding pianist on our hands rather than an astronaut, and that’s OK too. For us as adults it’s exciting watching kids in the process of becoming.
But for the kid it may not always feel like an adventure. Life can be tough, and there are growing pains, and setbacks, and moments of uncertainty. And then there’s the teenage years! I think a lot of times if kids could put it into words they’d say to us, “don’t give up on me, I’m not quite grown up yet.”
And I think even we grownups feel like that sometimes. I remember an old bumper sticker that read “please be patient, God’s not finished with me yet.” Even at the age of 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 or 90(!) we are still learning and still becoming, so it’s important to have patience: with one another and with ourselves.
Our scripture readings for today speak to this feeling and this experience. In our psalm for the day, King David ends the psalm by saying to God “do not forsake the work of thy hands.” And that’s where I’ve taken our sermon title for today: Lord, Don’t Let Go Of What Your Hands Have Made.
King David prayed this psalm to express three things:
- Passionate thanks to God for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. This psalm hints at answered prayers. David doesn’t say specifically which prayers, but it’s clear God has said “yes” to David’s requests. David says, “on the day I called you answered me” – and David calls on all the kings and great ones of the earth to bow down and worship the one true God.
- David wants to describe God (as best he can in words) and to say why God is so great. David talks about the glory of the Lord; about how the greatest glory of God is that no matter how high and exalted the Lord is, God still sees and cares about us, who are so small by comparison. There’s a hint here of Psalm 8: “when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them…?” (Ps 8:3-4a) This leads to David’s third point, which is:
- “You O Lord are with me.” God reaches out to us and delivers us from our troubles and our enemies. And so David sings out: “On the day I called, you answered me, you increased the strength of my soul.” But then, having said this, David ends the psalm by saying “do not forsake the work of thy hands”.
I think it’s part of being human, to worry about being God-forsaken. In fact we all fear being abandoned, or losing the ones we love. Whenever we form close relationships – marriages, children, friendships, partnerships – we fear the loss of those we love. As adults we sort of turn our minds off to the possibility most of the time, but then something comes along and reminds us – in the words of the songwriter Sting – “how fragile we are, how fragile we are”. And at times like this – or at other times of trouble – we fear that God might abandon us and we pray, “don’t let go of what your hands have made.”
God is both far above us and as close to us as the air we breathe. It’s true God’s hands made the universe and all that’s in it. Hebrews 1:10 says “you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” In Isaiah 48:13 God says: “Surely My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens.” But then Isaiah also says: “O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.” (Isa. 64:8)
So if we should find ourselves afraid that God might abandon us, or if that thought ever crosses our minds, first off, we’re not alone. In Psalm 27 the psalmist says: “Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!” In Psalm 71 the psalmist says: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.” (Those of us who reach a certain age can relate to this.) The prophet Jeremiah cries out: “we are called by your name; do not forsake us!” (Jer 14:9)
And God knows we need reassuring sometimes. Moses says in Deuteronomy: “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deut. 31:8) And the book of Hebrews tells us: “he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”” (Heb 13:5)
If it helps at all, we can bring to mind all the people God has not forsaken. God did not forsake David, even after the episode with Bathsheba. God did not forsake the Pharisee Nicodemus, even though he snuck out to meet Jesus at night so the other Pharisees wouldn’t see what he was up to. Jesus did not forsake Peter, who, on the night of his arrest, denied that he knew Jesus three times. God did not forsake Paul, even though he had believers arrested and thrown in prison. God did not forsake even Billy Graham, who was once turned down for membership in a church youth group because he was “too worldly”. So if we ever feel like we’ve done something so awful God might forsake us, we’re in good company.
And if we worry about God leaving us behind, it doesn’t mean we lack faith. It just means we need to bring our thoughts and feelings to God. As the old saying goes: “courage is fear that has said its prayers”. And so in our Psalm, David, rejoicing in thanksgiving for prayers answered, still says, “Lord don’t give up on me. Don’t let me go.”
In an odd sort of way, our reading from Luke today points in the same direction. In this story we see Jesus teaching on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (which is the same as Gennesaret – the lake has many names). The Sea of Galilee almost looks like it’s in a valley, below the mountains that surround it, so it was not unusual in Jesus’ day for people to use the shoreline as a natural amphitheater. Jesus could stand, essentially with his back to the lake and his feet in the water, and a crowd of 4000-5000 people could sit on the hillside and hear him perfectly. So one day when he was doing this, there were so many people and the crowd was pressing in so tight, Jesus finally climbed into one of the fishing boats nearby and pushed out away from the shore. And from there Jesus sat down and finished teaching his lessons for the day.
View from the Sea of Galilee
When Jesus was finished speaking (and I wish somebody had written down what he said! But in the eyes of Luke, the gospel writer, what happened next was more important for us to know.) When the lesson was done, Jesus turned to Simon the fisherman and said, “head out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the nets.” And so they did – and the nets began to break with all the fish: they caught so many fish they had to call for the second boat on the shore, and their fishing partners James and John, to come help bring in the haul. And even with two boats there were so many fish the boats nearly sank.
Boat on the Sea of Galilee
Seeing this, Simon fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I’m a sinful man.” If we’re honest with ourselves, all of us would say the same thing; because Jesus is too holy for us, just by being who he is. And it doesn’t matter what our background is. Construction worker or fisherman or office worker, poor or wealthy, high school diploma or advanced degree. We are all sinful people.
The reason God did not forsake Simon Peter, or Paul, or Nicodemus, or Billy Graham, is that when they came to understand their sins, they were horrified and turned away from them. And that ‘turning away’ is called repentance. That’s what the words means: to turn and go in a different direction. For anyone who has the courage and the honesty to say to God “I’m a sinful person” the answer Jesus gives is always: “Don’t be afraid.” And to Peter he adds: “From now on you will be catching people.” The number of fish Peter caught that day was nothing compared to the number of people who have come to know Jesus through Peter’s ministry.
We are all the work of God’s hands. Peter, who said “I’m a sinful man,” was never forsaken; the people who came to God because of Peter’s ministry were never forsaken; and you and I – who have inherited this faith from the generations before us (who were never forsaken) will never be forsaken ourselves. God will never let go of what God’s hands have made: not because of who we are, or how good we are, but because of who God is and how good God is. God sent his son Jesus to pay the price for our sins, and for those who believe and receive Him, God will never let us go. AMEN.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preached at Carnegie, Hill Top, and Fair Oaks, 2/10/19
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scripture Readings:
Psalm 138:1-8 A Psalm of David.
I give thee thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing thy praise;
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple
and give thanks to thy name
for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness;
for thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word.
3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me,
my strength of soul thou didst increase.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD,
for they have heard the words of thy mouth;
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou dost preserve my life;
thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and thy right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me;
thy steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of thy hands.
Luke 5:1-11 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 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.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Getting Started 
Leave a Reply