Dear friends in Christ, today's big entertainment event has been hyped all week. The Super Bowl is purported to be the greatest athletic event of the year, but in the larger scheme of things, it seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Who remembers last year's winner? For that matter, who won last fall's World Series? Or the Oscar for last year's Best Movie? Or the politicians elected last fall? Compared to the truly important things of life, most winners are quickly forgotten. Today's trophies are quickly relegated to boxes in the garage containing junk we've forgotten.

         Not so with Jesus Christ. He has never become a footnote or an after thought. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, Lord and Savior of the universe, is just as big today as ever. He is Good Shepherd, Light of the Word and Rock of Ages. Jesus never seems to grow smaller, and if He does fade with certain groups of people, it lasts only awhile. For all of the attempts to discredit Jesus, He just keeps growing in the eyes of the world's people. Even amid the onslaught of His enemies in Islam, Jesus' stature keeps growing. Even as a fisherman!

         Now, I've never been much of a fisherman, but I have caught a few. I have an older brother Ed who can catch fish in a mud puddle. He's a real fisherman! If I tried to offer him advice on bait casting or boat fishing or even ice fishing, he would laugh. One thing I've learned about fishing - you have to respect those who know how! Brother Ed has forgotten more than I'll ever know about how to catch a fish.

         The same is true about Peter. He knew more about fishing than Jesus could ever learn. Peter was older than Jesus and had lived his entire life along the shores of Lake Galilee. He knew where the fish were biting and when to get them. He knew night fishing usually worked well, so he and other fishermen would regularly cast their nets in the warmer night shallows, hoping to take their catch to local markets in the morning. But fishing on this particular night had brought Peter nothing. At least until Jesus came along.

         The Bible tells us Jesus decided to teach the people from a boat, and it turned out to be Peter's. Talking to crowds from a boat was not unusual. Sound travels far and clear on the smooth surface of a still lake, and if it's by a hillside, it was like a small amphitheater. People could see and hear who was speaking. And they knew this Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth had important things to say.

         When Jesus was done teaching the people, and the crowds were leaving, He asked Peter and the others to try fishing again. "Put out into deep water," Jesus said, "and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." Jesus may not have known much about fishing, but He wanted to show them something.

         You have to admire Peter. He didn't get offended when an inexperienced man offered him advice. He didn't chuckle or object - he did what Jesus said. I'm sure that's why Jesus chose so many fishermen as His disciples. They listened and they learned. They worked hard, but they also knew they didn't know it all. Jesus didn't pick His disciples from the educated - at least not many. He wanted supple minds and humble hearts. Yes, the disciples had their peculiarities. James and John argued and hollered a lot, and Thomas was a skeptic. Matthew valued money a little too much and Simon the Zealot wanted to kill Romans. But those men were good students - at least all except one. Judas, we know, didn't learn very well.

         "Try it again!" said Jesus to Peter, "but this time on the other side." Sometimes we're so tired we're willing to try anything. Sometimes we think we know things pretty well, but other times we're stumped. Then we are looking for other solutions to our troubles. And when we're open to new ways, God often works His best miracles. Peter and the others tried it again - this time with Jesus -and the end result was that they could barely hold all the fish. One Gospel account said their nets began to tear, there were so many big ones. Another account even tells the number of fish caught - 154 whoppers, enough to fill two boats. Peter tried it again with Jesus and was blessed beyond imagination. And so can we.

         Peter's reaction shows his faith and humility: "He fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'" Why was he sinful? Perhaps because he doubted, perhaps because he hesitated, perhaps because he never thought Jesus could do such a thing. Kneeling at someone's feet is more than a sign of humility. It's a sign of surrender. Peter may have listened to Jesus before, but this time he wanted to follow Him. No more going back - He was going with Jesus no matter where it led.

         That's the kind of faith we all need - to follow Jesus no matter where He leads us. Last week I shared a few highlights of my ministry, memorable events that make me chuckle now, but some that scared the wits out of me when they happened. I have followed Jesus into some hard times and places, also. After two fine ministries in North Dakota, I went to southern California, blithely thinking it was just a different place, but the same people, the same ministry. How wrong I was! Those California people were different. Their expectations were beyond my abilities, and the pace of life out there was torrid. In those 21 months I never did so many things - so many interesting things, so many new things, and so many foolish things - as in the rest of my life. Following the Lord's leading to Riverside was not a smooth trip. But it was an education, one that I needed. To this day it seems like I lived ten years in those 21 months. The education there and in the Utah years that followed showed me what faith is all about.

         Faith in Jesus is not agreeing to a few principles or learning the major Lutheran teachings. Faith is not following the herd and being a "yes" man to those above you. It's following God into the depths of people's darkest lives, into the quicksands of desire, and the heart of darkness that turns out to be your own. For those few months I had no idea what I was doing, nor why. Resignation from that church followed, and I was sure my pastoral life was over. Then came Utah, starting over again with Jesus, or so I thought. And there came the pit of despair that comes with having your spouse die. And then starting marriage over again, and too soon and all too wrong.

         During those dark days, if there was anything wrong to do, I probably did it. Except turn my back on God. In those days I discovered that faith in God works. He never left me, nor my boys. Even if I started over wrong, He stayed with me. I guess He knew there was something further down the road that would put all this to use - something called Epiphany Lutheran of Castle Rock. And along the way, He brought me a great gift - Carol, my new mate for life.

         "Try it again!" said Jesus, "But this time on the other side." I am not much of a fisherman yet today, but I know a little more about catching fish. I'm not much of a catch, but I know what it is to be rescued from sin and despair by the Fisher of Men.

         Last week some local pastors were meeting for prayer here and one of them mentioned the large number of people who have died already in Douglas County in just the past month. One of his members is a police officer and told him so far in 2007, in just one month, ninety people have died in Douglas County - from auto accidents, heart attacks (such as from shoveling snow) and suicide. He said the suicide rate this year is double or triple the norm, probably from weather, but certainly from hopelessness. I know Douglas County has a lot of people - the US Census Bureau said there were 250,000 people here in 2005. But the numbers of those who died by those three ways - accidents, the strain of weather and suicide - is far higher than normal. And every one of those deaths was tended to by a member of law enforcement or disaster response communities. This winter has been brutal on us in many more ways than we think.

         These days we need to do as Jesus said, "Try it again! But this time on the other side."

         One summer in North Dakota I went fishing about 6 weeks in a row with Pete Guthmiller. Each Monday we took his boat to Lake Sakakawea, a huge reservoir on the Missouri River, and each week Pete caught some and I caught none. He'd catch some from his side, and then let me try that side. He caught fish on my side while I caught none on his. He gave me his special bait and showed me how to "jig," but still I caught none. This happened 5 weeks in a row until the 6th when I caught a little trout, a pound or so. It wasn't much, but it put up a good fight, and when I got it into the boat, Pete said, "Pastor, now you're a fisherman." I asked him what he meant, but he just said, "Think about it." We didn't go for awhile, but whenever we did, I caught a couple of good ones. But then I should have - I was now a fisherman.

         We need to do as Jesus said, "Try it again! But this time on the other side." Jesus is with us on both sides of the boat. He is with us no matter what. He will not laugh at our tiny catch. Jesus does not look at the size of our life, but the size of our faith. He cares not for what we have in our garages or bank accounts, but what we have in our hearts. As we struggle, we need to hear Him calling, "Try it again! But this time on the other side." His side! The side where He is, whether it be port or starboard, fore or aft. Even if it is topside or underneath the water, Jesus is there. And He is urging us, "Try it again! But this time on the other side - My side."

         The real Super Bowl is not a game, but life lived one day at a time, one act of faith at a time. And the real victory comes in heaven, where all the faithful are winners in Jesus. God be with us all, in this New Year. May we all be His winners, amen!

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  Epiphany logo designed and provided by Dale Bargmann at daleb@ecentral.com