Laying Down Our Expertise

Reading: Luke 5:1-11

We’re all experts in something. Whether it is related to our life experience, our education, or our training, we all gravitate toward somewhere between one and a few things that have been a particular area of interest and success for us. What is the thing that you do where people come to you about that thing for consultation? That is a good indication that you are, or at least considered to be, an expert in something. There are of course official designations for expertise through education or training, and these are important markers, especially when we are relying on others for our well-being. But whether it is biology or crossword puzzles officially documented or not, we all have our areas of expertise. 

Fishing was Peter’s domain. He knew his tools, he owned his own boat, he worked with others whom he trusted. He knew the sights, sounds, and smells of fishing. He knew when to fish, as well as where to fish. He had presumably been doing this for a good amount of his life when a carpenter-turned-Rabbi from nearby Nazareth started telling him how to do his job. But Peter listened, because there was something about this carpenter, something about the words he said. We can tell that Jesus had already had an effect on Peter, not only because Peter consents to his fishing advice, but also because it is Peter’s boat that Jesus uses to teach the people immediately before the miracle of the fish. And so Peter obeys, one of the first of many obedient actions in a life that would never be the same. 

And he was amazed, all the fishermen were, at what happened when they followed Jesus’ direction. Their nets were full, so full they needed help from another boat. The one who did not appear to be an expert, the land-locked carpenter, was the one who had things rightly ordered. If Peter was willing to separate himself from his own expertise and follow Jesus, even greater things were yet to come. 

And I think we misread this story if we use it as a way to pit expertise and faith against one anther. We need to remember that this is primarily a story about Jesus and Peter. This is about Peter laying down his own understanding, his own trust in himself, even in the areas he knows well, at the feet of Jesus. Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to trust God with our whole selves?

One of the things we know the most about, one of the areas in which we are experts is our own thoughts, our own lives. We may even feel at times like we are the only ones who could possibly understand ourselves. We might roll our eyes when we hear the call to do something counter-intuitive like throw out our nets in the middle of the day after an unfruitful night. But the one who calls to us understands us, as our Creator, more than we understand ourselves. His call to follow him will at times have us scratching our heads, but his faithfulness is not in doubt. “Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding,” Proverbs tells us. Are we listening?

I am also struck in this passage about how this miraculous encounter with Jesus doesn’t come in a time of tragic need or reverent worship, but in the mundane activity of everyday life. If you asked Peter that morning if he thought he would witness a miracle that day, he likely would have said no. The power of God showed up in an unexpected place. This reminds us of the consistent presence of God in our lives. 

This is a fitting encouragement for the many of us who are still unable to meet together for worship in person. Even while we wait for the right moment to return to meeting together, God is no less present with us. God shows up when we are not expecting him, so let’s keep a look out. Whether moments of grace in our daily lives or God’s word shared through the encouragement of a friend, beautiful and miraculous things can happen even when and where we aren’t expecting them. 

But we must be ready. Like Peter, we need to be willing to lay aside our trust in ourselves and trust in the one who made us, the one who made the sea and everything in it, the world and everything in it. As we draw close to him, we should expect the unexpected.