There was a biology class I took in college whose name is rarely spoken out loud. I’d attempted to take it twice only to realize that it was not going to end well, and I tried to jump off the ship. Some people find the reality of a very present God during the sermon exposition on Sunday. Others find their burning bush, prison cell, the palace of Shushan, or Damascus road in the rest of the fullness of the Lord in all the world. Or in Biology.
By attempt three, my conversation with God had struck a different tone. I was asking God for another degree (perhaps I just did not discern the direction right.) Although it was clear that I needed to head to the Life Sciences Building and reenroll, I knew what had happened and I was sure I knew what would happen again. That is such a normal place for humanity to circle back to: we know what will happen because we have been there before. Work is a place where the vast majority of us are often caught up in the monotony of repetition. We do the status quo every day and only get noticed when something goes wrong. Peter seemed to be at a place of fishing monotony. Casting and recasting for little return can do that to anyone, especially when casting determines one’s livelihood (Luke 5:5). Jesus tells the disciples to head out into the sea, almost sounding matter of fact: “Let down your nets for a catch.” We find that in Christ’s kingdom the most ordinary, mundane, repeated (and often failed) attempts of life can bring about the most wonderful gift. That is after all what grace is. By attempt three of taking the course, I was deeply entrenched in the Peter-ish “worked all night” trying-to-pass mentality. During enrollment, I found that the second professor (because one professor is not enough for one class) would be a mentor from my school of Life Sciences. Then I enrolled and the format of instruction changed. Then the testing instruction was rearranged and after I received a high grade on the first exam there was a lot of clarity that it could be that I might pass this class. Peter was in a boat, Esther in a palace, Moses by a bush and later a cleft in a rock, Daniel and some boys in a furnace, Lazarus in a cave, and a Roman soldier by a Roman crucifixion. Among common ordinary repeated events of life, like these experienced fishermen in Luke 5 who had cast and recast, they found the awesome wonder of a present God in the monotony of their common everyday work. God may call you to do the same thing that you did yesterday. Awe does not need the sensational to occur. We only need the recognition of a present kingdom; the God of all saying things like: “Go back into that workplace and try again.” We thank You, Father, for making clear that You are here. Until our work with You is without flaw, teach us to keep trying. And help us to be patient with others who are tired. Amen. Comments are closed.
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