Dear Friends in Christ,

I grew up learning this common wisdom that comes from a 19th century poem, “Perseverance,” written by  William Edward Hickson.  It goes like this: “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, TRY again!”  How about you; did you learn this?

I like to think I’ve embraced this wisdom, but sometimes I’m not so sure.  Sometimes, I think I haven’t tried some things out of fear of failure.   How about you?

However you respond, you will hear this wisdom on Jesus’ lips in Luke’s gospel in the story of a big fishing catch.  Remember?  After a long night of catching nothing, just as they’re ready to give up, Jesus shows the fishermen where to cast their nets, and they pull in a huge haul. The only problem is: this catch threatens to sink their boat. So Simon Peter tells Jesus to go away, to which Jesus responds, “Don’t be so afraid!” He means about trying as well as having success!

This gospel story, our text for next Sunday, highlights for us another dynamic of fear as we continue our sermon series on Faith & fear.  It’s a seldom touched upon facet of this story, but on this upcoming Sunday we’ll focus upon it because it’s important how we respond to both success and failure in this life of stewardship we share.

Blessings of Courage,
Pastor Ed