Pentecost 4/VBC Sunday

When I saw the decorations that Diana and some helpers had put up for this week’s VBS, I knew I couldn’t preach on the Gospel lesson appointed for today.

The theme also reminded me of a documentary I saw years ago. It told the story of a group of Japanese fishermen. These weren’t the usual kind of fishermen though. These men fished by hand, literally. Each day they would leave their homes and row out to a corral reef and dive into the deep waters around the reef seeking special oysters - oysters that had grown pearls inside their shells.

These pearl seekers didn’t fish in the ordinary way. They were divers and they dove without breathing equipment. After years of training and experience, the divers could hold their breaths for incredibly long periods, and this allowed them to swim to the bottom of the reef where the best pearl oysters were. They would quickly collect a bucket full and swim back to the surface to deposit their catch. The pearls from these oysters were of the highest quality in the world.

I know one is not supposed to mix metaphors and that our Gospel lesson which is one the children will learn this week, is not about pearl fishing, but hopefully we can benefit from both metaphors - pearl diving and fishing from a boat.

Hopefully also, we will see that not just the children, but all of us need to dive deep into God’s grace in word and sacrament, seeking pearls of holy knowledge and faith, so that we can be fishers of people.

Week after week we read the stories and teachings about God’s grace. And every three years we begin the same cycle of readings over. If a person lives to be 75 and attends church regularly, (s)he will likely hear the same lessons, in basically the same words, twenty-five times. This doesn’t count the number of times a person may have heard the story taught in Sunday school or VBS.

Unfortunately, if the worship service is the only time a person hears and reads the word, their dive into Scripture is likely to be rather shallow and less productive. We need to dive deeply in our reading to gain the precious pearls of God’s grace in the Word. This is done through slow, careful reading of the word on one’s own and through study with others.

This is, in a sense what we try to give the children in Sunday school and VBS. They receive a multi-sensory experience through hearing, shared reading, puzzles, crafts, music and sometimes, even snacks.

Today, I’d like to share just a tiny bit of what the children will experience this week. In this small way I hope you too may experience what it is like to dive from the Great Bible Reef, and thus, feel more a part of the VBS experience. The sensory in-put is somewhat limited, but notice that the seashell you received can give you a tactile experience of God’s grace.

Keep it handy and touch it throughout the day. It will remind you that God has covered you with grace as you live out your discipleship.

There’s a slip attached to each. Read that sentence regularly. It can guide you in how to live out your discipleship. Let the colors reinforce the meaning of the words. These words form the theme for each day of Bible school.

On day one, using the story of baby Moses saved from death by his family and then growing into a man who led his people from slavery, we will learn how God’s people care. We care for those close to us and those far away.

We see this also in our gospel lesson. Simon’s partners in fishing must have been bone tired when they were asked to help haul in the catch, but they cared about Simon, so they gave their all.

As Christians we too care for others. Our hearts are touched when we hear of the needs of people in our community, the families of nine deceased firemen in South Carolina and starving children in Darfur. Diving deep into God’s grace helps us find ways to show our care.

On day two, using the story from 2Kings 5, we’ll learn how the prophet Elisha, some servants and even a slave girl helped the commander of the king’s army find the cure for his leprosy. Thus we learn that God’s people help others.

As we consider our Gospel for today, we can see that Simon would surely have lost his great catch of fish without the help of his friends.

We learn too, that it takes all of us sharing our burdens and helping each other to make the church what God wants it to be - a loving, supportive community that attracts others who will then experience the dive into God’s grace.

On day three, using our Gospel lesson for today, we’ll learn that God’s people trust Jesus. It took unusual trust for Simon and his men to cast the nets again after a night of catching nothing. As experienced fishermen they would know that fish seek deeper water during the day.

It can take a lot of trust to dive deep into God’s grace and trust that He will deliver. Our logic, maybe even our experience, may tell us that studying God’s Word, witnessing, and serving others won’t produce anything, but we may be amazed by miracles if we trust Jesus’ word.

On day four, the story of the blind man cured by Jesus from John 9, will help us see that believing is a vital part of God’s grace. The fishermen had to believe in Jesus and follow His command to gain the prize catch of fish, even when believing didn’t make sense.

As we dive deep into God’s grace, we learn to believe ever more strongly in God’s promises and to follow His commands for our church and for our lives.

Finally on day five, using the parable of the house built on a rock, we will learn to listen to God so that we develop a strong foundation of faith.

The fishermen became disciples (learners) who needed to be reminded again and again to listen to Jesus. This is perhaps a disciple’s hardest lesson as we dive ever deeper into God’s grace.

Other voices around us and in us try to drown out Jesus word of grace and his call to carry this Good News to all the world. But if we dive from the Great Bible Reef into God’s grace we will surely discover a treasure of great pearls.

If you get a chance, stop by any morning this week, see what great divers our children are and offer a word of appreciation to a number of your fellow members who are giving up a week of their lives, even of vacation, to lead our children on this great vacation Bible school experience. You just might find a pearl or two yourself, if you do.