Welcome to AnchorCast, a weekly podcast of homilies and sermons from Christ our anchor Anglican Mission in Nashville Tennessee.

Let us pray.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer.

Amen.

The gospel reading said, and when he, Jesus, had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, put into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will set down the nets.

So, as you’ve already heard in the announcements, I’ve been working with a lot of guys lately looking for work, and they’re all doing the right things.

They’re filling out the applications, they’re doing the footwork, but still they’re just not getting any responses.

And it’s incredibly frustrating, both for them and then also for me.

It’s frustrating that they are doing all the right things, but they seem to be stuck in a rut.

And when I read of Simon Peter today, I think that he is in a very similar situation.

He knows exactly where the fish should be out in the sea, and he knows what he needs to do to get them.

He’s done it many times before.

He even skipped a good night’s sleep and stayed out all night fishing, and yet still he has returned to the shore empty.

Master, he says, we toiled all night and took nothing.

So, the last thing that he wants to do when Jesus asked him to do it is to go back out there.

He very much wants to quit.

And I feel that.

It’s hard to stay focused and positive when nothing is going the right way.

But here’s the thing.

We are not promised an easy path, and anyways, things that come easy often aren’t worth it.

In my personal devotions, I’ve been reading through the book of Samuel, and I think David is a perfect example of this maxim.

He’s promised an eternal dynasty over Israel, kingdom, success, power, wealth, and he’s plucked up from watching his sheep by the Lord to go battle a giant, and then he’s playing music in the king’s court.

So, things start well enough for him, but very quickly, David is on the run, hiding for his life, being unjustly pursued by Saul.

David did everything right, and yet he’s sleeping in a cave and not the palace.

But David keeps going.

He doesn’t stop.

He doesn’t give up.

Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets.

Let us then be like Simon Peter and David.

Let us continue to press forward despite setbacks and hardships.

Let us keep the faith and push forward.

Let us also remember that God does not send us out into the world alone.

Simon had Andrew, James, John, and soon other disciples.

David had his 400 men, and we have our brothers and sisters of the faith.

Day in and day out, in success and failure, in hard times and good times, the church continues moving forward.

We fellowship, we pray, we worship.

So stay with the people God has given you to weather difficult storms with.

Be with those who God has given you to support.

In the church, with each other, we can find the strength to pick ourselves up off the floor and to get back out there.

Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets.

At your word I will let down the nets.

Keep at it.

God is with you.

God is beside you, and God will ultimately see you through.

In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Christ Our Anchor is an Anglican mission in East Nashville that meets on Wednesday evenings for prayer and fellowship.

Follow us at ChristOurAnchor.org to learn more about the work God has called us to in East Nashville, and join us on Wednesday evenings at 530 as we live into what Jesus has called His church to be.

Everyone is welcome.