Downtown Mitchell First UMC
310 North Rowley, Mitchell, SD 57301
Rev. Keith Nelson, Lead Pastor
keith@downtownfirstumc.com
I surrender! This seems like a simple enough phrase. How many different ways can you think of to say it…to say, “I surrender?” As a kid, I can remember being told, “Say uncle,” when someone was twisting my arm behind my back. I don’t understand that word being used in that way, but it basically meant that I surrendered to the person doing the arm twisting. I wasn’t going to fight them. “I give up” or “I give in” is another way of saying, “I surrender.” In debate or in driving, to say, “I yield” means that a person surrenders the right to speak or the right-of-way to another. “I concede” is another way of saying I surrender. Another way of communicating, “I surrender” is to simply wave a white flag. I’m guessing there are several other ways of saying this little two-word phrase that basically means, I give up.
I was reflecting on this simple phrase recently because I spoke to the youth of our church about surrendering during their Overflow Wednesday evening worship service. They had recently watched a movie that involved a person surrendering to God. As is so often the case, the moment of surrender was very dramatic and highly emotional. In fact, one of the youth had written a question for me to respond to. Their question was, “What does it mean to surrender to God?” That’s a great question!!
As I was wrestling with how to talk to the youth about surrendering to God, I was also reading and working with a story from the Gospel of Luke. It was the story of Jesus first recorded encounter with Simon Peter. The story is recorded in Luke 5:1-11. In this story Jesus is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. A crowd forms and starts pressing in on Jesus. Rather than being forced into the water, Jesus steps into a fishing boat nearby.
Jesus then asks Simon Peter to push out a little bit away from shore so Jesus can see and talk to the crowd. Now, the story doesn’t record it, but obviously Simon’s response is “Yes” verbally or nonverbally, because Simon pushes his boat away from shore with Jesus in it.
After Jesus has finished teaching, Simon is likely thinking, “Great…it’s time to go in, then I can go home and rest.” But Jesus has other ideas. Jesus instructed Simon to push out into the deeper water and cast the nets in for a catch of fish. Understand, Peter had been fishing all night long, the usual time for a commercial fisherman to fish, and he hadn’t caught a thing. Simon starts to protest, but then again, through his actions he says, “Yes” and goes further out and drops the nets in. Suddenly a large catch of fish starts pulling and tearing he nets. Simon is amazed and then realizes that Jesus is the reason for this incredible catch.
The final scene of the story is that Jesus is inviting Simon Peter to join him on the journey of fishing for people. Obviously, Simon once again said “yes” because the final words are that he “left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:11b
As I worked with this story I began to realize surrendering to God doesn’t have to be something dramatic and emotional. It can be…but it doesn’t have to be. Surrendering to God is simply saying “Yes” to Jesus, day by day, moment by moment, just as Simon Peter had. I am one who believes surrendering to God or saying YES to Jesus isn’t a one-time event, but rather it is an ongoing thing in our lives, just as it was for Peter on that life- changing day on the Sea of Galilee. Day by day, moment by moment Jesus invites us to respond and follow. Moment by moment we have the opportunity to surrender and say “Yes.” However, Jesus never forces us. God never twists our arm until we say “Uncle.” We are always given space to respond as we wish.
Today may we recognize the ways and the opportunities that we have to say “Yes” to Jesus. In doing so we may find ourselves in deeper waters…but remember, we’ll also have Jesus in the boat with us.
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith