One story that all four gospels recount is the call of Peter to be a disciple of Jesus. In Luke’s telling, Peter has been fishing all night without any luck when Jesus shows up and asks him to put his boat out aways from shore so he can address the crowds that are gathering around him. Peter complies and then Jesus tells him to go out deeper and let his nets out again. Peter does, somewhat reluctantly, and a miraculous catch threatens to break the nets and sink the boats! The abundance that appears before Peter’s eyes and within his boat is amazing! And how does Simon respond? “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)

There’s something about Peter’s response that is so relatable. Peter’s words “Go away from me, Lord” reminds us that often our first response to the Divine presence or Jesus’ call is to turn our focus inward and identify the ways that we are overwhelmed by the abundance God offers us through Jesus. But here is what else Peter’s call story reveals. Our sin, our failures, our inadequacies are not obstacles to God’s call. Jesus gives Peter a glimpse of the abundance that is part and parcel of life in God’s realm and he responds, “Do not be afraid!”

Maybe when you hear the story of the call of Peter, your initial response is “this isn’t a story for me. I am not Peter.” But if you ever find yourself responding to the love and grace that God pours into our world with something that sounds like: “I don’t deserve this. I’m not worthy,” or your own version of “go away” then you may JUST be having a Peter moment of your own.

In this season of Lent, when we reflect on all the ways we turn away from God, maybe we are called to listen in our lives for the places where we hear ourselves saying, “Go away, Lord. Not me. Not now.”

Jesus seeks us despite our sin, despite our failures, despite our inadequacies and insecurities, despite our anxieties and worries, Jesus seeks us and invites us to live in his abundance and to follow where he leads. And maybe, just maybe, Jesus calls the imperfect ones like Peter, or like you and me, because where we are is where Jesus longs to bring more life!