When God’s Command Makes No Sense: Cast Your Nets Anyway (Sermon)

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By Metropolitan Demetrius of America

Created on Sunday, 11 October 2026 22:03

Why does God sometimes make us wait? Why does He allow struggles to continue when we have prayed for an answer? And what happens when His command seems unreasonable according to our own thinking?

In this sermon, Metropolitan Demetrius of America calls Orthodox Christians to patience, obedience, repentance, and receptivity to the word of God.

“With patience, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he was attentive unto me.”

We may pray and expect God to act immediately. But Metropolitan Demetrius warns that we can begin to reverse our relationship with God:

“We forget that we are supposed to be obedient to God, and we want him to be obedient to us.”

God, however, “knows what is right, and he knows what is best for us.” He knows what must be healed and corrected in us as we prepare for life everlasting.

Are We Receptive to the Word of God?

The word of God must not merely reach our ears. We must pray that it enters deeply into the heart so that we can grow.

“Please open my ears. Open the ears of my soul and the eyes of my heart so that I can perceive and receive thy holy word.”

He explains that even the people around us can affect our spiritual lives. Those who have progressed in prayer can help others pray and grow, while the fall of one person can also harm the body of the Church.

St. Peter: “At Thy Word, I Will Let Down the Nets”

The sermon turns to the Apostle Peter after he and the other fishermen had worked throughout the night and caught nothing.
Their work was finished. Their nets had already been cleaned.
Then Christ told Peter to go out again and let down the nets.
According to ordinary human reasoning, it made no sense. Yet Peter answered:

“Nevertheless at thy word, I will let down the nets.”

He obeyed without murmuring.
The result was an overwhelming catch.

Metropolitan Demetrius presents this as an example of how God works in our lives. We may struggle, pray, and see no immediate result. Yet we are called to continue faithfully.

“God rewards those people who patiently pray.”

“Depart From Me, for I Am a Sinful Man”

After the miraculous catch, Peter immediately recognized something greater than himself.

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”

Metropolitan Demetrius explains that as a person comes closer to God, he begins to see himself more clearly. But there is also a remedy. There is healing. Christ can restore what is broken.

The response is repentance, honesty with ourselves, and the prayer:

“Come, O Jesus, and heal me.”

The Church Gives Us What We Need for Salvation

The sermon also emphasizes that God sanctifies man and material creation. Metropolitan Demetrius speaks of icons, the relics of the saints, offerings made to the Church, the Divine Liturgy, and ultimately participation in the Holy Eucharist.

“We have so much to help us.”

But again, we must be receptive.

We are called to become responsible Orthodox Christians—to pray, fast, repent, struggle, and keep our minds directed toward Christ.

Do Not Give Up

“We must have expectation and hope, not with presumption, but with hope in Christ.”

This life is passing quickly. Our ultimate aim is the salvation of our souls.

Therefore, we are called to use the time God has given us for repentance, to give thanks rather than complain, and to trust God even when His command does not make sense according to our own reasoning.

“Let us thank him because he does not give up on us. Let us not give up on him.”