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Luke 5:1-11
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Today’s reading is Luke’s account of the calling of the first disciples. Some aspects of the story also appear in other gospels, but Luke’s version of the story has a couple of details that don’t appear in the other accounts.
We’re told that Jesus was teaching on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, which is another name for the Sea of Galilee. This is actually a large freshwater lake that produced a great deal of fish, which made-up a good deal of the protein in the diet of the surrounding population. Simon and his partners (probably his brother Andrew as well as James and John, the sons of Zebedee) are among the many fishermen working that body of water. When Jesus arrives, the men are on shore washing out their nets. He climbs into Simon’s boat and asks for the boat to be put out from shore a little, so he can speak to the people who were following him without having them press in on him.
When he finishes his lesson, Jesus suggests that the fishermen go out into deeper water and let down their nets. Simon is skeptical – he says that the group has fished all night and hasn’t caught anything – but he agrees to give it a try. When they put down the nets, the fishermen find them so full of fish that their nets start to break and their boats start to sink.
And by the way, these were probably fairly large boats. Not long ago, archaeologists unearthed a fishing boat from this time on the shore of the sea of Galilee. It was 26 feet long, seven feet wide, and four-and-a-half feet deep. So it would take a lot of fish to fill a boat of that size.
Overwhelmed by the sense that Jesus comes with divine power, Simon is moved to a sense his own unworthiness. He throws himself at the feet of Jesus and confesses his sinfulness. Jesus then issues the famous call for Simon to come and “fish for people.”
I can’t help thinking that the miraculous catch of fish in this story is what the Bible scholars call an “enacted parable.” In other words, it’s an action Jesus performs as a way of making a spiritual point. In this case, the point he’s making might be that sometimes when human efforts fail, God’s power succeeds overwhelmingly. The miraculous catch of fish came when the fishermen did what Jesus told them to do, rather than relying on their own knowledge and skills.
From our perspective in the church 2000 years later, I’m thinking we’re supposed to notice that the results we can get when we’re operating under God’s direction will go ‘way beyond what we can accomplish on our own. You could even make the case that in this story, Simon is being shown a “sign” of the incredible ‘catch of people’ that will result from the movement he will someday be called to lead. That movement, which we call “the church,” has lasted for twenty centuries and “caught” almost three billion people.
Doesn’t this seem like a timely lesson for those of us who follow Jesus in the 21st century? Our default assumption is that it’s up to us to make the church succeed – up to our own ideas, our own experience, our own hard work. But when we obey the teachings of Jesus – even when those teachings seem impractical or futile, as they did to Simon in this story – then God can bless our work with surprising results.
I also can’t help thinking that we’re meant to notice how Simon Peter reacted to the miraculous catch of fish. It served as a kind of revelation to him. It revealed to him that he was in the presence of someone who was from God. It’s striking that Peter responded in exactly the same way the prophet Isaiah did when he found himself in the presence of God. Each was immediately struck by the realization of his own sinfulness – or, as Isaiah said, “I am a man of unclean lips.”
My suspicion is that’s why we instinctively shy away from a real encounter with God; Presence of the divine leads us to a kind of self-realization that can be painful. In the presence of a holy God, we can’t help realizing how un-holy we really are.
And for that matter, you could probably make the case that a real calling from God is a frightening thing, and that Simon Peter’s reaction here is meant to demonstrate that. Being called by God into some special service usually means being called to give something up. It might be comfort and convenience. It might be the hope of being a “somebody” on the world’s terms. And in some parts of the world, even today, following Jesus can mean risking your life.
So maybe it’s not surprising — maybe it’s even reasonable that Simon found this encounter scary. But the first thing Jesus says is, “Don’t be afraid.” The presence of God may awaken us to our own sinfulness, but an important aspect of the mission of Jesus in the world is to set us free from the need to live in fear of God’s judgment. Following Jesus – joining him in the task of “fishing for people” – is meant to be an invitation to trade in our guilt and fear and disappointment with ourselves for joy and thanksgiving at the new life we’re given as followers of the Savior and Lord of the world.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the invitation to join in the work of your kingdom, the work of fishing for people to join in following our Master. And we thank you for the promise that even when our efforts may seem inadequate and unsuccessful, overwhelming success may be just around the corner for those who follow his direction. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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