Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
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Luke 5:1-11
The Calling of the First Disciples
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people 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.
We all know there’s a story in which Jesus calls the first disciples to ‘fish for people.’ But there are other things going on in this passage that call for some thoughtful reflection.
Since most of the stories in the gospel accounts seem to reflect the presence of the disciples with Jesus, he must have called them early in his ministry. But by this point, it seems that Jesus had started to attract crowds to hear his teaching. That’s obviously a good thing, but those big crowds brought some challenges. For one thing, sometimes so many people crowded around him that it could be a problem to speak to them all. So Jesus would sometimes get into a boat and push out from shore a little to get some ‘breathing space’ around himself.
I today’s reading, Jesus does that. And when he’s done with his teaching, Jesus suggests to Simon Peter – the owner of the boat – that he put out away from the shore a little and let down his nets. Simon isn’t enthusiastic, since he and his partners have fished all night with nothing to show for it. But out of respect for Jesus, he agrees to give it a try, and the nets haul in so many fish that they start to break and the boats are in danger of sinking.
It seems to me that the most interesting and significant part of this story is Simon Peter’s reaction to this amazing catch. He leaps out of the boat, runs up to Jesus, and falls at his feet. Then he says, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Apparently, it’s dawning on Simon Peter that something much more important than a big bunch of fish is happening here. Simon sees immediately that this miraculous catch could only happen through the power of God.
It will be quite a while before the Holy Spirit reveals to Simon Peter that Jesus is actually the Messiah, if the gospel of Luke has the order right. But it seems that from this miraculous catch of fish, Peter can see that Jesus is someone with divine power. And when he realizes that he’s in the presence of someone with divine power, Simon Peter’s first thought is of his own sinfulness. And that realization fills Simon Peter with an instinctive feeling of dread.
This isn’t the only place in the Bible where this happens. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet has a vision in which he finds himself in the presence of God. And Isaiah’s first words are, “Go away from me, for I am a man of unclean lips!” Both stories seem to confirm that when we find ourselves in the presence of a holy God, the first thing that comes into our minds is our own sinfulness.
That makes me wonder whether one reason why so many people who call themselves Christians don’t really pursue the kind of deep encounters with God that can come from meditation and silent prayer. Because when you actually encounter God, it can be scary. A famous theologian once said, “Most Christians try to keep themselves busy with religious activities to avoid actually encountering God.” That probably sheds some light on the fact that it’s a lot easier to get people to turn out for a work day in the flower beds outside the church building than to spend an hour in deep prayer.
But look at what Jesus says to Simon. The first words out of his mouth are, “Don’t be afraid.” In Jesus, God has come into the world to show his love for us, and to help us get rid of the burden of our sins. As followers of Jesus, we don’t have to live in fear – God has invited us into a new and more intimate relationship. He’s invited us to call on him as a loving Father.
And once we actually come to grips with that staggering degree of forgiveness and the adoption into God’s family that goes with it, we’re also invited to join in the family business, which is to help Jesus to “fish for people.” We’re given the privilege of sharing the good news with others who are struggling under the weight of their own sins and inadequacies.
And there’s another interesting aspect of this passage that’s usually overlooked. You might remember that we’ve said the miracles of Jesus are each meant to provide a sort of preview of the kingdom that God is bringing to fulfillment. This one’s a little different than the healings and miraculous feedings and raising the dead that we usually think of as Jesus’ miracles. But when you think about it, this miraculous catch can also be thought of as that kind of sign – as a sign of the vast numbers of people who would become followers of Jesus.
People who study these things say that something like two-sevenths of the world’s population today are followers of Jesus. That would have been an ‘overwhelming catch’ to Simon Peter, if he had any clue of the huge worldwide movement he was being called to help establish. I’m sure he didn’t have a clue at that moment, but maybe looking back later when he was one of the leaders of the growing movement, nets full to bursting might have seemed like a fitting metaphor for the great project he had been called into.
We’re also called to be disciples of Jesus. That means we’re called to a lifelong process of learning and growing in faith. And according to this passage, we’re supposed to be “fishing for people,” too – helping to bring others to Jesus.
That, it seems to me, is what Jesus had in mind when the called these first disciples to join him in a life of service to the kingdom of God.
Let’s pray. Lord, we invite you to work in our hearts, so that we will not be satisfied with being casual church members. Instead, make us hunger to be genuine disciples. Then teach us to fish for other people who can join us in following and serving our master. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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