One day as Jesus was
standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and
listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there
by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 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. When he had finished speaking,
he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
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.” When they had done so, they
caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 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.
When
Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord;
I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch
of fish they had taken, 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 catch men.” So they
pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11)
This passage is
called "the calling of the disciples." Often, we're given the
impression that one day, out of the blue, Jesus showed up on the beach,
preached a sermon, performed a miracle and invited four men who had never seen
Him before to abandon their careers - and they did. But yesterday, I shared
with you that John the Baptist had identified Jesus as the Messiah, Andrew had
met Jesus and brought Peter to meet Jesus.
In John 1:43-51,
we're told that the day after Peter met Jesus, Jesus called Philip and
Nathaniel to follow him. In John 2:1-11, it says that "the third day"
Jesus and His disciples were at the wedding in Cana where Jesus performed His
first miracle (2:11). There are other events described that may have happened
before the sermon on the seashore or the calling of the four, but at least 4
days separated Jesus' introduction to Peter from Peter's leaving his nets.
There are two examples in this passage that
are classic Peter to me. The first is that when Jesus told them to let down
their nets, Peter said, " Master, we’ve worked hard all
night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let
down the nets." Peter, the
fisherman, knows the sea. He knows fish. It's the wrong time of day, they
haven't had any luck. They're tired. I hear some doubt, a little backtalk, and
reluctant obedience - with perhaps a little "I'll humor Him, but He'll
learn," thrown in.
And then they caught fish, and he
said, "“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" Was he more sinful
after the fish were caught than before or just more aware of his sin? Also, in
case you forgot, they were in a boat overloaded with fish, at a considerable
distance from shore. Just where did Peter think Jesus was supposed to go to get
away from him? (Walking on the water happened later.)
Like Peter, we're sometimes tempted
to tell Jesus, "You don't understand." Sometimes when we go along
with what the Bible tells us to do, we do so "just knowing" it won't
work. Like Peter, we sometimes get to see ourselves a little more clearly when
we obey. The miraculous catch of fish no doubt proved useful to the four
families, but it wasn't about the fish. It was about who Jesus is, and who the
disciples were. That is what obedience is still about.
And if our reactions aren't quite
according to some religious handbook somewhere, well, that is apparently OK, too.
Obedience is required. Perfection is not. When they got to shore, Jesus didn't
say, "James, John, Andrew, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men.
Peter, you're too sinful. You keep mending your nets."
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