While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart me from, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5.1-11)
As Jesus began his public ministry, he did not delay in calling others to join with him in his mission to “preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” as he had laid out in his first sermon in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. So, today we have the “call narrative” that we find in Luke’s gospel.
As we might expect, it has similarities and dissimilarities to the call narratives in the other gospels. One of the most obvious differences is that Simon Peter is at the forefront of this one, the mention of the others almost a second thought as it would seem. But the emphasis on Simon is typical of Luke, as we will continue to see, particularly in his second volume known as the Acts of the Apostles, a text that has Simon as the undisputed leader of the early community in the days after the gift of the Holy Spirit.
More striking and more of a contrast, the Lucan call narrative includes a story of a miraculous catch of fish, a story that appears nowhere else in the synoptics. A somewhat similar story appears at the end of John’s gospel after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the tomb. But the two evangelists not only have a different telling of the story, but also use it for very different purposes.
Regardless, the story of the nets bursting at the seams with fish follows in the line of so-called miracle of abundance stories found already in the Hebrew scriptures, such as that of the manna in the wilderness, or the story of the widow’s meal and oil that never dried up, or Elisha’s feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves of bread. Always, these stories serve to demonstrate the power of the Most High God who provides over and beyond what is needed.
Because Luke has chosen to place this story of abundance within the context of the call of the first followers of Jesus, we might suppose that he intends it to be a message for other followers, offering them a lesson for their days as disciples. Certainly, it sets the stage for these immediate followers who left everything to follow Jesus upon seeing the miracle that he had performed. But the point of the story does not end with them.
In fact, the same storyline, at least in its essential points, easily reflects the experience of the subsequent followers of the Lord Jesus and offers counsel and support for them in their efforts to continue the mission of the Resurrected Lord. For our purposes today, I would suggest we look at the story in three parts, each one clearly identifiable in this initial call narrative and identifiable in the lived experience of others called to follow Jesus, whatever the time or wherever the place.
First, there is discouragement. As the story begins, Luke tells us that these fishermen at the Lake of Gennesaret had disembarked and were washing their nets. In other words, they were done for that day. And, just as obvious, they didn’t have much to show for their work. Simon says as much when he tells Jesus, “We have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.”
Doubtlessly, he and his companions are tired and ready to put the day behind them. They want to rest and–if they have had too many of those bad days–they might even consider calling it quits, burned out by the lack of results. It is an all too common experience for followers of the Lord Jesus. Our nets often appear to be empty.
Despite our best efforts and the hours we have put in, we just don’t see measurable results. We do our level best to meet the demands of discipleship, helping the helpless, healing the wounds of the afflicted, providing for the poor, but it doesn’t seem to change the circumstances all that much. The world at large remains an inhospitable place for the poor, the displaced, and the powerless.
Like the fishermen on the sea all night, we plug away, casting our nets into the dark sea, hoping to see something good come from our efforts, but it so often feels as if our nets are empty when we pull them back into the boat. Time after time, we attempt to do as the Lord Jesus did, but, more often than not, it ends up being more of the same. The poor stay poor. The hungry stay hungry. And the powerful stay in the seats of power.
Losing heart is easy when the results appear so negligible. What will it take, we ask ourselves, to change the world for the better? How many times do we have to cast our nets before we just don’t have the strength, the spirit or the disposition to reach out one more time? Like Simon Peter, we want to say to Jesus, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.”
Discouraged, disillusioned and even disgusted, we want to pack up our nets, go home, and crawl into bed, preferably staying there so we don’t have to face another bad day. Truthfully, it is a normal reaction to the situation. So much effort and so little to show for it. Who wants to keep on going with a thankless task? Only a fool would.
When we reach that point, it is important that we move to part two of the story in this call narrative. As we see, Simon has made his case to the Lord, gently informing him that he and the others have done their level best and they’ve caught nothing, so it’s time to admit defeat and to go home. And truth be told, Simon is the one with experience on his side. He’s the one who’s been out on the sea all night.
However, Jesus isn’t ready to call it quits, instead telling Simon to try again. “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” In other words, Jesus is telling Simon to stay at it. Or even try a different approach. But don’t stop and don’t give up. In the face of the discouragement that Simon and his companions feel, Jesus offers encouragement to them. “Now’s not the time to quit,” he urges them.
Like Simon, we often find ourselves in a moment of decision-making. Do we do as Jesus has urged us to do or do we go with our gut feeling? Do we try one more time or do we call it a day? Do we come off looking like fools for believing something good will come from our efforts all evidence to the contrary, or do we accept defeat, lock our front door, and stay inside, at a safe distance from the cries of the poor, the outcries of the oppressed, and the castigation of the outcast?
The smart thing to do, our experience tells us, would be to go home. But Simon Peter, as we see in the story, doesn’t do the smart thing. He decides to listen to Jesus. As he says to Jesus, “At your command I will lower the nets.” Somehow, he finds the strength, the stamina, and the spirit to give it another shot. His companions, no doubt, are shaking their heads at his foolishness, wondering why he thinks things are going to turn around at this point. “Give it a break,” they probably said to him.
Instead, taking one of the boats, Simon put out into the deep water and lowered his nets one more time. It is difficult to read his thoughts, but in spite of what they may be, he does what Jesus told him to do. Bottom line, it’s a leap of faith. In this exchange between Jesus and Simon, Luke is subtly asking us to recall a similar exchange earlier in the gospel, this one between the young girl of Nazareth named Mary and the angel sent to her named Gabriel.
When the angel informs her of God’s will for her, she offers a gentle rebuttal, telling the angel, “But how can this be so since I do not know man?” As with Simon, Mary spoke from sound and sensible logic. And like Simon, she took a leap of faith, saying to the angel, “Be it done to me according to your word.” We don’t have to believe that their faith was rock-solid at this point. Faith, like everything else human, either grows or declines. Regardless, they both have the mustard-seed size of faith to say, “What’s the harm in giving it a try?” And sometimes that’s all it takes.
Which gets us to the third part of the story that Luke tells us. The evangelist wastes no time in letting us know that good things happened when Simon listened to the Lord. “When they had done this,” Luke tells us, “they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.” That in itself would be enough to make this a miracle. But Luke wants us to understand the immense power of God at play here.
So, it is not enough that one boat is struggling with the catch. Now, Simon signals to the others in the other boat who are still ashore to come to help them. And the second boat ends up with a miraculous catch as well. “They came and filled both boats,” Luke says, “so that the boats were in danger of sinking.” In other words, it was a complete reversal of fortunes, which, of course, is one of Luke’s favorite themes.
As Mary told her cousin Elizabeth, “He has shown the strength of his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.” It will be a theme found throughout the remainder of the gospel.
Like the story of the feeding of the multitude where twelve baskets of food were left over after five fish and two barley loaves fed five thousand, this is also a miracle of abundance, the fishermen’s nets at the point of tearing apart because of the huge catch of fish, a reminder to us that the Almighty can make big things happen against all odds. All he asks from us is a little faith to grease the wheels.
So, the point should be rather clear to us. As followers of the Lord Jesus, we can be discouraged when it looks for the world like our efforts aren’t accomplishing anything. In those moments, we have to call on blind faith to keep on going, to give it another shot, to drop our nets into deep water even if we can’t see a fish in sight. Then we have done our part and God will do his part.
Always an example of faith, Mother Teresa once visited Washington, D.C. where she was planning to put some of her sisters to help feed the poor and to provide solace to the suffering. News reporters gathered around her as she officially announced the opening of the small convent in the nation’s capital. One reporter was quick to say to her, “Mother Teresa, there are thousands of hungry people here. How do you expect to feed all of them?” Without a moment’s pause, she looked at him and said, “One by one. We plan on feeding them one by one.”
Her answer was not only a statement of faith. It was also a statement of perseverance. In spite of how long the lines were, how many were the poor, and how long the night had been, she and her Sisters would stay at the task, refusing to become discouraged, disheartened, or dissuaded. They would do as the Lord had commanded them, because, in the end, that was what he had asked of them. Then he would do his part. Such is always the spirit of those called to be disciples of the Lord Jesus–to cast their nets into the deep.
–Jeremy Myers
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