A story about Jesus and some fishermen
From the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5, verses 1-11
Jesus traveled from town to town. Everywhere he went people listened carefully to what he told them about God and God's love for them. People liked hearing what Jesus taught about God's beloved community, and they began to imagine and talk with one another about what it would be like if everyone lived in peace with one another and with God.
One morning Jesus was teaching beside the Sea of Galilee before a large crowd. The people were eager to hear every word that Jesus spoke - so eager, in fact, that they kept inching closer and closer to him. Jesus kept backing up to give himself some space, but the crowd kept coming closer. After a while Jesus began to worry that he would fall right into the water!
That thought gave him an idea. He looked around and saw two small boats pulled up on the shoreline nearby. The men who owned these boats - Simon, James, and John - were washing their fishing nets. Jesus decided to ask them for help.
"What is your name?" he asked the man nearest to him.
"Simon," the fisherman replied.
"Simon, would you mind taking me out in your boat? That way I think the people will be able to see and hear me better," Jesus said.
Simon threw his nets into the boat. He helped Jesus climb aboard and he pushed off from the shore. And Jesus was right: the people were able to see and hear him better from his place in the boat. Everyone, including Simon and James and John, listened carefully to what Jesus said.
When Jesus was done teaching, Simon got ready to bring him back to shore. But Jesus said to him, "Not yet. Go out further - into the deep water - and let down your nets for a catch." Simon sighed. "Master," he said, "we have worked all night long and have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I’ll give it a try."
Jesus helped Simon throw his nets out onto the surface of the water on both sides of the boat. Together they watched the nets sink down slowly. After a short time, the boat started to rock gently. Simon was puzzled. "What's going on?" he asked Jesus. The water around the boat began to splash. Simon's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. He and Jesus had caught so many fish that the nets were beginning to break!
They shouted to James and John. "Get in your boat and come and help us!" Simon cried as he began to pull up his own nets. James and John did as they were told and soon both boats were so full of fish that they began to sink. Slowly the men started to make their way back to shore, laughing with joy. "We've never ever caught so many fish on one try," Simon told Jesus. "It's a miracle!"
And then Simon realized what he'd just said. He stopped rowing and looked at Jesus for a long, long time. He remembered all the things that he had heard Jesus teach that morning. And then, in the middle of all the squirming fish, Simon fell down on his knees and said to Jesus, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man and I can't handle all this holiness. Leave me to myself, I beg you."*
But Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid, Simon. I need your help. You are really good at catching fish, and I now I need you to help me catch people."
When Simon, James, and John had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and began traveling with Jesus.
*Simon's words to Jesus are adapted from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene Peterson.
Questions to ponder:
I wonder what it was like to be in the boat with Jesus that day.
I wonder if you have ever experienced a miracle.
I wonder what "holiness" feels like.
I wonder how Simon and James and John helped Jesus catch people.
I wonder how you help Jesus catch people.