Called

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

5 One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Gennesaret when the crowd pressed in around him to hear God’s word. 

2 Jesus saw two boats sitting by the lake. The fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets. 

3 Jesus boarded one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, then asked him to row out a little distance from the shore. Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 

4 When he finished speaking to the crowds, he said to Simon, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.”

5 Simon replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you say so, I’ll drop the nets.”

6 So they dropped the nets and their catch was so huge that their nets were splitting. 

7 They signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They filled both boats so full that they were about to sink. 

8 When Simon Peter saw the catch, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I’m a sinner!” 

9 Peter and those with him were overcome with amazement because of the number of fish they caught. 

10 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, were Simon’s partners and they were amazed too.

Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” 

11 As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Luke introduces his purpose in writing this Gospel in the first verses of the book, “ to write an orderly account” of the stories of the eyewitnesses and servants of “the Word” Jesus. He’s writing so that Friends of God, may know the truth concerning the Gospel – this is meant to be a catechism, a training in the ways of Christ for Christians. Luke is attentive to point to the work of the Holy Spirit throughout Jesus' ministry and into the early life of the church. Luke tells us that after Jesus is baptized, he is filled with the Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness; Jesus denounces the forces of evil and leaves after 40 days, still filled with the Spirit. He returned to Galilee and began to preach in the synagogue with praise from all who listened.

He travels to Nazareth, and Luke tells us what he sees as Jesus mission in Luke 4:18:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The people of Nazareth are unimpressed by this holy mission; they demand that Jesus bless them more than others, then reject Jesus, running him out of town.

 Jesus goes to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and begins teaching in their synagogue. He is met with astonishment as to the authority with which he speaks.

Luke tells us that Jesus spoke with so much authority, that he can drive out unclean spirits and heal.

All this context leads us to our first mention of Simon Peter.

Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes to Simon Peter’s house. His mother-in-law is suffering from a high fever, and Jesus commands the fever to leave her. Peter’s mother-in-law jumps up completely healed and begins to serve Jesus. We aren’t told any more than that; we don’t know anything about Peter’s wife, and we don’t know the name of the mother-in-law.

We don’t know what was going through Peter’s head after presumably hearing Jesus preach and heal and then inviting him home. We aren’t told what emotions Peter is feeling or his reaction.

Jesus leaves in the morning and goes to a deserted place, but the crowds follow. Jesus tells them that he must go to another place to proclaim the good news, the Kingdom of God, this Jubilee he describes in his mission in verses 4:18.

Jesus goes to Judea.

Luke drops us into a scene after an undisclosed amount of time has passed. Peter is on his boat, coming in after a non-productive night of fishing. He’s smelly, covered in sea spray, and his nets are all wet, making the rowing back to shore even more arduous. Peter navigates over, hoping to avoid taxes on the small catch he did have and sell them directly to this crowd of people. As he’s approaching, he sees a man on the shore, surrounded by crowds of people. And these crowds, they’re eager.

There was this bookstore in Lawrence a few months back where someone started a rumor that Taylor Swift was there shopping, and people flocked there; nobody could go in or out of the store. The crowds were pressing on the windows, pushing on the doors, all trying to get in and get a glimpse of this superstar.

That’s what was happening to Jesus here. People are pressing up to him, so eager to hear what he has to say. Hanging on his every word. Desperate for some healing, some good news.

Peter had intended to just make a few bucks, not to interrupt this crowd. Jesus capitalizes on Peter’s arrival, boards, sits, and continues to preach. Preaching for the release of captives, healing for those who are hurt, letting the oppressed go free, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor.

All these ideas of freedom, and liberation would have been incredibly attractive to an exploited fisherman who leaning forward now grateful for a front-row seat to this rabbi with authority to drive out evil spirits and fevers, dutifully navigates the coastline while Jesus finishes teaching.

 Jesus offers his last proclamation and then turns to Simon Peter and says, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter’s partners, James and John, have joined Peter’s boat out on the water, also listening to Jesus' teaching. Peter is unimpressed by this idea. He pushes back “Rabbi (or teacher), we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.” I imagine him looking into Jesus’ face, who is unimpressed at this hesitance, and then quickly adding, “Yet, if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

 Peter, James, and John would have been part of a company or collaboration of fishermen. They would have been granted a license to fish on behalf of a wealthy landowner or company. They would have been assigned a region where they could fish at specific times. This action of going out to deep water could end in their license being revoked. They go out in deep water and Peter, I imagine him sort of half-heartedly throwing out his nets, just looking forward to getting this over with so he can go home. He throws out his nets,

Any fish they caught would be subject to taxes and fees by the fish processors and by the wealthy landholders who had the authority to issue licenses. Fishing provided no upward mobility and was largely an occupation where families were exploited for their labor. This type of pressure for production resulted in fishermen no longer engaging in the basic sustainability practices they always had, throughout the millennia, people had been fishing in Galilee. Throwing back the small fish, that they may grow. Protecting spawning nursery in coves and shallows. There was a present and real danger that the dwindling supply of fish would only make this worse, resulting in the extinction of fishermen and fish.

Peter’s nets and boat would have been sized specifically for the area that he, James, and John were assigned to fish. When he goes to pull in this net, which was likely not designed for deep-sea fishing, it is so full that his boat begins to sink. He signals for James and John to come over in their boat, and they bring in this miraculous catch. This unfathomable haul of fish is completely overwhelming to Peter. We don’t know why, but he falls down at Jesus’ feet and cries, “God away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Confession is not a typical response to a miracle. Luke doesn’t tell us what Peter is confessing to either. It isn’t important to the story.

What is important is what Jesus says next, “do not be afraid, from now on, you will be catching people.” Jesus tells Peter, Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid that you may not be able to provide for your family. Do not be afraid of letting everyone down. Do not be afraid of the wealthy landowners or the Roman government taking advantage of this blessing on your life. Do not be afraid of whatever past you are confessing to, it no longer matters

Jesus is pointing Peter to so many truths that we know about Christ. Christ works outside the authority of any government, Any king, Christ's authority is not tied to wealth. Christ has the power to bend nature to his will in the name of God. Christ, in the most tangible way, teaches Peter, who has been thinking only in scarcity – the scarcity created by the Roman empire –that this teacher works only in abundance.

Abundance, jubilee that brings good news to the poor that proclaims the release of the captives, enlightens those who cannot see the truth because of the scarce circumstances in which they’re forced to live, Abundance that lets the oppressed go free, and proclaims the Kingdom of God has come.

Peter wants to be part of this. This heap of fish, he does not need it any longer. Imagine him leaving it there on the shore with his boats, the crowds who have somewhat dispersed, only the slowest, the sick, the young, and the old are still milling around, making their way back to town – they are gifted this abundance. They are liberated from their hunger for that day, maybe they sell some of these fish and have bread for weeks. This miracle does the work that Jesus is there to proclaim.

Peter leaves everything he's hoped for, financial stability, a full belly, freedom to live outside of an exploitive business, his family – he leaves all of it to be a disciple of Christ. To learn this new way of thinking that freed him. Whatever Jesus is doing, he wants to be part of it. James and John feel the same way. They all leave their previous lives behind and follow Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t seek out trained rabbis and priests to be his disciples; instead, he calls a few Galilean fishermen to follow him and join his ministry. In this story, Jesus tells Simon Peter to drop his nets one more time, even though they’ve been fishing all night long and have caught nothing. To their surprise, they haul in nets bursting with fish. In response to this abundant miracle, Peter says, “Go away from me, Lord!”

And yet, Peter and his partners drop their nets and follow Jesus.

What is the beginning of your faith story?

When has God sought you out?

Have you ever felt like your calling was pursuing—or chasing—you?

Did you resist?

Did you follow?