In the past few Sabbath days we have tracked Jesus movements since John the Baptist. Last week he was run out of his home town because he expected people accept him for who he was He came home and he was no longer the carpenter’s son. He was God’s son. So either he was nuts or a sinner, either way he had to go.
This week we have read over a familiar passage. Jesus teaches from the boat, to crowds on shore. Then he directs Simon Pieter to push into deep water and get a catch. All are surprised and Jesus tells them that from no on they will catch men. They walk away from the fishing business.
Familiar, you have heard this scripture dozens of times. Yawnnn…
All I can do is try to expand your thinking. Try to bring this story into some meaning into some of our lives today.
Let’s go back over the basics. The boat is on shore. The men are cleaning nets. Their work day is ending. The have been out at least since early morning, and probably since it started getting dark. They are doing the normal maintains. You have to wash the slim and mud off your nets. They are heavy enough without the muck that comes off the bottom of the lake cakes on. So they are doing the same busy work that they do every day. The cycle is Get up, go fishing, come in, (on a good day) sell the fish and get the boat ad nets ready for tomorrow.
On this day Jesus uses peters boat. Perhaps at first, just to get a little higher. Not good enough. Hey fellows, how about pushing off a little so every one can see and hear me?
They do as he ask. If he is going t give a free show, or teaching. They get to have great seats and hear every word.
We don’t know how long it last. It may be near lunch time. The heat of the day and the folks head off to find a light meal and shade.
It was his followers bed time. Jesus tells them to go out to deep water for a catch. A teacher, a carpenter is telling professional – commercial fishermen how to fish.
They have already had a bad night. Not a single fish to show. Everyone knows that the best fishing is in the dark when the fish come in toward shore to feed. The heat of the day is not the right time. The fish can sea the boat and the nets.
Maybe it is out of respect, or courtesy Peter agrees to take the clean and stored net and toss it back into the lake. On what would obviously be a fruitless or fishless venture.
Ok, how can we relate this to any of our lives?
First, Jesus can walk up to you while you are in the middle of any normal day and ask you to assist him with a trivial matter. He may ask for you to help him be seen. Let me sit here with you a minute and talk.
IT is no big deal. It is just a minute of rest, or a glass of water, perhaps a smile and a hug. There is little or no cost involved.
IF that was ok he may ask you for a little more time. Again it is all so that he can be seen and noticed. You won’t get any glory, you are just being a nice person and giving up a little time.
That is all Jesus ask most people to do.
In today’s lesson, Jesus sought out a few willing hearts. Fishermen, that were as rough as the net and ropes they used a tools. They respond to his needs with no obvious resistance.
Then Jesus seems to offer a reward for their efforts. Go out to deep water and put out your nets. And they are filled with fish.
Catching something was amazing. But the overwhelming size of the catch is mind blowing.
They say that fishermen have limits on how big a lie they will tell. -The Length of their arms.
Nobody had ever had a catch like this on the Lake. Not even an unconfirmed claim.
Peter reacts to what has happened. Go away from me lord, I am a sinful man.
What is your reaction n the presence of God. Are you raising your hand and waving saying Hey God .. over here… I am the good one.
Or might you reaction be, Uh OH. He is here and I am not ready. My socks have holes, my underwear is old and my hands are dirty.
By the time we realizes Jesus is with us he already knows everything about us. He know the sin in our lives, by the still approaches.
You see, he wash the men and women that he meets, like cleaning the nets. HE will make the ready for new work. But the people have to want to be washed and made ready. They have to agree to be tools made ready for the work.
That is when Jesus moves to the next level. When the miracle happens, it was not payment. It was an invitation.
If you really want to do some useful work. Come with me. When invited we notice all the imperfections and resist. When we think about the work we realize that we don’t know a thing about fishing. We have never and could never expect to get a haul like that….
This is Jesus point. It is Jesus that directs the fishing, the work and all we have to do is pull them in. Jesus catches and cleans them and we get to love and teach them.
If we fail to believe that we are useful, then that is exactly what we will be- failures. If we think we know how to fish better than Jesus we will probably fall short and have little or no success.
Peter knew that they did not fish in the daytime. He knew they never did it that way before. Perhaps some time in the past someone did try and failed.
But that did not stop Peter from letting Jesus direct the nets and the actions and following him. He and the other saw and did things that everyone would have said was impossible.
With Jesus all things are possible. Including the impossible.
When was the last time we let Jesus direct the nets. It seems like we have been fishing on our own, or we stopped fishing because we thought we would fail.
Lets all make an effort to grant little favors and a little time. Let’s all be willing to accept direction in How we are to serve. We will leave the Catch part up to Jesus , and the pull and maintence and the being as ready as we can be up to us.
All Glory be to God!
