Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 3rd September
Message from Fr Paul for Thursday, 2nd September 2021
Luke’s account of Jesus calling the first disciples, today’s Gospel reading, (Lk 5: 1-11), is unique among the synoptic Gospels. While Mark and Matthew speak of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee and abruptly calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John, only Luke tells the story of a miraculous catch of fish preceding the call. Luke’s story shares common elements with John’s post-resurrection story of Jesus meeting his disciples at the Sea of Galilee. We see a futile night of fishing, Jesus offering some unsolicited fishing advice, an overwhelming catch of fish, and a recognition of Jesus’ identity that focuses especially on the response of Simon Peter. In Luke’s Gospel, this is not Simon’s first encounter with Jesus. Jesus has already been to Simon’s home in Capernaum. Perhaps that explains Simon’s willingness to let Jesus use his fishing boat as a floating cathedra. With the crowds pressing around him, Jesus has no alternative than to climb aboard a fishing boat and preach from there. What he said, we don’t know, as the account focusses on how rather than on what he preached, followed by the calling of the first disciples. There is no transition, no interlude between the preaching and the calling and no further mention of the crowd. There must have been a break between the two episodes.
There follows the miraculous catch. Let’s read how Luke describes it. “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this, they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.” Why should Jesus have instructed Simon to “put out into the deep”? Although Simon questions Jesus’ word, nevertheless he and his companions obey. From having caught nothing all night long, an act of obedience to the word of Jesus sees them richly rewarded with a catch large enough to fill two boats. Luke emphasises the reaction of Simon. “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners.” Falling to his knees and acknowledging his sinfulness is paramount to recognising and confessing who Jesus is, the Messiah, the Saviour, God from God.
“But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.” So radical is the call of Jesus, that when they come back to land, they forget the catch of fish and leave everything to follow Jesus and with him become fishers of all those looking to be saved. They will share in Christ’s ministry of salvation. We could ask about the morality of abandoning their work and their families. Many of our questions remain unanswered and all that we can do is hazard a guess. It could be that their children were already young adults and could take responsibility for the business. It could be that their wives also became followers of Jesus and were counted among the women who provided for the apostles as they journeyed the length and breadth of the Holy Land with Jesus. We know from the New Testament in general that women played an important role in the early Church. Today’s Gospel, then, offers many possibilities for reflecting on how God calls ordinary people to discipleship and mission. After all, there is nothing the slightest bit extraordinary about Simon Peter and his companions. They are simple fishermen, and they are simply doing what they did every day. After a long, particularly discouraging night of work, Jesus comes along, enters into their utterly normal, mundane lives and changes everything.
