“Put out into deep water”

 

Scripture text: St. Luke’s Gospel 5.1-11

     You’ve most probably heard about Jesus – whenever you find yourself in church, or maybe on TV or websites.  Perhaps you think that Jesus is a good thing, either for people who have time for prayer and religious stuff (like retired folk) or for kids.  Adult life is busy – perhaps you’ve got a career, a family and many different responsibilities (and hobbies).  You’ve got a life!  Whether or not it’s going great, it may be hard to see what anything in your life has to do with Jesus.  Surely, you may think, Jesus is fine for people who have nothing else to do, for kids who need to learn how to behave and, of course, for priests who are full-time “Jesus-people”.  Today’s Scripture passage is about a man named Simon (a.k.a. “Peter”), a fisherman from a village in northern Palestine called Capernaum, located by the Lake of Galilee.  One of Simon’s friends has offered to tell the story as best they remember it…

     At the time, I lived three doors down from Simon, and let me tell you, Jesus sure spent a lot of time in Capernaum and even visited Simon one day and healed his mother-in-law (Lk. 4.38-41).  When Simon left the house to go to work that evening, Jesus was still reclining at the table, talking away.  Simon’s wife and her mother were completely enthralled.  When Simon got home after having spent the night on the lake, he bumped into Jesus as he was walking out the front door.  For the next week, all Simon heard about was how Jesus had spent the entire night healing a crowd of sick people who had besieged the house.  It had struck Simon that both he and Jesus were used to working the night shift…

     As Simon dragged his nets out of the boat to clean them after another night of fishing, he must have had a sense of déjà-vu when he saw Jesus standing on the beach surrounded by – of course – a crowd of people.  But, I’ll let Simon tell the next part:

I thought, “Is this guy following me, or what?”  But the next thing to transpire caught me completely off guard.  As I watched in horror, Jesus clambered into my boat!  Now I don’t care who you are – you do not, under any circumstances, simply climb into another man’s boat.  I mean, Jesus had already spent the night (as it were) in my home and now, there he was, standing in my boat and preaching to the throng on shore.  This was too much.  But then, once the crowd had dispersed, Jesus took things further!  I mean, he had seen that my boat was empty, despite me having spent the whole night on the lake.  He looked me dead in the eye and said: “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  I wondered if he was rubbing my nose in it.  I must have been glaring at him, because he began to chuckle, but continued to hold my gaze.  I still laugh inwardly at myself whenever I tell this story.  I don’t know what came over me as Jesus stood there, unnervingly grinning at me.  I Simon, the most experienced fisherman in Capernaum, gathered my nets and pushed off from shore after failing to net a single fish all night – as the sun was quickly climbing towards its zenith!  I can only imagine what James and John, my associates, were thinking as Jesus and I sailed away…

     It’s hard for Simon to finish the story, so I’ll step in.  It wasn’t long before I heard the familiar sound of his voice across the water, though it seemed to be in a higher pitch than usual.  I couldn’t make much sense out of the incoherent shouts, but his gestures were unmistakeably clear – he needed help.  My brother and I scrambled into our vessel and went to join Simon, just as fast as our arms could row.  When we pulled alongside, we couldn’t believe our eyes – Simon’s net was bursting with fish and his crew were barely hanging on!  Our fisherman reflexes didn’t permit us to stop to think or ask questions; we simply lunged into action and somehow managed to hoist the haul into the boats.  I say boats because Simon’s vessel couldn’t contain the catch.  Even so, both boats were riding close to the waterline as we made our way back to shore.  We watched as Simon’s boat ran gently aground on the pebbly beach.  He then fell to his knees in front of the Teacher.  He hung his head and seemed to say something.  The Teacher grabbed his shoulders and lifted him to his feet.  Then they both jumped onto the sand and headed off, without giving a second thought to the boatload of fish.  As they walked, the Teacher turned towards us and gave a shout: “Follow me!”  And just like that, we abandoned our fish-laden boat under the noonday sun and set off after them…

     Jesus inserted himself – unbidden – into Simon’s life.  Of course, Simon could have chased Jesus off his boat, but despite his shock and anger at the intrusion, he noticed that particular something about Jesus.  It’s not that easy to get rid of him once he steps into your boat.  Jesus doesn’t always take people away from their jobs, but when he does, it’s always in order to give them something better – better for them, better for the world.  Perhaps Jesus is calling you to follow him into your workplace.  Wherever Jesus may lead you, know for certain that he is indeed calling you to follow him.  This idea may strike you as a bit crazy.  Imagine how Simon felt that day.  The fisherman who probably never planned to leave his Galilean village ended up, many years later, in Rome, the imperial capital some 4,000 km. away.  To paraphrase Tolkien: “It's a dangerous business, following Jesus. You step onto the road, and if you allow your steps to be guided by the Spirit, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”  Will you embark on the adventure of following Jesus, and being swept along by his Holy Spirit?