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Wednesday 27 January 2016

Luke 5:1-11: Hiring some help

Jesus is struggling to ensure that everyone who wants to listen to him can actually hear, so he has now moved on from his synagogue preaching system and is trying the open air. One day he hit on the idea of going down to the water's edge at the Lake. It's clear that he needs to recruit some assistance, or else become a victim of his own success.

He asks nicely of the fishermen who were moored up, and they let him sit in one of their boats, and push it out a little from shore. This way, he had can get some distance between himself and his hearers, without being crowded to death all the time, and everybody can hear.

While he was talking, an idea began to form in his mind. When the sermon is over for the day, he turned to Simon, who was with him in the boat, and suggests that they nip out and catch a few fish.

Simon Peter isn't keen - it was a bad night last night, and it's much harder to catch in the daytime, because the fish see the nets coming and have a chance to dodge. But Jesus doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer, and eventually Simon gives in, and away they go. Doubtless he was only humouring this ignorant carpenter, who knew as much about fishing as Peter knew about how to mortice and tenon a joint.

But suddenly the roles of expert and novice are reversed, because Jesus works a little miracle. Just a tiny one - not as big and special as a healing or an exorcism, but enough to fill some fishing nets to bursting point. Simon and his mates have never seen a catch like it - they'd be fishing for a week to catch this many, and now Jesus has done it without even snapping his fingers.

Simon Peter jumps quite unexpectedly to the right conclusion. This is a real man of God in front of him, and by comparison, he's a worthless sinner. He calls him "Lord," not "rabbi."

It is the word he'd use if he was talking to God, but we can't suppose that Peter has immediately worked out that Jesus is the Messiah - you'd also say this word if you were talking to a nobleman.

One thing's for certain though - Peter know's he's outranked, and he just wants to be left alone. He feels he doesn't belong in the presence of this greatness.

Jesus is thinking otherwise. Let's go fishing for people!

And not a backward glance, nor a second thought is wasted by those fishermen who can't believe their good fortune - to have been chosen by someone so powerful!

Chosen and called.
Befriended and included.
Welcomed and valued.
My heart swells with gratitude to think that I can follow the fishermen in following my Lord.

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