2/5
Sunday reflections with Beverley.....on the 5th Sunday after Epiphany....
So we have begun the Lunar New Year…Happy Year of the Tiger!... And the groundhog saw his shadow and we’re looked at six more weeks of winter…and it IS cold…omicron seems to be receding but we’re still virtual and still anxious…the Olympics are on from China…and Russian troops are poised on the border with the Ukraine. And we’re more anxious than we would normally be because our brother Eugene is back at home ( a member of Beverley) and we want him here safe with us…and our prayers are with him..
So what is Jesus up to to day? Seems he’s been doing some teaching and some healing and some casting out of demons and is starting to attract bugger and bigger crowds..so much so that he has to go out a ways in a boat to speak to the people. Even though they’re done after a long night of fishing, Simon Peter agrees to take him on board and lets him teach his lesson.
But when he’s finished, Jesus tells him to let down his nets again. Now
remember, they have fished all night and caught nothing, They have already washed their nets, cleaned them and put them away. To get them out again would be a demanding job. I can imagine Peter thinking what does this carpenter’s son know about fishing? I’m tired, I’m done, I’m hungry, it’s time to go home..but because it’s Jesus, he does it anyways.
Remember, it was just a few days ago that Simon had invited Jesus home for dinner, And while there, Jesus had healed his mother in law of a fever. So they have a relationship. It is on the basis of that relationship that he decides to go against his better judgment and do what Jesus asks. And lo and behold, this time he’s catching so many fish that the nets are straining. So many that he calls out to his partners to get their boats on the water too. And they too are catching a net busting amount of fish. Seems almost too much for their boats.
For Peter it’s all a bit overwhelming. Who is this guy? So aware of his own shortcomings, it’s too much, he asks Jesus to just leave. So like the angel said to Mary and the angels to the shepherds, Jesus says to the men do not fear…and tells them they will be fishing for people. SO they bring the boats to shore and leave and follow him.
We’ll leave aside for the moment that someone had to store the nets and what about all those fish? I understand about leaving, but ultimately someone has to deal with it..
So what’s going on here? There’s a few things you might not catch, When Simon calls himself a sinner, it’s an interesting word. It’s ἁμαρτωλός. In those days, to be a faithful Jew one had to go to the Temple in Jerusalem and buy something for ritual sacrifices. People who did not do so were considered ἁμαρτωλός, sinful. For fisher folk like Simon, Jerusalem was a long ways away. About 76 miles. Not a quick trip. You’d have to miss work to get there, And once there, not have enough money to buy something to sacrifice. So common fisherfolk like Peter were considered to be “sinful.”
Secondly, when old Testament prophets like Amos (4:2), Jeremiah (16:16) or Ezekiel (29:4) spoke of “fishers of men,” it was is reference to judgment against rich and powerful or censure of Israel for injustice. Jesus has already announced his mission to preach “good news to the poor” and “release to the captives,” and "proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord.” That is the work he is calling these fishers to do. It’s not about saving individual souls. And what is their response? They follow him…It does not say they believed in him. What Simon saw in Jesus was enough to lead him to say, “Not sure what this is about, but I’m going with him..”
Notice what Simon’s model is;
- He listens
- He obeys even if reluctantly)
- He recognized his own shortcomings but also his own value
- He follows
Those nets are a sign…that Jesus’ ministry is about abundance..that Jesus desires for us to have life abundantly….and that abundance is not for the rich and powerful but for those brave enough to face their own reality, to repent, to turn from anything that distracts us from God’s way and go a new way.
This is the work to which Jesus invites us. And see this… Jesus , even as the son of God, begins to see he can’t do it alone so he begins to ask for help. Simon can’t haul all the fish in so he asks for help. We can’t do this alone…we need each other. And relationships makes helping one another easier. We will answer the call to help people we trust. I have about six people who if they call me, and ask me to be somewhere or do something, I will say yes, even without explanation because I trust them to respect me and my time and only call when they need me. And the same in reverse .And that does feel good.
Throughout this season, we look for epiphanies. Those moments where in an instant of clarity all of sudden we get it.
Who are we in this story, and what do we get?
Well, maybe this…the fisher folk are tired…we are tired….of covid and masks and social distance and virtual reality and the stress and strain and everything else from the last couple of years.
It is precisely then that Jesus asks for our help. And he doesn’t ask us to do it ourselves. And we do it with each other, And we don’t have to worry about figuring it all out or knowing all the right answers…we just follow him…together…and the rest follows…..and what follows is abundance…like overflowing wine jars at a wedding or fishnets in the morning,,,,life abundant….
May we follow Jesus together, May we experience God’s abundance together, May we rejoice and be glad together. Let those with ears to hear hear….
Gospel Luke 5:1-11
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
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