Daily Bread

While Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He 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. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and 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.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

You may know the phrase, 'actions speak louder than words', which was coined from a Bible verse (1 John 3.18) and in today's Bible reading we have a case in point. We tend to focus so much on the miraculous catch of fish, that we forget that Jesus had spent much of the day teaching from Simon Peter's boat, but it was not Jesus' words that led Simon Peter to fall down at Jesus' knees and declare, "Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" but the catch of fish. What was it about the miracle that so affected Simon Peter?

Sure, it was sign, catching fish in the middle of the day instead of night, the whole builder-turned-rabbi telling accomplished fishermen how to do their job, and so on, but — and I think this is key — it was the sheer generosity of the act. Fisherman on the lake lived by their catch. No fish, no income, so an extraordinarily large catch — a net-breaking, boat-sinking haul — would have been like hitting the jackpot on a slot machine. It meant financial security, at least in the short term, for Simon Peter, James, John, and their families.

This miracle recorded by Luke points to the superabundance of a God who seeks to bless us, and in the same way that Simon Peter was then called to 'fish for people', it is a salient reminder that, as we seek to be Jesus to the world, our actions speak way louder than words.

Holy God
Thank you for your gift of grace
and the superabundant blessing of your love.
May it so affect me that I turn to you
in penitence and faith,
to follow Jesus wherever he may lead,
and to live in love and peace with all.
Now and forever,
Amen