Luke 5:1-11 has, in my Bible, the heading "Jesus calls his disciples".  I've been reading and rereading these verses a lot lately, and it is about so much more.  I've parked in this passage at first to prepare a routine based on the miracle of the tremendous catch of fish: "6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."  The illusion involves producing a small school of goldfish in a (seemingly) empty tube.  I've performed it a few times, but have wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything in the account. Boy, was I ever missing things.

At first, I just picked up on a few details that helped in filling out the telling of the account.  For example, as the whole account is read, this is obviously a fishing business involving several employees. I needed to get past the visual image of Peter as some Downeaster in a canoe on the Androscoggin River.  Then there's this passage:  "3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat."  I'm told, the reason Jesus preached from the boat was because sound travels better over water than land.  If you've ever camped by the edge of a lake or pond, you know that's true. He was using natural amplification to speak to the crowd that had followed Jesus to the shore that day.  Furthermore, the detail that he sat down is significant.  This is a detail also mentioned at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  Rabbi's would sit down when what they had to say was especially important.

That detail, however, is curious, because we're never told what Jesus actually taught the crowd, I assume because what happened was more important to Luke than what was said.  And a lot happened.  "2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore."  Here's Simon Peter, who has been fishing all night and totally failed.  He's exhausted, taking care of his nets so he can go home to his wife (he was, in fact, married) and sleep through the heat of the day when the fish are down deeper in the lake in order to go back to work that evening, Now Jesus, whom he had met but hadn't become a disciple to yet, is highjacking his boat so he can preach.  It's not recorded for us, but it's hard to imagine Peter, of all the disciples, not saying something confrontational right here.

A few verses later, though, Simon Peter does speak up: "4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”  Now we're well into the mid-morning sun.  Jesus' sermons, after all, were never known for their brevity.  Now He's asking Simon to go out into deeper water. Furthermore, Jesus tells him to get back to work; After a night of utter failure.  "We've worked hard all night. We caught nothing!"  I hear, implied, I just want to get home and have a glass of Manischewitz.

But the scene turns with his next words: "But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” How many times has this been my prayer.  "I have no idea why, but because it's you who said it I'll: forgive that person, do a chapel service for three prison inmates for no donation, give up a better salary in public education to teach Christian ed., go to Africa..." You get the idea.  Peter displays real faith; not walking-on -clouds-while-playing-a-golden-harp faith, but rather a nitty-gritty, I'm tired, I don't want to do this, but deep down I know Who you are and (just as importantly) who I'm not so I'll obey anyway faith. Like I said, REAL faith. 

And then: "6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."  The Lord, it seems, honors nitty-gritty confused faith.  But now look at how Peter reacts compared to the other fishermen around: "7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."  They were like," We've hit the jackpot! We're rich." I imagine the employees, even if on a fixed salary were thinking, "Cool.  I've been part of an historic catch.  I'll have bragging rights for years to come.

But not Peter: 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken."  Obviously, everyone was astonished at such an amazing catch, especially during what must now be the heat of the day.  But most of them were focused on the wealth of the catch.  Peter was focused on Jesus. Jesus never mentioned Peter's sin, but Peter suddenly was well aware of it: "I am a sinful man."  It's as if, in seeing Jesus in all his glory and power, he became very uncomfortable with his own natural condition. I've experienced God in that way a handful of times. One was when my wife and I finally learned we were expecting our first child. Another time was on a Halloween night that is the subject for another blog.

And the scene ends with Jesus doing exactly the opposite of what Peter asks for. He pleads to Jesus to leave him alone in his darkness; instead, Jesus says, "Come follow me and I will make you a fisherman of men." Yes, Jesus seems to have said, "of course you fall short. Of course you're a sinful man. But you saw ME in this. The others saw the catch. They looked at what was happening in creation. Peter, you saw the creator. Follow me. You'll need all the nitty-gritty down to earth faith I'll give you. Follow me."