Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

- Luke 5:1-11

Yesterday we read that Jesus arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
 
So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  An interesting scene:  Jesus is already well-known.  He's standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, which is otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee, a large lake about thirteen miles long and seven miles wide.  Sitting is the traditional posture for a teacher or rabbi, as we've noted recently when Jesus sat in the synagogue in Nazareth.  Yesterday, we read Jesus' statement that He must preach the kingdom of God in other cities; here we see He will fulfill that purpose wherever the place is available:  on a mountaintop, on a plain, in the wilderness, and here from a boat by the shore of the lake.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."   My study bible tells us that St. Ambrose sees in this command the spiritual invitation to give one's life over to the deep mystery of the knowledge of the Son of God.

But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  We note Peter's immediate reaction to Jesus' command, and remember that he's already a disciple.  My study bible says here that the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.  "As He drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), as He would draw tax collectors by a tax collector (5:29), here He draws the fishermen with fish (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)."

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"    My study bible says that Peter's cry in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast 8:37).  Instead,  it says, "being suddenly cast in the light of Christ, holy people such as Peter become keenly aware of their own unworthiness (compare Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17)." 

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.   This great catch of fish, my study bible says, is an image of the apostles bringing human beings to the knowledge of Christ.  It also fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16 ("'I will send for many fishermen,' says the Lord". . . ).  In the Eastern Church, the festal hymn of Pentecost declares to Christ, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net."

I find myself fascinated and pleased by my study bible's suggestion that "the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them."  Yesterday, we wrote about "mission" and Jesus' commitment to the things He knows He was sent to do.  It isn't yet time in this ministry for Him to reveal Himself as Christ, but His purpose, His mission, is always at work and He's always fulfilling that mission.  The fact that the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them means that for each one of us, there is also a particular way, something related to mission.  If all things lead to Christ, our Creator and the ultimate assigner of the meanings of all things, then whatever way is very "personal" is the way that we, too, will find "mission" in Christ.  It's a strange thing about faith, it will take us out of who we think we are and into the unknown, but will do so by virtue of the things we know and are familiar to us, the things that will draw us and pique our attention and interest.   Christ works with us where we are, and the beauty that draws us in the world, the things that command our attention, can lead us to Him if we accept His leading.    In a world that's filled with the Holy Spirit, we can find Him throughout many pathways, and He will come to us in all kinds of ways.  There's an ancient saying that goes back so far that even the ancient Greek philosophers didn't quite know who originated it.  It's been widely quoted throughout the centuries:  "God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference nowhere."  What that teaches us is kind of connection to mathematical theories of the spiritual, something also common to those ancients such as Pythagoras and Euclid, that all roads lead to a particular point; every parallel line meets at infinity (another attribute of God).  All this is to say that in our understanding of God we know that wherever we are right now, God is available to us and ready to lead us in the way we can be reached.  It's part of the grace of the Spirit, "who is everywhere present and fills all things," according to a prayer that prefaces every Eastern worship service.  Jesus is at the shore in today's reading, with the fishermen, sitting in a boat and teaching.   In His mission, He reaches everywhere, to each one of us, and He will not let us slip away.  But it's up to us to hear Him.  Once we start on that road, we have to be prepared to be led where we didn't expect to go, out into the deep -- perhaps the infinite mystery of the deep -- wherever He leads us, just as He will lead these fishermen.