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 left the synagogue in Capernaum 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. The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee.  The lake is about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  This name may possibly be used here for the Sea of Galilee as it is suggestive of the fruitfulness of this region (its original name taken from the name for a fruit tree), both the fertility of the plain adjacent and the fishing.

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.  Sitting, my study bible explains, was the traditional position for a teacher.

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 cites St. Ambrose's commentary here, in which he sees the spiritual meaning of this command as an 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.  My study bible comments 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), and tax collectors by a tax collector (5:29), here Christ 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!"  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.  My study bible tells us that Peter's cry in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast this with 8:37).  But, instead, as Peter is suddenly cast in the light of Christ, he responds as do many holy people when they become keenly aware of their own unworthiness (compare to Isaiah 6:5, Revelation 1:17).  This great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing humankind into the knowledge of Christ, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.  I the Orthodox Church, the festal hymn of Pentecost proclaims, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net."

This marvelous, surprising image of this great catch of fish catches our eye -- as no doubt it was understood that it would.  We can see the reactions of these fishermen.  No one is more astounded than they.  The word in the Gospel is astonished.  This is their home territory, it's where they have fished all of their lives, and yet on the word of Christ a catch of fish arrives that is so great it is breaking their nets.  The number of fish is so tremendous that they fill their boats to the point at which they begin to sink.  This is the powerful image of the Gospel that makes grown men astonished, stunned, amazed to the point of stupefaction.  Peter is so overwhelmed that he responds with a holy awe by simply having glimpsed an understanding of Christ:  "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"   Certainly there is in this image of the great catch of fish splitting the nets of the fishermen a sign of tremendous abundance.  The familiar phrase "all the fish in the sea" comes to mind.   We know that the sign of a fish will become an early symbol for Christians:  the ancient Greek word for fish, ιχθυς/ixthys will become an acronym for "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior" (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός Θεοῦ Yἱός Σωτήρ).  Jesus forever ties together the metaphor of fish to the world full of human beings who must hear the gospel message when He says to these fishermen, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."   This word in Greek for "men" also means generically mankind, human beings.  So astonishing in their minds is this catch of fish that the fishermen leave their boats and nets and business behind, becoming disciples of Christ.  John's Gospel explains to us that several of them had already been disciples of John the Baptist, and so were familiar with Jesus from the beginning.  But here is where they are truly called, and this great sign gives Peter a visceral experience that he stands before a man whose holiness he cannot fully estimate.  And that, too, is part of the surprising nature of our faith and its component of mystery to be experienced.  For that sort of glimpse comes in a way as surprising as this extraordinary catch of fish on a day when there were no fish to be found.  It is sudden, experiential, a glimpse like a flash.  The brief moment of any experience of holiness or the divine is a taste of something whose depth we cannot measure and do not know.  In the entire treasury of the Church with her saints and Scripture and all of theology there remains an overwhelming unknown of mystery about God.  Whatever we do know of God has only come through revelation; what has been developed by combining this with philosophy to create theology gives us a glimpse, but teaches us more:  that whatever it is we know of God is a tiny fraction of God's reality.  There is so much more that we don't know, like how much more is there in that great wide sea do we not know, besides this abundant, surprising catch of fish.  It's important that we understand that comparing this one catch of fish to all the fish in the sea is a metaphor for our real knowledge of God.  The sea is limited, but God is not.  Whatever we think we know of our faith, it is the tiniest fraction of the mystery of God -- and in fact our faith therefore only begins a journey that is unlimited.  When we lose sight of this mystery, we have forgotten who we are as Christians, because the true range of our faith cannot be defined and limited by what we know.  It must also include the awareness of the much more that we do not yet know.  It is that mystery -- like the glimpse of the great catch of fish -- that invites us in, and asks us to go forward.  Have you come far on your journey of faith?  Then prepare to go further.  Do you think you have tasted God's love?  Continue into its depth and breadth.  Are there still questions you need to ponder?  This is exactly the right place we must be in.  For we don't have all the answers, and the fullness of Christ we can't yet grasp.  But we are asked to be on this journey, and given experience that gives us a glance -- but there is always so much more ahead.  Sometimes, like the fishermen, we're asked to leave all behind and follow Him.  Wherever we are in this long discipleship of faith, the road starts here, and there is so much more we don't yet know.  This is what St. Ambrose understands of the command to launch out into the deep, and so we are called with the fishermen, as well.