Let Him Fish For You
What to do at the restart of history
The fishermen had gotten out of their boats and were washing their nets.
Jesus 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 burst. So 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.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were astounded 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.
Luke 5:2-11
“Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing,” Simon said.
He had heard the man teaching from afar, he was grateful he had healed his mother-in-law, he saw how the crowds really loved him…but today, Simon was exhausted. He had work to do. And however nice the guy was, who is some preacher to tell him how to fish?
This was Simon's first argument with Jesus; we know it would not be the last. This was also the last moment where Simon could pretend not to know Jesus, and the last time Simon could pretend that Jesus didn’t know him. It was the last time he would not be in total awe of who had decided to pick him, of all people, to do great things. He wasn’t asking for a sign. In fact, he was resisting it, “Master, really?”
“Put out into the deep water,” Jesus said. “Let down your nets.”
Forget the fish. Simon was caught.
Political scientist Francis Fukuyama opined over 30 years ago that we were at the “end of history.” Well, like it or not, it seems history has started back up again. I don’t know that anybody really knows where this is all going; I don’t. Whether you champion the roller-coaster or are holding on for dear life, we are out on the tracks. Maybe you don’t know what it is you should be doing when history is pregnant with birth pangs.
Surely there is something to be done. In this reading today from Luke, we hear God calling us along with Simon Peter to action, to be sent out, to fish for people, to leave behind the big haul God might have dumped in your boat and follow him.
But remember what happened to Simon first; remember what had to happen first. Simon had to receive the grace God was sending him. He had to be ready and available, even if a little mumbly about it, to say, “Okay, Jesus, let’s see what you’ve got. Show me. I think I know what I’m doing, but, okay. Show me, Jesus. Show me.”
If Simon had been honest up to that moment, he would have known he wasn’t in good shape. Fishing was a hard life. He had a family to support. He certainly had pride. But something that day made him say okay, Jesus, show me.
If you don’t know what to do right now, first, let yourself be fished for.
Thomas Merton called this “praying for your own discovery.” Be still and let him seek you. Let him fish for you.
This may not be entirely pleasant, as Simon found out. In fact, as many times as some of us have heard this story, I suspect that most of us remember the “fish for people” bit, but many of us might forget Simon’s reaction to getting the biggest catch of his life: he fell on his knees in fear. Why?
Because he was caught.
Oh, he was caught.
And even though he had just received such overwhelming grace, now, he was flapping on the line like a sea bass, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" This may have been the first time Simon had really admitted this, I mean, really admitted this deep down. He was a good Jewish boy, I’m sure. Did the rites, went to synagogue, kept a good reputation. But this was different, and it was terrifying. There was no denying Jesus here.
So he admits for the first time, “Lord, I am a sinner.” I have never seen a lottery winner have that reaction. But he’s overwhelmed by it. “Who am I to be yours, Lord?” He is met with a second helping of grace even better than the first: “Do not be afraid. from now on, you will be catching people." Do not be afraid, Simon Peter. I have a mission for you.
The funny thing is that as Simon Peter’s story continued, and as he fished for a great deal many people, he would come to find that “fishing for people” can go to your head. His journey of discipleship began with, “Lord, I am a sinful man,” but he would lose sight of this as he was out working for Jesus. He would only fully admit this again until everything was collapsing around him, and he was weeping in the courtyard, betraying the man who had caught him. In his tears, he was closer to Christ again.
But for now, he had cast his net into the deep water. And he was caught. And at the end of John’s gospel, Jesus would catch him again.
How about you and me? How do we get caught? How do we get to some of these deeper waters? How do we find our calling in this moment? Where can we go so that we know where to go?
First, we can always just pay closer attention to where Jesus is showing up in our lives. Where has the Holy Spirit been at work for you? It may not always be pleasant, either; where has it left you convicted, “Oh man, I really am still such a sinner”?
And how might we better develop eyes, ears, and hearts for the Spirit? I’m afraid I have no magic elixirs here: prayer and Scripture. To some of you, maybe this isn’t the new program you were hoping for, but in a world of lies, there is nothing else that grounds us and centers us in God’s truth than what is tried and true. If you need a starting point, perhaps the part of Scripture that is a prayer book, the Psalms, a book with tremendous depth that we can totally gloss over if we just stay in the shallow waters. The soul’s yearnings are in there. Anger, anguish, enemies, loneliness…and joy, and peace, and victory, not through ourselves, but in the Lord who made heaven and earth. Open it up anywhere and just start reading these ancient prayers. Take your time. Cast your net into deep water. Be still and know he is God.1 And then hear where he’s sending you.
Our Bible is meant to be a lifelong accompaniment. It’s meant to be revisited over and over, bringing us a fresh catch as we return to it in a slightly different place than the last time, the Word calling something new to us. We start off in the shallows, but when we keep casting our nets, in Christ we find there is even more to these waters than we can guess. As you’re doing so, if you feel like your prayer life is waning or has waned, renew it. And by the grace of God, you will be caught again. And you’ll know what to fish for.
In such times, I know many of us could use God’s comfort and seek to be in his rest, his Sabbath. That is the kind of grace I hope you get. If you are desperate for it, I hope you get boatloads of peace soon, even if just for an evening with friends, a great show or book, a great day outside. Swim in that grace when you can get it.
But however that grace next finds you, I hope we don’t stop there. I hope we may also get the gift of realizing how imperfect we are. “Get away from me, Jesus, I am a sinner.” There was a gift in that for Simon, for this is the humility we need behind any mission we undertake. If you feel like we are on a wrong track, or if you feel like you’re on a wrong track, or you just want to mend things that are broken, we must first accept that we, too, are every bit as broken as our neighbor and our enemy whom we are called to love and pray for. Sin caught us first. But now, Christ has redeemed you into the best “catch and release” program, no state wildlife permit required, for he has caught you and he has set you free.
So don’t forget to be still and know. Open up the Word and read slowly, like you’re paying attention to every bite you’re chewing, and then pray the words of your own heart even slower than you’re used to. Pray honestly with your whole heart; the God of all creation knows you and loves you and wants you to know him even more so that you can love the world even more.
And if that still seems too much, or too obvious, because you have been working all night and haven’t got a thing, okay. Fine, Simon. But just let him fish for you. All of us Christians know who Jesus is….but like Simon, have you been pretending that Jesus doesn’t know you?
Let him fish for you. Let him catch you in his grace. And listen for where he’s sending you.
Ps 46:10