Episode Details

Introduction – The Challenge of JesusOur Gospel story today presents a radical challenge. And I want us to be able to hear it. Peter, who represents us, is confronted by a man with a completely different set of values to him, a man who appears to have found a better way to live. That man is Jesus, and he promises us that, if we follow him, we may have life to the full (John 10:10). As Jesus says elsewhere,Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.Matthew 11:28-30The Fishing LotteryIn our story, Peter and his friends have been out for the night fishing on the Sea of Galilee. This was normal practice as deep-sea fishing gave the greatest opportunity to catch large quantities of fish. Indeed, if you got lucky, you might haul in a massive catch that would change your life. When this happened it was akin to winning the fishing lottery.We don’t know specifically what was driving this economic need in Peter. He may have been in dire straits. He was married at the time and he had family members to provide for. But he may also have been ambitious to be rich.What we do know is that the night had not been successful. Somehow Peter ends up getting caught up in the latest fad: a travelling Rabbi, followed by a great crowd, who asks him if he might commandeer his boat so that he might get a better platform from which to teach. Peter obliges and puts out from the land, controlling the boat, so that Jesus can do his business.After this comes the key moment, ‘When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”’ (Luke 5:5-6).This statement can be read in several ways. I tend to think that Peter was being somewhat sarcastic. After all, as far as he knows, Jesus is a landlubber from inland Nazareth, whereas Peter was a professional fisherman. He’s been trying all night at a time when such a catch is far more likely. And now, this man who knows apparently nothing, is telling him to try again during the day: Okay, “master”, if you think you’re so clever, watch what happens.We can here observe in Peter an apparent lack of spiritual interest. He had been hearing the Messiah speak but his body and mind were likely exhausted after being up all night. He did not have the capacity for spiritual things.So Jesus had to get his attention, and he did it by giving to him a miraculous catch of fish. At his command, and by his power, Jesus won the fishing lottery for Peter, so great was the catch that their fishing nets were breaking. This was truly a life-changing moment.And what would Peter have thought? Perhaps that he was encountering a genius, somebody who could make them all a huge amount of money. But how does the story end? A revelation of Jesus’ holiness and Jesus says to him, ‘“Do not be afraid; from now on your will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him’ (Luke 5:10(b)-11).What this reveals about this Jesus – and no doubt what it revealed to Peter – is that Jesus wasn’t interested in winning the fishing lottery. Jesus was more interested in something else: “catching men”, sharing his vision of the Kingdom, preaching the so-called evangelion (or the Gospel) and beckoning people to follow him and learn from him. “You can do this too,” he tells Peter, and Peter chooses this new life in place of the old one.Fruitless ToilI believe that this story speaks very deeply to the human condition. It reminds me of the quotation of Jesus above: come to me all who labour and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. But there are several others in Scripture as well such as Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your la