NOTES for Luk 5:1-11
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, |
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. |
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. |
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. |
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. |
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. |
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. |
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. |
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: |
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. |
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. |
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Jesus gets into the boat not in order to separate Himself from those left on the shore, but so that His word will be equally accessible to everyone gathered there. The evangelist does not give the content of the sermon, but in any case the words that sounded that day over the Lake of Gennesaret led toward salvation.
And when the sermon is over, He sees to it that the fishermen who had given Him a place in the boat catch more fish. The move from preaching about the fundamental foundations of life to caring for ordinary human needs was immediate. Of course, one can see in the remarkable catch a visible parable shown to the disciples: just as successful was the catch of fish taken at His word, so successful will be the preaching of the disciples. Such an understanding of this episode is entirely acceptable, precisely because Jesus responds both to the loftiest spiritual aspirations and to requests concerning everyday material needs.
But here we meet another paradox: Simon Peter, having acknowledged himself a sinner, is called by Jesus, in response to that acknowledgment, to catch people and to go out preaching. Jesus does not leave the terrified Peter precisely because He came not to superheroes, but to ordinary people, people like any of us, in order to deliver us from sin and fear. It is hard to say what terrified Peter more: the encounter with the Holy One, or the depth of his own sinfulness. But even in terror, even begging Jesus to depart, he himself did not recoil from Him, but fell at His knees. And this is the only possible path after we become able to see our own darkness and filth.
Readings for 4 September 2025
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