Our Gospel reading today presents the calling of Jesus’ first disciples. Jesus teaches the crowd from Simon’s boat then tells him to cast his net for a netting of fish.
We learn that Simon and his companions have spent a fruitless night in such activity, but the captain puts his trust in the word of Jesus the rabbi and does as he instructs. The result is overwhelming.
This is the first personal appearance of Simon Peter. His reaction to this revealing of the power of Jesus is twofold: first, he acknowledges that Jesus has divine power; he addresses him this time, not as Rabbi or Master, but as “Lord”; then he describes himself as “a sinful man”. This does not mean that he is morally at fault in some way, but is the biblical way of describing the human person’s feeling of awe when confronted by the Divine – as in the vision of Isaiah in the Temple.
Secondly, Peter asks Jesus to leave him, but ends up following him into the unknown. He thus represents the sinful person who responds positively to the person and message of Jesus. As a professional fisherman, he did not have much faith in Jesus’ command to repeat the efforts of the night before, but had enough trust to do so and was overcome and converted by the outcome. The scene is set for Peter to become the spokesperson and leader of the disciples.
Image – ‘The Miraculous Draught’ of Fishes, art by John Reilly, UK
Previous Sunday Messages
REFLECT
In Jewish culture, it was the practice for people to decide which rabbi’s congregation they decided to join as they identified most closely with that person’s interpretation of the scriptures.
The unusual aspect of Jesus’ gathering of disciples is that he calls them, rather than they presenting themselves to him. Simon Peter is an important and interesting character in the Gospel tradition. In our episode today, he represents someone confronted with the person of Jesus, who undergoes a profound conversion and change of life. He and the others “left everything and followed [Jesus]”. Luke, in his writings, shows a deep suspicion of possessions and riches, seeing them as an obstacle to a proper commitment to Jesus and his teachings. Most of Jesus’ disciples were family folk who had to provide for their children, so it is more the judicious use of material goods which is at issue, not the complete renunciation of them – as though that were possible.
Simon Peter is also a sympathetic character who attracts much affection because he is so obviously human. He is a fallible person who is always getting it wrong, who is guided more by his heart than his head. It is his obvious attachment to Jesus which brings him through in the end. He is “sinful” only in the sense that he acknowledges that he is simply a human being in the presence of the Divine, so in that he is an example of faith and trust for us all.
The abundance of the catch is due to Peter’s trust in Jesus.
learn
- Peter is not an infallible person or leader.
- Peter’s description of himself as “sinful” means that he recognises that he is in the presence of the Divine.
- In Jesus’ time, disciples usually chose their rabbi, not the other way round.
do
If you disagree with anything your priest says, speak to him and discuss the matter with him. It is your right and responsibility