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BACKGROUND INFORMATION {5:1} Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, This lake is the Sea of Galilee. Here it is identified with the region next to it called Gennesaret. The crowd is presumably the same crowd mentioned in Luke 4:42 who were thronging to Jesus because of the mighty works he was doing. Here they want to hear what he has to say. {2} he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. {3} He 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. Jesus had a creative idea….speak to the people from one of the boats put out a bit from the shore. {4} When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." {5} Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." Fish was one of the basic food sources. It was eaten fresh, processed, salted, dried, or pickled for export. There were three main kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee in those days: large panfish, carp, and catfish. The Jews did not eat catfish because the scriptures prohibited them eating fish without scales. Because it was so hot during the day fisherman often worked in the cool of the night. Fish would be more likely to be found near the surface at night when water temperatures would be suitable for them. {6} When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. {7} 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. It was highly unusual and therefore perhaps a miracle that they caught so many fish during the heat of the day. Recently a first century fishing boat was discovered in the mud near the edge of the Sea of Galiliee. It measured 26’ long, 7’ wide, and 4’ deep. If two of these boats were beginning to sink due to the weight of the fish then we can say that this was one gigantic catch of fish! {8} But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" {9} For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; {10} 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." {11} When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. There is a story like this in the 21st chapter of John. Some scholars think that Luke inserted a post-resurrection story back into the ministry of Jesus. Peter’s response, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" would have a special force if it followed his denials of Jesus in the courtyard. Jesus uses a play on words to compare catching fish to catching people. The message seems to be, "You think catching two boatloads of fish is impressive. Just wait till you follow me and are catching people for the kingdom of God."
WHAT GOD MIGHT BE SAYING TO US Let’s focus a bit on these future disciples of Christ. They had fished all night and had only an empty boat to show for their efforts. The crowds had pressed Jesus right up to the edge of the water at the Sea of Galilee to hear the Word of God. There he came upon three defeated men. They had worked hard but had failed. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mother is a retired school teacher. She loved reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a children’s book. It’s about a little boy for whom nothing goes right. The story opens with these words: I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day… I think I’ll move to Australia. In the car pool Mrs. Gibson let Becky have a seat by the window. Audrey and Elliott got seats by the window, too. I said I was being smushed. I said, if I didn’t get a seat by the window, I’m going to be carsick and throw up. No one ever answered. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. And, that’s just the way it turned out. That night the little fellow said, "It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia." Do you ever have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days? Do you ever have times when your nets always come up empty? Irwin Shaw wrote a short story called The Eighty-Yard Run. As a college freshman, at his first football practice, he broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run. His teammates looked at him with awe. His coach said, "You’re going to have quite a future around here." His girlfriend awarded him with a kiss after the practice. Irwin Shaw had the feeling that life was completely satisfying and rewarding. But nothing in the rest of his life ever lived up to that day again. His football experience was equally disappointing. His marriage soured. The pain of failure was even greater because he remembered thinking on a perfect day many years before that life would always be that pleasant, satisfying and rewarding. Are you measuring your life up against a similar experience in your past? Are you spending time and energy trying to feel like you did in that past triumph? As much as we would like to freeze frame life it cannot be done. Life does not stand still. There isn’t a once-for-all experience. It was Winston Churchill who said, "Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." Like the disciples’ miserable fishing experience there are going to be bad days. Sometimes we are going to fall on our respective faces. These failures don’t have to be endings. They can be the avenue to experience God’s grace more widely and more deeply. Peter’s response to the fullness of the nets was to believe he didn’t deserve it. At first glance, that may seem an unlikely reaction to a moment of success. Sometimes, however, it is the experience of achievement which forces us to see how superficial our victories are. Andre Thornton, star home-run hitter with the Cleveland Indians and a Christian, has predicted that there may be a very real religious awakening among athletes as a result of the exorbitant salaries so many are now receiving. He feels that when they find themselves suddenly so financially secure they will realize how little their wealth really means, and will thus be driven to look for deeper values. The truth is, a person can have full nets but still have an empty life. After you’ve sold the fish in the market and have put a share of the money in the bank, you may still feel an emptiness deeper than empty nets and a yearning more poignant than the desire for economic security. John Brokhoff tells the story of George Frederick Handel who knew the experience of empty nets. He had debt upon debt, despair upon despair. He had a cerebral hemorrhage and was paralyzed on his right side. For four years he could neither walk nor write. The doctors gave up on him. He wrote several operas, but again he fell in debt. At age 60 he thought his life was finished. Then he was challenged by a friend to write a sacred oratorio. He read the Scriptures and decided to work on the Messiah. For 24 days, without eating a crumb, he worked fanatically to produce the Messiah, which many today consider the greatest oratorio ever written. The prospects of something great happening can look grim. Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus asked him to let down his nets for a catch. It seemed foolish to do so, because Peter knew there were no fish to catch. But notice his faith even though his nets were empty. "Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." Here is the key. Even though we work all our lives to reach our goals…Even though our nets come up empty or full of unnecessary stuff… Even though failure looms upon us like a thick, dark cloud…Jesus offers us new beginnings. He offers us a chance to reorient our priorities. He offers us grace and forgiveness, not shame. Failure is not an end, but simply a new beginning. But we must respond to his invitation. He is speaking to you and me, "Let down your empty nets into the water. Not only will your empty lives become full, but they will stay full by being in ministry with and for me." |
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02/04/01 - BYOB: From Empty Nets to Full Lives
