Where’s The Catch? - Read Lk 5:1-11
Contemplation
It’s a hot and busy day at the seaside. Jesus is talking to the people who are crowding in on every side. We can smell sea air and hear the waves roaring, and the sand is warm under our feet. There are also the sights, sounds and smells of hundreds of people crowding in on Jesus: to listen, learn and be healed. Jesus realises that there’s no space for him on the beach. He sees three fishermen, Simon and his friends, James and John. They are sitting on the beach and fixing their nets – mending the cotton threads that allow them to hold the fish and the twined ropes which hold the thread nets. Jesus asks Simon if he can use the boat and talk to the people from the water. The oars splash in the water and the little boat bobs up and down in the sea. After a long day’s talking, Simon takes Jesus fishing.
They don’t catch anything. Simon says there’s no point – they haven’t caught anything all night. Jesus tells Simon to put the net down on the other side of the boat anyway. The wet ropes splash and crunch across the boat, and Simon’s not sure if it will make a difference. Suddenly the net feels very heavy. Fish! Hundreds of them fill the net and Simon thinks it’s going to break! They ask James and Andrew to come and help. The water splashes over us as it comes in over the side of the boat. James and Andrew bring the other boat, and it is also so full that they think they will sink! When they get back, Simon thinks Jesus is too holy for him. Jesus tells him not to worry. He tells them that while they have been catching fish to kill and eat, they will catch people alive (not dead, like the fish) if they follow him. They all drop everything and come after him.
Walk around the crowds and chat to Jesus and the fishermen.
There are lots of people who need things. How do they all feel?
What is it like going out on the boat? How does Simon feel when Jesus tells him to change the nets to the other side?
What does the full boat feel like, and how does Peter react?
Have I ever felt a time when I was asked to do something that felt useless, but where it was actually a really good thing?
Where was God in that time?