{"id":3414,"date":"2024-02-21T10:43:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T15:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3414"},"modified":"2024-02-21T10:43:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T15:43:55","slug":"the-miraculous-catch-of-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/21\/the-miraculous-catch-of-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"The Miraculous Catch of Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.    <\/em>

A dad joke for fishermen<\/em>:  What did the magician say to the fisherman?  Pick a cod, any cod.

Mom\u2019s fishing wisdom<\/em>:  Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and you get rid of him for the whole weekend.

Warped fishing humor<\/em>:  A priest was walking along a beach when he encountered two men pulling on a rope with all their might.  As the rope emerged from the waves, he could see a third man holding on to it for dear life. \u201cPraise God!\u201d said the priest.  \u201cWhat a glorious example of caring for those in need!\u201d  As he walked away, one man turned to the other and said, \u201cMan, he sure doesn\u2019t much about shark fishing.\u201d

Fishing jokes and tall tales about \u201cthe one that got away\u201d are as old as humanity\u2019s first attempts to land the Big One.  But it\u2019s a pretty good bet that no one could tell a better fish story than Simon Peter.


And his story just happened to be true.  It\u2019s reported in Luke 5:1-12. 

\u201cOne day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret [another name for the Sea of Galilee] with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water\u2019s edge two boats, left there by fishermen, who were washing their nets [nets needed to be regularly washed so they wouldn\u2019t rot].  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. 

\u201cThen he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, \u2018Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.\u2019  Simon answered, \u2018Master,\u2019 we\u2019ve worked hard all night and haven\u2019t caught anything.\u201d 

Let\u2019s pause here for a moment.  Peter is saying, \u201cLook, I may not understand everything you were just teaching, but I know a little something about fishing.  You don\u2019t catch the kinds of fish that swim in this lake in the middle of the morning.  Trust me.  I know fishing.\u201d

Most of us have had a similar thought cross our minds.  I don\u2019t need some Messiah telling me how to do what I already know how to do<\/em>.  I don\u2019t need a lecture from Jesus about how to close a business deal, or how to start a text thread, or how to shoot free throws.  I know how to sell real estate.  I know how to make guacamole.  I know the best way to declutter my closets.

These are, of course, the very areas in which it is most difficult for us to follow Jesus.  That\u2019s because we don\u2019t think he has anything to tell us. 

It\u2019s hard for us even to imagine cooking or coaching or day trading or cleaning the cat\u2019s litter box as spiritual activities \u2013 perhaps especially cleaning the cat\u2019s litter box.  But the meaning of the resurrection \u2013 if we can briefly look ahead to Easter \u2013 is that Jesus is loose in the world.  He is loose everywhere \u2013 <\/em>which means no matter what you are doing, Jesus is in your boat.

Returning to our text: \u201cSimon answered, \u2018Master, we\u2019ve worked hard all night and haven\u2019t caught anything.  But because you say so, I will let down the nets.\u2019\u201d  That word \u201cbut\u201d may represent Peter\u2019s very first surge of faith.  Lord, our nets are empty.  We\u2019ve pulled out all the stops and done everything we know how to do.  But\u2026just in case you do in fact have some clue as to what is going on in our humble profession, we\u2019ll give it a shot.

Whereupon their minds are seriously blown.   <\/em>

\u201cWhen they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.\u201d

What does Jesus say to every one of us?  \u201cListen to me.  Let me influence you.\u201d 

The miracles that tend to catch us completely off guard are the ones that happen when we let Jesus climb into our boat \u2013 when we actually let him join us in our everyday lives. 

Right now Jesus is in your marriage.  He is in that mess you\u2019re facing at work.  He is in your retirement planning.  Jesus is in your boat whether you\u2019re out in a storm or drifting aimlessly or anguishing over empty nets or wondering what to do with nets that are suddenly so full you suspect God may have just blessed you with an incredible gift \u2013 one you weren\u2019t even seeking.

As pastor and author Craig Barnes puts it in Sacred Thirst<\/em>, \u201cJesus can find us while we are on the way to the top or the bottom; on the way to a great career or a terrible divorce.  He can find us on the way to our first apartment or on the way to a nursing home; on the way to give birth or on the way to bury the dead.\u201d

Is Peter excited about this?  No.  He is horrified.  He is immediately overcome by the reality of his unworthiness. 

\u201cWhen Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus\u2019 knees and said, \u2018Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!\u2019\u201d  Please, Lord, get off my boat<\/em>. 

If Jesus had replied, \u201cYou\u2019re not kidding that you\u2019re a hot mess,\u201d he would have been absolutely, theologically correct.  But no such words need to be exchanged.  Peter is already right where he needs to be. 

He can now receive<\/em> grace because he knows how much he needs<\/em> grace.  Jesus says, \u201c\u2019Don\u2019t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.\u2019 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.\u201d

What does it mean to fish for people? 

Jesus uses a word that means, \u201cto capture alive or rescue.\u201d  It means to catch people so they don\u2019t fall<\/em>. 

Make no mistake.  We are continually surrounded by individuals, organizations, and social forces that are fishing for people for less honorable purposes.  DraftKings is trying to catch people.  They want to convince you that sports is far more fun when you\u2019re wagering your next mortgage payment on the outcome of a game.  Extremist groups on the Left and Right want to draw you into their way of interpreting what just happened on Capitol Hill.  Social media is trying to make you believe that you cannot live without social media.  Retail giants are fishing for your wallet, your calendar, and your brand loyalty.  

When our eyes are opened to the fact that Jesus is in our boat, it suddenly dawns on us that we, too \u2013 like Peter \u2013 have been given a new mission.  

We may continue to attend the same school, drive to the same office, and square off against the same stacks of dirty dishes. 

But now we realize that we are doing it all for a reason.  We are to help catch people so they don\u2019t fall short of God\u2019s incredible purposes for their lives.

That may turn out to be the miracle that not one of us saw coming. 

And it\u2019s no fish story<\/em>.
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.     A dad joke for fishermen:  What did the magician say to the fisherman?  Pick a cod, any cod. Mom\u2019s fishing wisdom:  Give a… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[129,11],"class_list":["post-3414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-discipleship","tag-miracles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3414"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3417,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414\/revisions\/3417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}