1 Corinthians 15. 1 – 11
Luke 5. 1 – 11
Fr Alex
Did you know, that throughout the Gospels, the disciples never catch a single fish – without the help of Jesus?
It doesn’t say much for these professional fishermen, does it!
In today’s story, despite having laboured all night and caught nothing (and despite the fact that fish are usually caught after dark); they do what Jesus suggests, and put out again. It’s probably the very last thing they would do, after a fruitless night of fishing.
And they make a miraculous catch. But the amazing thing is, that when they bring this enormous catch back to shore, they simply abandon it.
We might expect them to be grateful for the change in their fortunes; they can sell this great catch, and make a profit. But they don’t.
They give up their boats, and all their equipment. Because Jesus says a strange thing to them: that they will now be catching people.
Now, ‘catching people’ sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? Almost sinister. I imagine the horrible Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or something ghastly like that.
Indeed, in Old Testament prophecy, when fishing metaphors are used about people, they’re mostly a sign of God’s judgement.
Amos says: “The Lord has sworn by his holiness: The time is surely coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fish-hooks.” (4. 2)
Habakkuk says: “You have made people like the fish of the sea … The enemy brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net.” (1. 14-15)
Jeremiah says: “I am sending for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill.” (16. 16)
But Jesus completely turns this idea around. Rather than catching people and taking them away for death, like one might catch a fish; Jesus tells his followers that they will be catching people for life.
Hauling people up out of the darkness of the deep waters of their former lives, and into the new life and new freedom that he comes to bring. The literal translation of Jesus’ words is: “you will catch people alive.”
This is so compelling to the fishermen that they drop everything – their profitable catch, all their equipment, their boats – all their safety and security – and follow him.
Because Jesus has completely turned things around for them, too. In Jesus, they have discovered their vocation; which, luckily for them, isn’t to be great fishermen; it is to be great fishers-of-men, catchers of people.
We often speak of ‘vocation’ in the Church, but sadly it’s usually reserved to clergy; those who follow their ‘calling’ from God to become ordained. The words mean the same thing: ‘vocation’ is from the Latin ‘vocare’, meaning ‘to call;’ from the same root that gives us the word ‘vocal’, or ‘voice.’
But a vocation, a calling, is emphatically not something reserved to the clergy. It is for every Christian. When Christ, the Word of God, calls to you and says ‘follow me’ at your baptism, that is the beginning of your vocation as a Christian; the beginning of your life’s work.
That’s what makes this so compelling for Simon and the others: the call from Jesus’ own mouth – the word from the Word himself – to abandon the life that went before, and to follow him.
And I think that’s part of what has made the reign of Her Majesty so compelling, as we celebrate her 70 years on the throne. She has lived her life in total commitment to her dual vocations as monarch and Christian – and of course as wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and all the rest.
But what I find really interesting about this morning’s passage, is that it reflects in form the place where we celebrate and renew this vocation, day after day and week after week: the Eucharist. They hear the word of God, the teaching of Jesus – just as we do in our Liturgy of the Word.
Jesus provides them with abundant food, in the catch of fish – just as he will for us in a short time, in the Eucharist – the very food of abundant and eternal life.
Simon falls down on his knees and confesses his sinfulness – just as we began by confessing our sins and seeking God’s forgiveness.
Jesus calls them away with him to share the good news with others – just as we will be sent out, as soon as we have eaten this life-giving food, to share the life that we have received with others.
But the observant among you will notice that it doesn’t mirror our Eucharist exactly; the order is slightly different.
Simon had no idea where his call would lead. He needed the miracle to reveal Jesus’ power to him. He confessed his sinfulness, and tried to send Jesus away; he didn’t feel he was worthy enough even to witness the miracle.
But we are different, because we are people who are living our call already; we have already discovered our vocation as Christians, in our baptism; we are living the miracle of God’s extraordinary love.
So we begin by confessing our sinfulness, because we know that it is in Jesus that we find forgiveness. We then devote ourselves to listening to the word of God, the teachings of Jesus, because we know that they are the words of truth and life.
We receive abundant food in the Eucharist – not a huge meal that will fill us up for a time but leave us hungry again, like a large catch of fish: but food that will fill us forever with life.
And we go out, compelled like those first disciples to share what we have experienced with others. This is the Christian vocation, this is our calling: and it is a calling we recommit ourselves to, every time we meet together as we do now, and share this great meal with one another. Amen.