Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 5:1-11 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, 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. 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. 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 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. COMMENTARY: The account of the calling of the first disciples is common to all the Gospels, although they do not all tell it in exactly the same way. Mark (1:16-20) shows Jesus initially called the brothers Peter and Andrew, with the calling of James and John a separate, later event. Matthew (4:18-21) seems to follow Mark s basic outline. In John s Gospel, the first two disciples come to Jesus as the result of the witness of John the Baptist, and Andrew (one of the first two) subsequently calls his brother Peter. Luke tells the story in a somewhat different, and more developed, way. For him, the first major event of Jesus ministry is not the calling of the first disciples, but Jesus inaugural announcement of His mission in the synagogue of Nazareth. He also engages in several healings before calling His disciples. Only Luke includes the miraculous catch of fish here it is not a factor in the other Synoptic disciplecalling stories, and is found in John s Gospel, but only at the end, after Jesus Resurrection, when He appears to His disciples in Galilee. In Luke, Jesus does not formal extend an invitation; rather, He comforts Peter ( Do not be afraid ) and makes a declaratory statement, From now on you will be catching people. James and John play a relatively minor role, and Andrew is not mentioned at all. Once again, we see how the Gospels are not simply a straightforward word-for-word historical account, but reflect the sources, perspectives and theological messages of each evangelist, who has used the material available to him in a way that would respond to the specific needs of the community or communities for which he wrote.
1: the lake of Gennesaret 1 : this may be a Greek approximation of the Hebrew name Kinnereth ( harp-shaped ), the name given to the Sea of Galilee, even today. Others suggest it is from a Hebrew expression meaning garden of riches (or princely gardens?) referring to the rich, fertile farmland along its north-western coast. It is the same body of water called the Sea of Tiberias in John s Gospel. the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God : although the crowd here is certainly eager to hear Jesus preaching, this verse also stresses how important the Word of God is (both in the Bible and in the Church s Sacred Tradition), and highlights the need for us to respond to this hunger with solid, relevant and accessible teaching about Scripture and the Church s faith. Already in these early weeks of Jesus ministry, we see the degree to which He is attracting a substantial following (much like John the Baptist before Him). His message is obviously striking a chord with the common people of Galilee, and this receptiveness provides a dramatic contrast with the rejection and threats Jesus has just experienced in His own hometown. The word of God is a significant theme in Luke, used 5x in Luke (3:2; 5:1; 8:11; 8:21; 11:28) and 14x in Acts. Obviously, most of those listening to Jesus were Jews, the majority of whom would have been very familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. However, it seems that there was something unique about Jesus presentation and interpretation of those Scriptures, which enabled people to experience God s Word in a new, attractive and compelling way. They were not, therefore, ignorant of the Word of God, as if they were hearing it for the first time; they were hearing it in a way that gave it newness and relevance and power, that touched their lives. 2: he saw two boats there : although this may initially seem like an incidental and unnecessary detail, it will become important in a few verses, when Peter and those in his boat must summon this second boat to come and assist them, because the weight of the miraculous catch of fish is threatening to sink Peter s boat. 3: This is the first time we have met Simon-Peter in this Gospel. We can only imagine his shock at the audacity of this stranger who climbs into one of his boats and makes the unusual request of being rowed out further from shore. And yet, there seems to be something compelling about Jesus presence, in that Simon-Peter does not hesitate to do as he is asked. There is a brief moment of dramatic tension, and the reader/listener holds his breath: Simon-Peter has every reason to refuse (at which point the story would presumably end, and Jesus would go elsewhere). Will Peter obey or not? Given his fatigue and frustration, Simon cannot be in the best mood at this moment. He is ready to go home not to get back into his boat. The amazing thing is not that Simon responds favorably later, after seeing the miracle of the great catch, but that he responds favorably now to Jesus request to go out once again. (Richard Donovan; online at: www.sermonwriter.com) It seems, from this verse and v. 10, that Simon-Peter did not work alone, but was in some sort of partnership with James and John perhaps some form of fishery cooperative, in which the labour and the profits were shared between the partners 2. By using terms suggesting a pooling of interests and possessions, Luke also prepares the reader for the Galilean community in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41-47; 4:32-37) (Luke Timothy Johnson, Sacra Pagina: Luke, p. 89). Why would Jesus choose to teach the people from the boat? The context certainly seems to suggest that the pressure of the crowd had grown too great for comfort, and the setting of the boat would 1 Some sources spell the name as Ginnosar, and there is, in fact, an important kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee that bears that name. This kibbutz is particularly famous today, as the site where a well-preserved first-century fishing boat was discovered by chance during a drought in 1986 (http://jesusboat.com/imgs/site/site/boat.html). Although there is obviously no way of determining the original ownership of this ancient boat, some have romantically speculated that it could have been the very boat mentioned in today s Gospel, in which Jesus sat to teach the crowds. Needless to say, it is impossible to prove or disprove such a hypothesis on the basis of the available information. 2 One of the Greek terms that Luke uses to describe their relationship is koinōnos (literally, who has shares something in common with someone else ). It is linguistically related to one of the key terms used to describe the early Christians, koinōnia, a community; a participation in a common enterprise, in which one shares the risks and the benefits.
certainly allow Him more space, and a certain freedom He might not have had on land. But, as I had occasion to discover personally during my studies in Israel, it may also have been because it enabled Jesus voice to be heard by more people. When I was with some classmates on the Sea of Galilee, we were one of about 3 boats on the lake that day. Several of the boats were a long distance from us, and yet we were able to hear the conversations of their passengers with remarkable clarity. For reasons that I don t completely understand (perhaps because of the surrounding hills?), parts of the Sea of Galilee seem to have a remarkable acoustic quality that might have amplified Jesus voice so that He could be heard easily without straining. he sat down : in many parts of the ancient world, this was the position adopted by a teacher (note how, two Sundays ago, after standing up to read from the Scriptures, Jesus sits down to comment on the text, in His capacity as teacher of the community). In a certain sense, we could say that Jesus is taking the synagogue to the people, exercising His vocation as teacher of God s Word in an everyday setting where ordinary people could be found. 4: let down your nets for a catch : the command here is in the plural, so it is obviously addressed to everyone in the boat, and not simply to Simon-Peter. To be commercially viable, such fishing enterprises required people to work together as a team to haul in the heavy nets, especially when filled with fish; Peter could not have done this alone. 5: Master : the Greek Ἐπιστάτα, Epistata. This is an unusual title for Jesus in the New Testament, used 7x by Luke, and nowhere else (Jesus is more commonly called Διδασκαλος, Didaskalos, Teacher ). This is a term that literally means, one who stands over, and it often has military connotations, speaking of a mounted charioteer, or of a commander of troops in battle. In secular Greek, it is sometimes used for the person who is the leader of a community or group. The imagery almost seems to portray Simon-Peter as a foot soldier, answerable to Jesus for carrying out his orders faithfully which is precisely what he does! we have worked all night long but have caught nothing : it is difficult to judge the tone of Peter s reaction to Jesus. Was it a weary Really, there are no fish out there to be caught tonight, trust me? As a professional fisherman who had lived and worked on this body of water his entire life, Peter could certainly qualify as an expert on the best times and places to catch fish locally 3, and (especially after a long, tiring and fruitless night), he must have been a little impatient at the thought that a landlubber carpenter like Jesus somehow felt qualified to make such demands, which he knew from bitter experience to be ludicrous ( or so he thought!). Were his words a sharper reply, almost a rebuke of Jesus impertinence and apparent ignorance of the fishing situation? Our interpretation of the text depends to a certain degree on the tone with which we believe it was spoken and the text does not give us any indication here, so we can only speculate 4. if you say so, I will let down the nets : This is Peter s second act of obedience to Jesus request (the first was shoving off in the boats from the shore). Peter s response here is meant to be exemplary for all disciples: As much as it may not seem to make sense, if you ask it of me, Lord, then I will do it. Jesus followers are called to trust in His words, even when the demands can seem illogical or contrary 3 It seems that night was considered the best time to catch the fish in the lake. 4 Father Alfred McBride proposes a slightly different (and plausible) scenario in his The Human Face of Jesus: Meditation and Commentary on the Gospel of Luke: Some have speculated that the demand for carpenters for shipbuilding and maintenance may have caused Christ s change of residence from Nazareth to Capernaum. His close association with the sea made him familiar with boats, sailing and the fishing industry Simon would have known Jesus both as a popular speaker, and possibly also as a boat-builder and one capable of repairing ships. The fact that Jesus cured his mother-in-law of a fever indicates that they were seemingly close friends. Their relationship was familiar enough that Jesus could ask this favour from Simon, even though the working period was over and he was cleaning his nets Peter s practical nature prompted him to eye Jesus sceptically. He might be the best speaker the town ever heard. He was obviously a useful, skilled carpenter. He clearly needed more experience with fishing. (pp. 53-54). The author is not attempting to portray this as the first meeting between Jesus and Peter. Instead, he has been focusing solely on establishing Jesus' identity, unconcerned with his entourage. But at this point, historically, it is necessary to introduce Peter and his friends. (http://www.friktech.com/rel/lkcom1.htm)
to good sense. It is this willingness to subordinate our human judgements and criteria to God s word that inspired Tertullian s famous dictum: Credo quia absurdum (I believe because it is absurd); taken to extremes, however, this can lead to a type of fideism, which basically denigrates the role of the intellect and denies any attempts at understanding God s will. 6-7: The great catch brings the disciples to the brink of disaster the blessing is almost too much Too often, we measure obedience and charity with an eyedropper instead of a bucket, but eyedropper faith generates only eyedropper rewards. Jesus prefers giving more generously bucket rewards firehose rewards! (sermonwriter.com). In 6:38, Jesus will speak of the overflowing blessings that will be poured out on those who are generous in serving God: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. Presumably, many of Luke s readers/listeners would have been familiar with the many stories of the Old Testament in which God rewarded people with a supernatural abundance of food (the manna in the wilderness; the oil and grain provided to the widow of Zarephath, in I Kings 17); Elisha s feeding of 100 men with 20 loaves of bread, in II Kings 4). Such superabundance was a sign of God s presence and action, and this is certainly part of what Luke is emphasizing here. It is also a subtle anti-imperial criticism, since the Emperor insisted that all animals, birds and fish in the Empire belonged to him, and that he controlled them. Jesus demonstrates a control over nature that dwarfs and mocks the claims of Cæsar, and demonstrates that He (who, as God s Son, is in intimate union with the Father who created the world) possesses a strange and stunning power over the fish stocks in the lake. 8: Both Peter s falling at Jesus knees, and his use of the respectful term Kyrie ( Sir, Lord ) are portrayed by Luke as Simon-Peter s initial act of faith, and his acknowledgement of his own frailty and moral shortcomings. This is one of only two times in the Gospels 5 that Peter is identified by both his names, suggesting its significance, both in Peter s personal life, and in the Gospels. The fact that this prediction is so overwhelmingly fulfilled provides surety for [Jesus ] prediction concerning Peter, that he would be a netter of people (Luke Timothy Johnson, Sacra Pagina: Luke, p. 89). Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man : Simon-Peter s response to Jesus is very similar to that of Moses when faced with the burning bush, or Isaiah when summoned to his prophetic vocation by God (6:1-8): Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. The genuinely holy person is always conscious of his/her unworthiness, of the great distance that separates him/her from God and yet is also profoundly aware of the depth and breadth of God s love, mercy and forgiveness. Just as the angel will purify Isaiah s lips with a burning coal, so Jesus words are a form of purification for Peter, enabling him to take on this new and challenging role of catching people. 10: The identification of James and John as the sons of Zebedee (probably from a Hebrew name, Zavdai?) suggests that perhaps this Zebedee was a figure known to the community for which Luke was writing (perhaps he was a well-known early convert to following Jesus?) Do not be afraid : the same reassuring words that Gabriel addressed to the Virgin Mary at the time of the Annunciation, which will be used later in this Gospel by Jesus to comfort and support His disciples (in 12:7 and 12:32). From now on you will be catching people : as several commentators point out, the Greek verb used here for catching (ζωγρεω, zōgreō) specifically refers to catching fish while they are alive (an 5 The other is Peter s profession of faith in Matthew 16, in which Jesus confers upon him the power of the keys.
important distinction!). Catching fish has limits as a metaphor for winning disciples, because the fate of the caught fish is to be killed and eaten while the disciple's role is to live for Christ Disciples will no longer catch dead fish in order to sell them in the marketplace, but will catch people, giving them liberty (Joel B. Green, New International Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, p. 235). (www.sermonwriter.com) Most commentators seeking a biblical parallel or source for this expression have opted for the Heb dug, as in Jer 16:16, Ezek 47:10. This, however, is not satisfactory, for the verb dug is used only in the sense of to catch men for the purpose of punishment, and that is hardly the meaning here in this verse. Furthermore, dug is replaced in the later literature by the Heb. zud, Aram. zadē, which carries with it a variety of meanings i.e., to catch them physically, and, used metaphorically, to catch them by words, or by argument, sometimes by deception, other times by convincing them through argumentation or by dialectic. For example, one could be armed to hunt souls [Genesis Rabbah 66:6], or described as one who catches men with his mouth [Ibid., 63:15], or who catches people through their own mouths [Ibid.] or as a hunter catching in the house or catching in the field [Ibid.], or used of a scholar [Babylonian Talmud, tractate Eruvin 54b]. It is this root zud which is behind the expression fishers of men. It should be noted that this root meaning fishing is found in the New Testament in the proper name Beth Saida [Bethsaida]. The import of Jesus words is that in this particular case, the special vocation to which the converts were called was that of assisting Jesus in catching men, i.e., drawing them out of the waters of this world, into the net of the eschatological life of the age to come, even if all are not called to devote themselves exclusively and professionally to it [D.E. Nineham, St. Mark, p. 71] (Samuel Tobias Lachs, A Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, pp. 58-59). Jesus called Simon Peter to something far deeper than a fishing expedition. But it is also through the simplicities of our daily lives that Christ calls us to the vocation of love. Jesus begins with what we know, and helps us to see the hidden mystery what we do not seem to know buried in our regular working lives and pastimes Christ calls each of us to leave our nets and follow him, in the sense that Jesus asks us to let go of the way our occupations dominate our lives and thoughts. Let love command our hearts and works, and then we can make each task an opportunity for affection for others. (McBride, Human Face of Jesus, pp. 54-55). 11: They followed him : The verb akoloutheō is used in all the Gospels for more than a physical act; it denotes the spiritual allegiance of the disciple In Luke, the notion of following will take on special significance, because of the importance of Jesus journey toward Jerusalem (Luke Timothy Johnson, Sacra Pagina: Luke, p.89). It was not much that they left a couple of small boats and their nets; but it was all they had, even all their living. But this showed their love of Jesus, and their willingness to deny themselves, as really as if they had forsaken palaces and gold. All that Jesus asks is that we should leave all we have for him; that we should love him more than we do whatever friends or property we may possess, and be willing to give them all up when he requires it. (Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, p. St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 43: If Christ had first chosen a man skilled in public speaking, such a man might well have said: I have been chosen on account of my eloquence. If he had chosen a senator, the senator might have said: I have been chosen because of my rank. If his first choice had been an emperor, the emperor surely might have said: I have been chosen for the sake of the power I have at my disposal. Let these worthies keep quiet and defer to others; let them hold their peace for a while. I am not saying they should be passed over or despised; I am simply asking all those who can find any grounds for pride in what they are to give way to others just a little. Christ says: Give me this fisherman, this man without education or experience, this man to whom no senator would deign to speak, not even if he were buying fish. Yes, give me him; once I have taken possession of him, it will be obvious that it is I who am at work in him. Although I mean to include senators, orators, and emperors among my recruits, even when I have won over the senator I shall still be surer of the fisherman.
The senator can always take pride in what he is; so can the orator and the emperor, but the fisherman can glory in nothing except Christ alone. Any of these other men may come and take lessons from me in the importance of humility for salvation, but let the fisherman come first. He is the best person to win over an emperor. Remember this fisherman, then, this holy, just, good, Christ-filled fisherman. In his nets cast throughout the world, he has the task of catching this nation as well as all the others. (English translation by Sister Edith Barnecut, OSB; from Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels, Year C; online at the Center for Liturgy, St. Louis University) It is not hard to be a model disciple amid camera lights and press releases. But in the small corners of life, in those areas of service that will never be newsworthy or gain us any recognition, we must hammer out the meaning of obedience. Amid the obscurity of family and friends, neighbors and work associates, we find God. (Richard J. Foster, Money, Sex and Power)