Thursday, January 24, 2013

Luke 5:1-11


Dear Luke,
What marvelous words!  I love the stories of Jesus’ healings—they do something inside me, lifting up my heart, confirming within me that he is more than just a brilliant man who has a great way with words.  His healings and others miracles give evidence to a side of him that is more powerful than any ordinary man.  I hear these stories and find confirmation of his divinity.  I hope that someday the same is true for you.
It would be easy to follow a healer like Jesus if he didn’t have teachings such as the ones you mentioned.  His words had such an inflammatory effect on some—while they were certainly not unprecedented in the Jewish tradition, I’m not sure any of us react well to being directly confronted and accused of being unfaithful to our religious tradition.  I probably wouldn’t deal well with it, either.  It doesn’t excuse the mob’s reaction, but as we have pointed out, the words of Jesus challenge us to the core, and if we are to follow him, it is not a decision to be made lightly, for it is not easy to follow the man.  The elements and circumstances of the decision to follow Jesus are what we find next in the story.
As you mentioned, once word spread across the community, crowds flocked to Jesus, drawn by his power and his wisdom.  They wanted to be healed just as much as they wanted to see the man heal others.  I don’t know if I could ever tire of watching Jesus command a sick woman to rise up and be well!  These crowds began to be so numerous that he could scarcely find the air to speak, and so he had to find creative ways to create some distance between himself and the crowd.  For example, on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, people pushed so close in order to hear him speak that he was forced to improvise.  Fisherman had come in from their task and left their boats at the shore while they washed their nets, so he boarded one of these boats and asked the owner, a man named Simon, to put it out a little from shore, so that the crowd might not trample him in their excitement to hear him!  He sat down on the edge of the boat and taught the crowd while he was a little way from the shore.  I can picture the individuals at the front of the crowd, pushing deeper into the water, the gentle waves lapping at their knees as their hearts strain forward to hear the teachings of this man.  One can almost sense their eagerness as they inch forward, some more daring than others, getting as close to the man as possible.  I wonder if a few didn’t even dare to swim out and hang on the side of the boat.
When his teaching had concluded and the crowd had begun to dissipate, he turned to Simon and, with a curious twinkle in his eye, asked him to put the boat out farther, into the deeper water, that the nets might be let down once more for a catch.  He said it as though it was a simple request, but it was met with weariness and resistance.  Simon tried to be polite, for he had hung on every word with the same passion as the crowd, but his exhaustion won out in his reply.
Master, all night long we have labored in these waters.  Our nets returned empty to the boats each time, though we tried everything.  I will do this because you command it this one time because you ask.
His wooden motions revealed his physical exhaustion, but there was something in his face, some sense of wonder at what the man was asking him to do.  He was skeptical that this teacher knew something about fishing that Simon did not, but he also knew that the teachings he had heard today revealed that this man was more than just your typical rabbi. 
Still, it was a shock when the bets went down and were suddenly filled with so many fish that they began to break.  The boat began to rock back and forth as Peter raced from one end to the other, trying to comprehend what he was witnessing.  His eyes raced from the overflowing nets to the jubilant face of Jesus, who was clearly filled with joy at the scene unfolding before him.  As he listened to Simon signaling his partners to come help, Jesus’ shoulders began to shake with laughter at the look of urgency on Simon’s face.  Simon was so caught up in the task of fishing that he failed to notice Jesus again until both boats were so filled with fish that they threatened to sink.  As the water lapped perilously close to the ship’s railings, Simon saw Jesus and the abundance within him and fell down before him, his face filled not with thoughts of fish but with deeper things, with a recognition that the teacher in his boat was more than a brilliant man who understood the prophets and the art of fishing.  This man held within him every treasure that Simon desired in life and some that he hadn’t begun yet to understand, and Simone saw himself, covered in fish and human exhaustion, and all he knew to do was to fall at Jesus’ knees.  The words he spoke were scarcely audible, but Jesus heard every one of them, spoken from the depths of Simon’s heart.
I am a sinful man, Lord, and I beg you to go away from me.
At that moment the fish barely mattered, as James and John, the sons of Zebedee, paused, too, to watch the scene unfold, to see clearly that the rest of their lives would never be the same because this man had boarded their partner Simon’s boat.  Somehow, over the commotion of the fish clamoring for release, they heard the reply of Jesus as if it was spoken directly to each of them.
Do not fear; you will no longer be fishermen, but rather you will spend your days catching people.
The fish were hauled in and the boats were brought to shore, but everything was done differently, as though they knew it was the last time they would ever do so as their life’s work, as though they knew that these fish didn’t matter the way they once had.  What was a record catch for the three of them was now a footnote in the pages of the histories of their lives, and the nets were torn would not be mended by their calloused hands.  When they finally reached the shore and the witnesses that had gathered at the sound of Simon crying for help, it was all left behind as Simon, James and John left everything to follow Jesus.
Luke, I pray that this story of call might not intimidate you, but would rather amaze and astound you at the heartfelt reaction of three men to Jesus.  I know that many struggle with this story—they want to follow Jesus, but fear leaving everything behind.  I do not promise that following Jesus will be easy, and I assure you that there are things that you will have to leave behind that, right now, seem like things you could never imagine setting down.  But when you are confronted with the majesty of Jesus, no sacrifice seems too small.  We all struggle with what to set down and what Jesus calls us to hold on to, and I dare not say that I have figured it all out, but I will pledge that we get help along the way, that we don’t have to figure it out for ourselves.  Jesus calls us to a heartfelt, total conversion when he calls us, and we are to leave behind the sin and trappings of our old life, and I promise that it is not easy, but I assure you that it will not be as intimidating when you are called as it seems now, weighing the pros and cons of discipleship from an emotionally removed perspective.  When Jesus calls, just as Simon, James and John recognized, you see that everything you gain in Jesus far outweighs what you will ever leave behind.
Sincerely,
Theophilus 

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