FISHERS OF MEN

Reflections on the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, says Jesus. This invitation originally given to Peter, Andrew (unnamed), James, and John is also extended to us today. How do we become fishers of men? The liturgy walks us through a three-stage process.

1. Listen:

It all begins with a gloomy scene. Peter and Andrew are by the Lake of Gennesaret. After a long night of unfruitful toil, they have just disembarked from the boat. Jesus steps in and takes charge. He teaches the crowd and then advises Peter to “put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch”. Peter’s objection is relatable, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing”. Peter is a fisherman by profession and he still could not get a catch all night. Why would he listen to career advice from this carpenter/preacher? What could he possibly know about fishing? The challenge is to listen. We recognise the stress on the act of ‘listening’ in today’s readings. The opening line of today’s gospel reads, “The crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God”.

Jesus “sat down and taught the crowds from the boat”. Isaiah, in the first reading, “listens” to the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?” He then replies, “Here I am, send me!”. Listening is not just hearing. It is about obeying. Biblically, there is a direct connection between the verbs ‘to hear’ and ‘to obey’. The Old Testament word for “hearing” is sama and the same Hebrew word is also used for “obey”. In the New Testament, the Greek word for “hear” is akouw and the word for “obey” is hupakouo, which literally means “to hear under”. Peter is challenged to obey despite his disillusion. He is called to suspend his professional opinion. Andwhen he responds saying, “but at your command, I will lower the nets”, he produces an astonishing catch.

2. Give Up: 

The second part of the vocation to become fishers of men is the challenge to give up our prized treasures willingly. The first disciples do precisely that. The ending phrase of the gospel notes, “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him”. We can imagine how much of a treasured possession a boat is to a fisherman. And yet, they give up their boats in a heartbeat. Why? They realise there is something far greater at play here: the meeting between the gracious divinity and the sinful humanity. At the miraculous catch, Peter realises his limitations. Luke reports, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”.

Isiah undergoes a similar experience in the first reading when God’s vision is revealed to him. He says, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”. When faced with the revelation of God’s magnificent and gracious glory, both Isaiah and Peter are overcome by the realisation of their littleness, sinfulness, and uncleanliness. Somehow, this realisation does not belittle them. Instead, they are empowered. The Lord touches Isaiah’s mouth and declares, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged”. Jesus strengthens Peter saying, “Do not be afraid”.  This empowerment enables them to give up everything else. This experience also enables Paul to declare, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (second reading) and “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). 

3. Follow: 

The disciples ‘follow’ Jesus. The word used in verse 18 of today’s Gospel means “to cleave to another, conforming to his example”. In other words, these men left their nets, their boats and life as they knew it, to cleave to Jesus and learn from him! Giving up the boat does not mean retiring to a passive lifestyle. Following Jesus means committing to walk in his footsteps, going where he leads, and marching with him to reach those in the peripheries including the sick, hungry, possessed, lepers, tax collectors, the Samaritan woman, and the excluded.

Following him on his path through villages, cities, mountains, and to the Calvary and beyond. Following Jesus means taking nothing but the good news of salvation, forgiveness, liberation, reconciliation, healing, peace, and mercy to those who need them the most. Following Jesus means to be on the move, to embrace the culture of dynamic pilgrimage, and to find co-pilgrims from all nations, cultures, religions, political parties, and walks of life. Following Jesus means to be on a consistent search to cast nets into ‘deeper seas’.

What do these three stages mean to our vocation? Do we truly listen to obey? Do we dare to give up for something far more valuable? Do we risk everything to follow Jesus?