Fish for People—Luke 5:1-11

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Growing up, my dad had this side business as a handyman, and he would always take me along to do little things with him. Over the years we remodeled bathrooms, and we finished basements, we hung drywall and we built decks. But we weren’t professionals. I wasn’t even an amateur. I was just a kid who did what he was told. But my dad usually knew what he was doing, and in the end, the jobs got done.

But I’ll never forget when a friend of my dad’s, a professional contractor named Mike, helped us frame out some walls for an addition to my parents’ home. When I tell you that he put us both to shame, that is truly an understatement. Mike put up three of the four outside walls by himself in the time it took the two of us to raise just one. I still don’t know how he did it! But he was a professional. He followed in the footsteps of his father, much like James and John, and he’d been doing this work for as long as he could remember. So when it came to building homes, he was an expert.

And if Mike was at my church, he’d probably be glad to listen to my preaching. But if I showed up to one of his construction sites, and I started suggesting a better way to do things, well I think he’d either laugh until I went home, or he’d ignore me completely. But that’s exactly what Jesus is doing to Simon, Andrew, James, and John. He’s stepping into their area of expertise, into the place they call home, into their livelihood and a big part of their identities, and Jesus is saying I know better than you. And I doubt Simon really believed him. But he didn’t ignore him. And he didn’t start laughing. Instead, Simon said, “We worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” So, they go out to deeper water, they drop their nets, and then Simon’s entire life changes.

Most of us are happy to let Jesus handle some part of our lives. We’ll give him an hour on Sunday mornings, we’ll trust him to provide moral teaching to our children, and we might even give him ten percent of our income. But here, Luke’s gospel leaves us wondering how we would respond if Jesus asked for more. Because when it comes to the things that really matter, we usually say, “I know what I’m doing,” and, “I don’t need your help.” We say, “You can have my Sunday mornings, but you’re not going to get my Friday nights. You can hold my sorrows, but you’re not going to heal my anger. You can speak to me about the things of heaven, but you’re not going to decide who I forgive.” Because when it comes to our own lives, we think we’re the experts.

But this text is a reminder that God knows better than us. And the good news is that he wants better for us. He wants our nets to be so full of life, that we need to ask for help to reel our blessings in. But, he won’t make us row to deeper waters if we’re committed to staying on shore. And he won’t force us to try again if we’re content with empty hands. So perhaps this week’s sermon can be an invitation to cast your nets and see what happens. Perhaps it can be an invitation to push out to deeper waters and see what Jesus can do. Because, even if you’re filled with doubt as you follow in obedience, one little “if you say so…” can still lead to a miracle.