Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

“And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.’” +In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
 
One of the most significant things we can observe from today’s Gospel lesson is that Jesus is so much more than a miracle worker. Yes, He can turn water into wine, and He can cause fishermen to have a huge catch of fish even under poor conditions. What we can observe from today’s passage is that Jesus is very skilled in transforming lives. He knows people, and He knows how to grow them up and to turn them from ordinary people doing everyday things into extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.

St. Luke’s account begins with Jesus engaging in His public ministry. It started with His teaching at the synagogue in Nazareth, and then Jesus went to other synagogues to preach. But Jesus’ teaching ministry is not limited to the synagogue. Jesus is also preaching in public places. Here we see that Jesus has drawn such a large crowd that people cannot see or hear Him. Thus, Jesus decides to get into a boat and go out onto the lake. This will help Him be both seen and heard. And Jesus chooses Simon’s boat to go out in. Now Luke introduces Simon to us here, but we know from St. John’s Gospel that Simon has already met Jesus, back when Andrew introduced his brother Simon to Jesus.

When Jesus is finished speaking to the crowd, He turns to Simon and tells him to put out his nets for a catch. Simon, the experienced fisherman, tells Jesus that they had already done some fishing during the night, when fishing conditions are ideal, but caught nothing. Nevertheless, Simon follows Jesus’ command and puts out the nets for a catch. Simon’s transformation from fisherman into Jesus’ disciple has begun. Jesus begins the process by inviting Simon to do something that seems impossible in the natural—to try to fish in the middle of the day at a place where they had already been unsuccessful when fishing conditions were better.

Simon’s faith and trust in Jesus is rewarded. A miracle happens! Simon and others caught so many fish that the nets were starting to break, and they had to call for help from the other boats to bring in the catch. Simon knows what is going on. Clearly, it is not because of his skill as a fisherman that they caught so many fish. He already knew that conditions were not good for fishing. Furthermore, he also remembered that they had caught nothing the night before when conditions were right. Simon knows that this is a miraculous catch, that God is present. And Simon realizes that Jesus is no mere man, but that He is God.

Filled with this realization, Simon is moved to fall at Jesus’ feet, and exclaim to Him, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” At this moment, Simon is overwhelmed with thoughts of his own unworthiness. He knows that he is a sinner in the presence of the Son of God. This is a sign that Simon is ready to follow Jesus and be transformed.

Jesus, knowing Simon’s heart and the hearts of the other men present: James and John, who were Simon’s fishing partners, invites them all to go deeper with Him. Jesus says to Simon, “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” With these words, Jesus is telling Simon (and James and John as well) that life that they have known it is over. Jesus is going to take them and transform them is something much more than they ever thought they could be.

Here we see Jesus at work: First He teaches. And He invites others to participate in the work with Him. He does this by inviting Simon to take Him out on the lake in Simon’s boat. Jesus then follows up His teaching with a sign or a miracle—the big catch of fish. This is facilitated by Simon’s trust and faith in Jesus by simply obeying Jesus’ command to put out the nets for a catch. Simon’s obedience facilitated Jesus performing a miracle. And when Simon sees the miracle, he is cut to the heart. He knows that he is an unworthy sinner. There is no pretense or guile. No assertion of his own spiritual bona fides. Simon, as he is confronted with the reality of the presence of God, simply surrenders and acknowledges his own wretchedness. Now Jesus has Simon’s full attention. And Jesus says to Simon, in effect. Don’t worry about your sinfulness, Simon, because I am going to transform you into something wonderful. I am going to make you into my partner in building the Kingdom of God, and I am going to use you to bring others into relationship with Me.

Where are you in your relationship with Jesus? If you’re here, it means you have at least been introduced to Him. Maybe He’s asked you to do something for Him, something straightforward, but not too difficult, like giving Him a ride on your boat so that He can speak to the crowd from the lake. He’s invited you in and you’re watching Him at work. But then Jesus asks you to do something that doesn’t seem to make any sense to you. It doesn’t sound like something that is possible for you to accomplish. How have you responded? If you did what He asked, what happened? A miracle? What was the impact on you?

Simon had his first breakthrough with Jesus because he was willing to surrender and trust Him. And it was then Simon realized who Jesus was. This realization broke him, broke down all his pride and self-sufficiency. Now he is ready to be clay in the hands of the master potter.

Now we know that while Simon has his first breakthrough here, we know that he will face more challenges ahead. But we also know that Jesus will not give up on him, that Jesus will always be praying for Simon, and working in his heart to grow him up into one of the heroes of the faith.

For you and me, it comes down to two things: First, do we trust Jesus enough to do what He asks us to do? And second, when we come to the realization of our own sinfulness, does that knowledge cause us to despair or to go deeper with Jesus? One of the most encouraging things about this story is not simply that Jesus has the power to do the impossible, but that He wants to use people who are broken sinners to partner with Him in His work of building the Kingdom and bringing salvation to the lost.

What Jesus did for Simon and James and John is what He wants to do for each of us. He wants to turn us into men and women who are “catchers of men.” Jesus wants to help us increase our faith, trust Him, and surrender ourselves to Him so that He can heal and deliver us from our sin and transform each of us into His instruments for the salvation of the world.

+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit