One More Time

Luke 5:1-11

Give up or try again?

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 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. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 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." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. - Luke 5:1-11

What I want to know is, who got the fish?

I know that's not the point of this story. It is about having faith in Jesus, which, frankly, doesn't inspire a lot of people today.

No one remembers what Jesus was teaching, so what inspired everyone and got them talking was the number of fish caught.

This is like the boss who comes to your desk at the end of a long day of cold-calling customers. He looks at your list and tells you to call one of the numbers you just called.

You explain that you just spoke to that person and they were not interested, but he insists, so you call again. A different person answers the phone this time, and you make the largest sale of the quarter.

What do you learn from that?

Is that the point of this, to keep trying even after you are exhausted and want to go home?

Now, we wouldn't say that was a miracle, would we? I know I would be a little bit peeved. It almost makes it look like I didn't do my job all day.

But think about this. No one remembers the struggles and the failures. They remember their successes.

At the end of the story, Peter leaves the fish. His family will sell them and benefit from the large catch. He and the others in the boat follow Jesus.

Did they follow him because he knew where to cast their nets? Or did he inspire them to want to inspire and help others?

We might think they were easily swayed, but we don't know what he was teaching them from the boat. He said they would be fishing for men, so he was acknowledging their skill and talent, while offering them a new opportunity.

Use your skills helping me, he tells them.

What does that tell us about our skills and talents? Are we using them effectively?

Maybe, after a long day when we feel we have accomplished very little, if anything meaningful at all, we should take a breath, offer up our struggle to God, and try one more time.

More to come...