LK 5: 1-11 

Laterally Luke…Epiphany 5…Revised 2019

I can’t approach this passage without remembering the day when, long ago, & in a new parish, I wandered at random into a Sunday School class. Only to hear the teacher explaining that when Jesus tells Simon to 'put out a little from the land’, He means they need to break off some more land into the water because fish needed more room to swim in! A warning to me & to us all: don’t assume everyone ‘gets’ even what we believe are seemingly obvious bits of Scripture. (Needless to say, we instituted training soon after for S.S. teachers & would-be teachers!)

LK tells us the crowd ‘presses upon Jesus’ to hear the word of God. How can we encourage people to ‘press upon Jesus’ in our endeavour to discern the Truth in Him Who Is the Word of God? (The God I've come to recognize during life's journey doesn't fit the One some preachers peddle to keep their particular hobby-horse galloping!)

That I am acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ, is evidence that what Jesus teaches when we 'press upon him' in the right Spirit may be hard going, but it's always lovingly & acceptingly inclusive. (Remember Nazareth from the last two Sundays!)  

The scene by the lake is idyllic, but when Jesus teaches, someone is always going to be disturbed. Our apple cart - or fishing boat - may well be over-turned. Rather than being comforted (except in IS’s sense in Ch.40) & sustaining the status quo, Jesus’ Gospel is always challenging, re-shaping, re-directing. What we must discern here is that Jesus’ teaching & call will inevitably begin to bite into lives. It's easy enough for Simon to humour Jesus by 'putting out a little from the land’, in itself not all that  demanding an exercise. Are we, though, too easily settling for undemanding forms of discipleship’? If so, isn’t it time to fall down on our knees & move on like Simon? 

Whatever Jesus tells us when He teaches, it’s sure to invite us outside our comfort zone. Once He starts telling people who know all about fishing where the fish are shoaling, He's moving the goal posts.Yet it's Simon & his fellow fishers who’re out of their depth, not Jesus! Must we admit we’re out of our depth, too, before we can progress our discipleship? Simon's falling down at Jesus' knees is not only a first step but also a sign of what lies ahead for those who will follow Him.

Brian

Afterthought: Simon's admission that he has 'missed the mark' (Gk.) is a good first step for any of us to take. But, what to do next? Instead of digging out more land for fishes, let’s try, instead, launching out into the deep-ness of YHWH God.