Epiphany V

Epiphany V
Do not fear. From now on you will catch men.

Jesus always invites us to take one step beyond our comfort zone.

That one step is a journey into faith, and trust. It is always an encounter with the reality of God intersecting our world and our lives. That intersection always manifests in miraculous ways. Sometimes the miracle alters the natural world.

Miracles are more often than not in the eye of the beholder. Many of us probably don’t see the miraculous aspect of the story of the fish. That is because most of us do not fish for a living. Fishing may be our hobby or recreation but it is not our life. It was for Simon Peter.

God designed this miracle for fisherman, Peter and his brother Andrew as well as their business partners James and John.

Jesus invited Peter and the others that specific day and that specific hour at that specific location to take a step forward into the life of faith. Peter was, at best, reluctant. He knew the best time to catch fish was at night. He knew daylight was the worst time for fishing. And he knew the coast line was the worst place. He knew this based on generations of experience. From Peter’s perspective the optimum time for fishing was over. It was now time to wash the nets and prepare for the next night’s labors.

From the practical experience of men who made their living from fishing, Jesus’ invitation to let down their nets was absurd. Yet, they did it. They did it reluctantly. They did it with no expectation of reward. They did it from simple obedience to some one they had begun to admire and trust.

They had that tiny mustard seed of faith that was willing to obey the word of God however strange and impossible that word might seem to them.

The purpose of a miracle is to elicit faith. Had Peter and the others resisted God’s word they would have missed their moment. They would have missed the miracle that God had planned for them personally. This was their moment of choice. This was their moment to say yes to God.

The disciples never really understood Jesus until after the resurrection. But, unlike others of their generation, they had that mustard seed of faith that we see revealed in this story.

Peter obeyed. He obeyed not through fear. He certainly had no expectation of reward. He knew he wasn’t going to catch any fish. He obeyed in the way God invites us all to obey His word. He obeyed through love.

Without really understanding what was happening, Peter had entered into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. At this point it was still a tenuous friendship. But, that is how our relationship with God begins.

Peter and the others had to unlearn so much before they could learn the most important lesson. They had to surrender their self will to divine will. Jesus’ invitation to let down their nets was one small step in the unlearning process. It was one small step in learning to live by grace through faith.

The miracle was not only real for Peter but overwhelming. Jesus, by the power of God, had brought the fish to the fisherman. All the fisherman had to do was trust what Jesus asked and follow his direction.

At this moment, Peter recognized he was in the Divine Presence. That is why he shouts out to Jesus depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man. Peter had a deep appreciation for the holiness of God. He also had a deep appreciation for his own sin.

It was Peter’s faith that led him to obey. It was Peter’s humility that led him to confess his sinful nature. Faith and humility are two essential qualities for a personal relationship with God.

Peter wasn’t perfect and he knew it. That is why Jesus chose him and the other disciples to become his ambassadors, his apostles, to the world. It would take awhile. The record of scripture shows how throughout his life, even after the resurrection, Peter sometimes misunderstood the gospel and made mistakes. His faith and his humility helped him perceive his own sin and seek clarification and direction from God.

One of the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven is: “whoever is faithful in a little will be faithful in much.”

Jesus’ invitation to the fisherman that day seems fairly trivial. It was an important exercise. It was a significant step forward for them. As they stepped forward in obedience by faith, they experience the abundance of divine blessing.

Only a few years later, the abundance would come in a different form. It would come as thousands of people heard their eyewitness account of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of salvation. They would become the world evangelists, the fishers of men, going to places they never thought would hear the Good News let alone receive the Good News.

Within their life time, people throughout Western Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia would rejoice to receive the gift of eternal love in Jesus Christ. Who would have expected it? Who could have predicted it? It began with a simple invitation and a reluctant obedience. But, it was an obedience grounded in the personal relationship God offers in Jesus Christ.

How is God leading you in your journey of faith? Where is God asking you to trust his word and obey? Obedience to Christ is not an obedience of fear. It is the trust of a friend who has shown us in the scriptures and in the apostolic witness that Jesus loves us and wants the best for us in this life as well as the next.

Miracles come when we obey the revealed word of God by grace through faith in love.

It only requires the smallest bit of faith to experience the miracles of God. Those miracles will be real. They will be personal. They will help us in a very practical way. They will deepen our love for God and they will help us reach out to others with God’s love.

Miracles are not magic. Miracles are not a reward. Miracles are the new way of living for those who live by grace through faith with humility. Miracles happen when we hear God’s word, believe God’s word and obey God’s word immersed in the real presence of divine love in Jesus Christ.