5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C - Gospel Reflection

Luke 5:1-11

Any good fisherman would have known the necessity of washing his net after he had been fishing. Along with fish, the nets would have also caught seaweed, pebbles, seashells, driftwood, and the like. These could potentially cause small rips in the nets, which would tear even more when used to catch fish again. If left to sit, a horrible stench would build up in the debris and bacteria would grow, ultimately decreasing the lifespan of the nets. Filthy nets can also affect the quality of the catch.

            Simon would have understood this well; fishing was his job, his life. He had been out on the Lake of Gennesaret all night. He must have been exhausted, but he had been out so long, he was well aware of the many things he had caught that were not fish. Having been unsuccessful in catching fish, one can only imagine Simon’s defeat, as this was his livelihood. Cleaning those nets, a visible sign of his failure, was probably the last thing he wanted to do, but it was his responsibility so he did it nonetheless. Unknowingly, Simon was setting the scene for the teacher who was preaching not too far away.

            Imagine how eager the fishermen must have been to go home, to forget about the hardships of the night before, and to get away from the lake. Then Jesus comes along, gets into Simon’s boat, and asks him to go out a little ways. Perhaps Simon objected and refused at first, only to give in as he was too tired to put up a fight, or maybe, seeing the crowds, he decided to heed this stranger’s request. Whatever the reason, he did as Jesus asked and heard Him teach. Of course, Christ’s teachings were not common knowledge; He was not a typical teacher. His words must have been churning in Simon’s mind when Jesus turned to him and made another, more demanding request. He does not point out that there are fish in the water, or any indication of them being there. He does not even say that Simon will catch something, He simply asks him to lower his nets for a catch. Something must have struck Simon about the teacher before his eyes, because he then did as Jesus asked, which would dirty the nets again, although he knew that there was nothing in the water. But there was something in the water.

            In taking that chance of blind faith, Simon bore fruit through Christ out of nothing. Had they known that there were fish in the waters, there would be nothing significant about this happening, but the lake was empty, and the fishermen knew that too well. When they lifted the nets out of the water and into the boats, they were overflowing with fish. That one act of faith, that one response to Christ, made all of the difference. At that moment, Simon realized that Jesus was no ordinary teacher; he realized that he was in the presence of someone far greater than himself.

 Perhaps Simon knew now, that after meeting this teacher and experiencing both His teachings and works, his life would never be the same. Perhaps he was afraid of what was to come, so he made sure that Christ was aware of who he was (although He knew from the beginning), and tried to persuade Him to leave. Simon grasped at his last chance of his formal way of life: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” But Jesus was patient with him, assuring him “Do not be afraid.” Then, he called the men’s life as fishermen to its culmination: “...from now on you will be catching men.”

            Just as He elevated the lives of those fishermen, so too does Jesus offer us fulfillment in all that we do and all that we are. We are not all called to the same height as the Apostles, in the sense of our earthly occupations. Nevertheless, we are all called to that same perfection of love and faith. We too are to be “fishers of men” in the way particular to our vocations in life. Finally, Jesus Christs offers all of us that same security that he offered to Simon, if we just have faith in Him: “Do not be afraid.”