BROADCASTS.com

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water\u2019s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, \u201cPut out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.\u201d Simon answered, \u201cMaster, we\u2019ve worked hard all night and haven\u2019t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.\u201d When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink (Luke 5:1-7).

This is a beloved miracle story. Its in every Children\u2019s Bible and every Sunday School curriculum and sneaks into many VBS programs as well. Despite this familiarity, I think it is worth spending some time with it today, paying attention to Simon\u2019s relationship to Jesus.

We do not know this upfront, but it begins in a place many can empathize with: a lack of resources. Simon and his cohorts have been fishing unsuccessfully all night. They are likely grumpy and worried. Grumpy because hopes kept get dashed all night until finally, as the sun rose, they gave up. Worried because they had nothing to sell and therefore nothing to provide for their families.

As they were cleaning their nets to prepare for the next night\u2019s fishing (probably wondering if it would be better and how to tell wives and kids, they had nothing), along comes this new rabbi wanting to use Simon\u2019s boat as a pulpit. We can almost hear him muttering, \u201cFine, whatever. But not too long, when I\u2019m finishing cleaning, I\u2019m going home to bed\u201d.

At this point, we might say that Simon is a volunteer. He has a boat which Jesus can use while he doesn\u2019t need it. Is that where you are in your relationship with Jesus? Volunteering, but not invested. Hanging around the fringes, unwilling to get connected. If you want to stay there, you might want to quit here. Jesus isn\u2019t done with Simon or with you.

Jesus invites him to go deeper. "Look," he says, "we're already in the boat, come, let's go where the water is deeper and see if we can't catch some fish. Let's see if we can't fix this lack of resources." It was absurd, expecting to catch fish in the middle of the day. Simon\u2019s response is like our shoulder shrug, \u2018Whatever.\u2019

Jesus' presence in the boat makes all the difference. The results are overwhelming. His nets almost tearing apart, his boat almost swamped by the weight and wealth of this tremendous catch, Simon does everything he can to ensure that this bounty is safely hauled aboard. He calls over his fishing buddies, and together they fill the second boat to the sinking point.

Understand what is happening here. Jesus has been proclaiming the arrival of God\u2019s kingdom. He has healed the sick and cast out demons. He\u2019s going to ask Simon to join him (more about that on Monday). First, Jesus wants to show Simon that God\u2019s resources are without limit. That is why Jesus always provides abundantly more food and wine then needed. Scarcity is result of sin and evil. Jesus has power to cast this out as well, to set people free from the worry about how to survive tomorrow.

He is going to call Simon to be a disciple. With this miracle, Jesus is saying to Simon, trust me. Its not that Simon can take the fish along and sell some each day. Rather, Jesus is inviting Simon to believe that he can do this again tomorrow.

Jesus does not typically walk into our lives when we are in control, when we are flush with our own success. He tends to enter our places of vulnerability and confusion, failure and sin. He likes to get us out there in the deep water where we don\u2019t know how to succeed. We tend to gravitate to those Christians who know how to do it, who have all the answers. But Jesus saves the world through humility, gentleness, compassion, sacrifice and trust. Those are the qualities he desires in us.

We will not grow as Jesus\u2019 disciples if we stay where we've always been. Jesus beckons us, invites us to come deeper, to grow, to trust him more. But to trust him more, we need to let go of what gives us security today.