Daily Devotion – February 1, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Luke 5:1-11
5:1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,
5:2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
5:3 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.
5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.
5:7 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.
5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
5:9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;
5:10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who are partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
5:11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Here is a miracle, a sign by Jesus similar to the sign at the wedding at Cana. Jesus sends fishermen out after they have finished for the day, when they are not expecting anything amazing. They follow his instructions, just as the servants had done at the wedding at Cana. Suddenly there were more fish than the fishermen could possibly even handle, in much the same way as there was suddenly more wine than any wedding host could ever use.

The abundance of God is something hard to put into words. In the wedding at Cana story, we never hear the reaction of the bride and groom or the guests to Jesus’s miracle. But in this story, Peter got to say and do something in response to this amazing sign: He fell down at Jesus’s knees and told Jesus to go away because Peter felt sinful and low in Jesus’s holy presence. But Jesus takes Peter’s comments in stride and tells Peter that he will henceforth be fishing for people. Jesus is glad Peter recognizes the miracle as a holy thing, and invites Peter to take part in the many miracles to come.

If we live in a community of faith that has experienced the Holy Spirit’s leading, and we have seen God at work, at that moment we recognize God’s miracle, God invites us, too, to participate in further miracles. Perhaps the true miracle then is that it is not someone else who are doing the miracle, but that God is inviting us, ourselves, our very bodies into the work. Each local church’s mission from God will use the gifts and energies of the members of the church to participate in the miracle.

Peter could never have imagined, when Jesus told him he’d be fishing for people, how many people would eventually be caught by Peter and the other disciples! The early church was formed by the witness of these disciples, and through the centuries the church is Peter’s legacy. The great catch of fishes becomes Christianity across the ages. We too have our role. What will it be?

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for wanting us to participate in your work with you. Help us keep watching for your miracles in the world and take a chance to participate in your work in our own neighborhoods.  Amen.