CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: Openness, Repentance, and Trust

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

- Luke 5:1-11

Do you remember what you were doing when Jesus called you? When your life was changed through an encounter with the Living God? Most of us do not. We might talk about our baptism as the beginning of our Christian journey, or we might share a story or two about a time when we felt God’s presence and knew that things were different because of that presence. Maybe we don’t know exactly when or how Jesus called us—or if he ever did.

I suspect Simon Peter struggled with the same question. There are many different stories of the call of Peter in our gospels. In John, John the Baptist’s preaching led Peter to Jesus. In Mark, Peter is appointed as one of the 12 apostles, called out of the crowds that gathered to listen to Jesus. And in Matthew, Peter is called along with Andrew, James and John while they mended their nets on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Of all of these stories, I think Luke’s is the most interesting. In Luke’s story, it is morning. The fishermen have been out all night on the Sea of Galilee, with no reward for their labors. There is no catch of fish, but the empty nets still need to be cleaned, and there is work to be done.

Jesus comes to fishermen exhausted from a night’s labors, asking Simon (who will become Peter) to set out into the water again, so that the Good News may be proclaimed. Then, Jesus sits down and, when he has finished preaching, asks the fishermen to let down their nets one more time. There is a miraculous catch, almost more fish that either boat can carry, and yet the newly called disciples abandon it all and follow Jesus.

In some ways, this is a clear and straightforward call story. Peter and his companions leave everything and follow Jesus, fishermen turned evangelists. But there are three details in this story that change everything: openness, repentance and trust.

Openness: Peter and his companions are tired. They have worked all night, and they have the unpleasant task of cleaning nets after fruitless work. And yet, when Jesus asks, Peter pulls the boat back into the water. Peter is open to new things. He says yes to a holy invitation. Before Peter says yes to the call to fish for people, he says yes to the work of setting up his boat and heading offshore. This is the way calling works: the big calls (like fishing for people) build upon the small calls (like carrying the Word of God offshore after a long night). When we begin to say yes to small invitations and opportunities, we start to see God’s bigger invitations and the holy possibilities that are waiting for us.

Repentance: Peter’s first response to the miraculous catch of fish is not entitlement, gratitude or even greed. Instead, it is a recognition that only God could have brought forth such abundance in the middle of the day, in the wrong part of the sea. When we see the power of God at work in our world in miraculous ways, we can only respond with the “fear and trembling” of our ancestors in faith. Throughout the scriptures, stories of people’s encounters with God almost always include words like “do not be afraid” or, as Peter says, “Go away from me, Lord!” God’s call always comes with an invitation to change—to repentance, to amendment of life, and even to a new name and a new identity.

Trust: The catch of fish was an abundance, a wealth of income. And yet the disciples left it behind, trusting that there was more to come. One of the hardest things about a Christian calling is that it often comes not when our options are limited and our nets are empty but when the nets are full. It is easy to trust God when we have no other option; it is much harder to step away in faith when there is an abundance of success.

Peter’s openness, repentance and trust helped him respond when Jesus called him beside the Sea of Galilee. And yet this was just one of many calls. There was the call that came to the 12 to serve as apostles. There was Peter’s call to confess Jesus as the Messiah and the call to be the foundation for the church. There was the call to repentance that came in the Garden of Gethsemane and the call to love and tend the flock that came to Peter from the risen Christ. This is also how calling works. It is not a single momentous event but part of each person’s journey. We are invited, over and over again, to be renewed in Christ. May we, like Peter, respond with openness, repentance and trust to the God who calls us throughout our lives. Amen.

The Rev. Canon Sally French is a regional canon for the Diocese of North Carolina.