Luke 5:8b-10

"But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!' For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.'" 

How might I have reacted to Jesus' suggestion to throw my nets out on the other side of the boat after spending my whole life fishing, an expert in the trade and experiencing an exhaustingly catchless night? After all, He was but a carpenter. What could He possibly know about fishing?  But at the Savior's prompting, Simon Peter acquiesced, perhaps reluctantly with platitude and patronization, thinking all the while, "This is a waste of time and energy." I cannot count how many times I've thought similar things about the Savior's promptings, only to also be amazed about His right leading.

But it's not Simon's first reaction that resonates with me as much as it was his second to the "catch of fish which they had taken". The Bible states that "amazement seized him and all his companions". He was frozen, for a moment (as were they all). But then the Bible states that Simon "fell down at Jesus' feet". Simon Peter immediately came to the realization at that very moment that he was in the presence of someone Holy. Peter saw the chasm between his filthiness and the perfect radiance of the King, and implored Jesus in a spirit of fear to depart from him. But what comes next is so tender, so loving, and so gentle (but also so radical); it's the Savior comforting them all not to be afraid, for in the same way that He spoke and fish obeyed, so would the disciples speak the gospel and people would obey. In other words, it's as if Jesus were saying, "Do not be afraid of Me and that nature is at My command.  That's natural. Rather, come along with Me, in Me and see something even more miraculous. Dead men's bones are going to come alive. Lifeless hearts are going to beat. Corpses are going to be resurrected."

I walk away from this morning's readings with three things on my mind and in my heart: (i) Trust that when the Savior instructs me to do something to just do it, regardless of whether I think my past experience yielded something entirely different, (ii) always remember that I stand in the presence of a Holy Savior, not in fear but in expectant peace, and (iii) start looking at people without Jesus as scurrying aimlessly through life blindly waiting for me to throw the net of the gospel in their path that they might be caught by the weave of Jesus' love.

Today I fish for men, without fear and with expectancy.