Jesus borrowed Simon Peter's boat to use as a pulpit from which to teach the people. After he finished speaking he asked Simon to put out into the lake and to go fishing. It must have been morning, because Simon protested that he had been fishing all night, and had been unsuccessful. "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." Yet, despite being tired, and discouraged, out of respect for Jesus, whom he acknowledged as 'Master' he did as he was directed.

The result was spectacular. They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They called their friends in the other boat to help them. The quantity of fish was so great that they filled both boats to overflowing and put them in danger of sinking. It was startling, unusual, to say the least, and totally unexpected in the light of their previous experience.

What was the response of Simon Peter? He fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man1" Why this response? Did he feel a failure. He was supposed to be a successful fisherman but he had nothing to show for his labors all night. Yet, this carpenter from Nazareth, who knew nothing about fish, had directed him to a great haul. Simon Peter recognized the event as demonstrating the unique spiritual identity of Jesus, and, in contrast, his own inadequacy. He was overcome with awe, with an insight that revealed something special about Jesus and, in contrast, something impure, and inadequate, about himself. Simon Peter was speaking, not only for himself, but also for his partners, James and John, and probably his brother Andrew as well. They all were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and in awe of Jesus who orchestrated it.

Jesus hastens to reassure them by calming their fear of him, their fear of the unexpected, their fear of being in the presence of something out of their control, of something beyond their experience. "Be not afraid; from now on you will catch men." In response they gave up their business, left everything, and followed him into a new vocation. They were in uncharted territory, putting their trust in a figure who knew more about their capabilities than they knew themselves.

What is the miracle here? The catch of fish obviously. But there is another miracle at work here. It is the miracle of the intervention of God into the lives of these men. Jesus intervened into the expertise of these men and revealed that he knew them better than they knew themselves. They were supposed to be experts at catching fish, but despite having worked hard all night, they had caught nothing. It is only when Jesus came into their lives that they were successful.

How do you measure success? How do you know if you have succeeded at what you set yourself to do? How long does the elation of accomplishment last? We can work hard all our lives, think we have been successful, and yet, in reality, catch nothing. We can exhaust ourselves chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and yet fail to be fulfilled. We can try every trick in the book, every avenue of opportunity, every self help, self-improvement program, every way we can think of to succeed in life, yet come up empty handed. We think we have success cornered, and then find that it has disappeared. It is only when we reach the end of our rope, when we admit that we have run out of steam, when we have come to the end of ourselves, that we are willing to listen to what Jesus says to us. He may call us to do something that we think is a waste of time. He may call us to trust him. He may call us to take the risk of appearing foolish. He may call us to go beyond our comfort zone. He may call us to believe in him, to act on his word, to follow his direction. Not to do so is to accept our futility, our frustration, our failure. It is to settle for less rather than the possibility of more.

On the other hand, to put out in deep water is to believe that with God all things are possible. To put out into deep water is to let go of our preconceived notions of what is possible, to let go of our self reliance, our self sufficiency, and to be willing to venture beyond our knowledge into the unknown. Or is it to be willing to trust in the knowledge of God as revealed in Jesus? Is it to be willing to expand our sources of knowledge to include the one who is come from heaven, the holy one, before whose knees we fall in humility and awe?

"Here is the point of the tale. It is not really about the miraculous catch of fishes. It was about the call of Peter to be an apostle. Precisely where a man knows that human resources are incapable of solving the ultimate riddle of human life, that no ideology and no political program can save, there Christ steps in and calls that man to be his apostle. When such a man rises and acts in obedience to Christ's call in the face of its utter absurdity, then he is privileged to become the agent and channel of the miracles of God." (R.H. Fuller, Interpreting the Miracles, p.123)

Jesus was using this miracle to catch, not fish, but Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. What is he using to catch you? What is it in your life that is suggesting that you have come to the end of yourself? What is it that frustrates you? What is Christ asking you to do? In what deep water is he asking you to throw out your net? How is he asking you to go beyond what you know?

You may have worked hard all your life, but do you feel that you have caught what you were created for? So many people struggle with measuring whether their lives have been successful. They reflect back on their lives and wonder whether they have accomplished much. Precisely when you feel that you have little to show for your life, when you feel tired out after having worked so hard, precisely then you need Jesus to direct you as to what to do. The miracle is to listen and do what he tells you. It may change your life.

Most of us have to catch fish in order to make a living. We have to feed the body, serve the physical and material needs of others, in order to provide for ourselves and our families. But Jesus calls us to do more - to make an impact on others - to catch men and women, to influence them for the kingdom of God. We do that by sharing the Gospel, by inviting others into the kingdom of God, by friendship, by loving our neighbor as ourselves. We become apostles like Simon Peter when we leave behind that which defines us, which limits us, life described in materialistic terms, and instead, follow Jesus.

What would your life look like if you did that? You will only know when you walk with him each day, and he fills your boat to overflowing. It is a spectacular experience you will never forget. You won't want to miss out on it by playing it safe.

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