All Those Fish!
The Assyrian came
down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were
gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of
their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave
rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
-Lord Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib
Freshman year in high school we had to memorize Lord Byron’s The Destruction of Sennacherib, a poem that describes the Eighth Century BCE Assyrian Deportation and resettlement of all of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, followed by the destruction of all the towns in Judea, the southern kingdom under Sennacherib, King of Assyria. The assault on Jerusalem was halted due to a divine intervention, but the deportation was completed.
The time leading up to the deportation is when Isaiah was appointed by the Lord God of Israel to deliver the news. Isaiah is in awe! The house of the Lord is filled with burning coals, incense and smoke, and seraphim (seraph means “burning” ), each with six wings, two to cover their faces, two to cover their feet, and two with which to fly, singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory,” perhaps the oldest liturgical hymn, now the source of our Sanctus, and is sung every day by men and women in front of the Western Wall. Isaiah says he lacks the necessary credentials, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" [Isaiah 6:1-13] And yet, when the Lord asks who will deliver the news, Isaiah famously replies, “Here am I; send me.” Isaiah then begins his prophetic career announcing the coming destruction.
The Psalmist in Psalm 138, also lived in troublesome and dark times. He, or she, sings I “will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your Name, your reputation, your character because of your love and faithfulness.” Further, sings the psalmist, our God cares for the lowly and keeps the haughty and arrogant at a distance. This is echoed in Luke’s Song of Mary to describe her child, Jesus. Jesus embodies God’s strange sovereignty, distancing himself from the proud and powerful in favor of the lowly. Psalm 138 is thus expressive of the topsy-turvy values that prevail in the reign of God where the last will be first, and the first will be last. Though God’s deliverance is always a present reality, we also acknowledge that it is as-yet to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, those who eschew self-sufficiency for their commitment to these values of the reign of God, are assured that despite the “not-yetness,” God will fulfill God’s purposes for us and for our world.
Then there is Simon Peter and all those fish. This opening episode in chapter five of Luke is most often called Jesus Calls the First Disciples. The first thing one notices is, however, that he does not call them at all. Simon, along with the Zebedee brothers James and John, had been fishing all night and caught nothing. They landed their boats and were washing their nets. Along comes Jesus who commandeers Simon’s boat, puts out into the water, and teaches the crowds on the shore from the boat. We are not told what he is preaching, but earlier we are told he has been all over the place teaching about the kingdom of God, which he says “is at hand,” and involves the lifting up of the lowly and distancing oneself from the arrogant and haughty; here and now.
When he finishes teaching, Jesus instructs Simon to put out
to deeper water “and let down your nets for a catch." At first Simon tries
to reason with him. After all, they have cleaned the nets and no fish were
caught all night. But then, he says, “Yet if you say so, I will let down the
nets." And that’s when it happens. The net is filled with so many fish
that Simon has to call the Zebedee’s boat, and still there are so many fish
that both boats are in danger of sinking! Simon kneels before Jeus and blurts
out, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" Those
first hearing this story will recognize that Simon Peter sounds a lot like
Isaiah, and to us a lot like Mike Myers’s and Dana Carvey in Wayne’s World, “I
am not worthy, I am not worthy!” Jesus replies, "’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.” Whatever catching people
means, Simon, James and John abandon everything, boats, nets, families, and
follow Jesus to find out.
Then there is the abundance. Superabundance really! We know about the water turned into 180 gallons of wine. We know about bread and fish leftovers after feeding in excess of 5,000 people. Now it is fish! And even if Simon Peter has no idea what Jesus means by fishing for people, this event foreshadows what happens Luke’s Volume 2, The Book of the Acts of the Apostles: On the day of Pentecost Simon Peter addresses a slightly hostile crowd who accuse the disciples of being drunk first thing in the morning. Lo and behold: the result of his speech, thousands sign-on to follow in the Way of Jesus. Pentecost is his first success as fishing for people.
Then there is the ending. They leave everything – boats, nets, and all those fish – and leave to follow Jesus. This is Luke’s curious commentary on the use of possessions. It speaks of a radical unconcern for possessions which seems to be integral to being a disciple. They leave it all behind to follow someone they don’t really know yet, and surely do not understand. Once again, the story of all those fish foreshadows what takes place in the book of Acts where the growing community of Christ shares all things in common and redistribute everything as others have need. All this sharing and giving in Acts attracts more and more followers.
Most of all, the story means to speak of the awesome presence of God in someone who is a person, a human, just like us all. Simon recognizes this presence, even if he does not understand it. There is no conversation about “who are you?” or “how did this happen?” Simon and others in the crowd, recognize the awesome presence of God just as Isaiah experienced it nearly 800 years before, and as the psalmist in Psalm 138 recognized the love and faithfulness of God. A love and faithfulness that cares for the lowly and distances itself from the arrogant and haughty.
It is what the Bible sometimes calls “fear of the Lord,” or even “the wrath of God. It is to recognize that I don’t really deserve to be in such a presence, and yet, this is what God’s presence is really all about. Fear of the Lord, or God’s wrath, writes Maggie Ross, is “God’s relentless compassion pursuing us even when we are at our worst.” [i] This is what these stories are really all about. As to all those fish they left behind? I’m not sure, but to this day when in Tiberias along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, you will see that every restaurant has a sign outside featuring St. Peter’s Fish!
[i]
Ross, Maggie, The Fire of Your Life (Paulist Press, New York:1983) p.137
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