Luke rewrites the story of Simon’s vocation within the context of a miraculous catch of fish. Simon the fisherman is commanded by a carpenter from Nazareth to put out the nets. Simon obeys even when he knows that the sea has refused to yield its fruits to him. The catch of fish occurs and Simon immediately recognizes Jesus as the one who has made it possible. The success of evangelization is not due to human technology but to the Lord who makes the crop increase and yield its fruits. And it is the Lord too who chooses whom He wills to become a partner in his enterprise.
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Guide to the Reading of the Text
The story of the call of Simon the Fisherman is found in Luke alone. Some elements of the story bear similarities with the one in John 21:1-14, a post-resurrection narrative about a catch that the Risen Lord commands. Luke retells the story of the call of Simon within the context of a miraculous catch of fish, that is, of an experience of the Lord within the context of a successful missionary enterprise. The Lord of the Harvest is also the Lord of the Catch. Simon Peter recognizes Him as such and receives the call to follow him.
Pay attention to the following details given by Luke
1. Before this miraculous catch of fish, Jesus had gone into the house of Simon and healed his mother-in-law (4:38-39). When Jesus chooses the boat of Simon over that of the other fishermen, it was probably because of their acquaintance.
2. Jesus preaches seated in the boat of Simon. When Catholics mention “the bark1 of Peter”, they invoke this Lucan image of Jesus proclaiming in Peter’s boat. The boat of Peter becomes a symbol of the Church from which the Word of God is proclaimed and preached.
3. The “catch” like “harvest” are symbols for the gathering of God’s people, an end-time event that becomes present in the work of Jesus. Jesus commands Simon to “put out into the deep”. The phrase was used by the late John Paul II as a catch-word for a renewed and more intense evangelization in the Third Millenium. The success of Simon was due to his obedience to the Lord “who gives what He commands” (St. Augustine).
4. The fear that Simon experiences is the “fear” that Rudolph Otto describes as deriving from awe. Simon has a religious experience — an experience of the Holy — that makes him say: “Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Simon’s experience is comparable to that of Isaiah who upon seeing Yahweh’s presence filling up the Temple exclaims: “I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips … and my eyes have laid on the Lord King!” (Isaiah 6:5). But as in the case of Isaiah , Simon though suddenly conscious of his unworthiness, is called by the Lord.
5. The conclusion of the story is similar to that found in Mark 1:16-20 but Luke has rewritten it so that the other fishermen were said to have followed Jesus only after Simon was called. Here, the primacy of Peter is illustrated by Luke’s vocation story.
A Review of the Readings
The first reading taken from Isaiah 6 is the prophet’s first-person narrative of his call. His call comes from an experience of Yahweh’s Holiness, of being purified for a mission of receiving a command. The purification sets him apart from the people of unclean lips of which he is a member, thereby putting him at the service of the Lord’s plans. His mission is to speak for Yahweh in a way that would reveal how gross and disobedient the heart of Israel has become.
In the second reading we find Paul reviewing for the Corinthians the proclamation about the Resurrection. He writes: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received”. The word used for “I handed on (to you)” is the origin of our word for “tradition”. It must be noted that though Paul affirms that he also “saw” the Lord, he also emphasizes that his proclamation about Him is from “what I have received.”
It is obvious that the Gospel reading coincides with the theme of call and mission in Isaiah 6. One can also relate the theme of “the bark of Peter” with the tradition that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15.
Suggestions for the Lesson
The above section of this article has pointed out two avenues for explicitating the theme of the liturgy. I would suggest that the teacher limit him/herself to just one of these themes.
1. The theme of Simon Peter’s call and mission to be a fisher of men can best be explained within the context of the Christian’s baptism where one becomes “holy” and made to participate in the three-fold office of Christ as priest, prophet and king. The mission to become a “fisher of men” — a mission about restoring men to a fully human life2 — is to be understood within the idea of evangelization, which is the mission of all the members of the Church without exception.
2. Paul refers to “Tradition”, the handing on of the life of the Church which is the Word of God Himself. In 1 Corinthians 15 we have a sample of how the central proclamation of the Gospel — the resurrection of Christ — is made to bear on the question about the condition of human existence after this life. What Paul has done in his letter to the Corinthians is what the Church does whenever she applies the Gospel to the questions arising from the exigencies of human existence in every generation. In the Gospel reading, the image of Jesus speaking from within the bark of Peter is an illustration of how the Church understands her role as the vehicle through which the voice of Christ is heard.
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