Cast Your Nets into the Deep (adapted from Luke 5:1-11)
So a long time ago, there were a couple of fisherman who had just decided to call it a day.
They were bummed because they had been out on the sea all day, but hadn't caught anything. Fishing was their livelihood, so actually they weren't just bummed - they were a little scared. Would they be ok? Would they have enough - to feed their families? To pay their bills?
It didn't happen very often - a whole day without anything to show for it. But it did happen. Try again tomorrow, they figured.
So, there they were, packing up their stuff, washing their nets, when this guy headed towards them, and without a word, got into one of their boats.
You can imagine they were more than a little irritated.
"Hey, guy. What are you doing? Those are our boats." The man didn't answer. This was getting weird.
"Push me out a bit, into the water, would you?" He said. As they got closer to him, they realized that actually they knew this guy. He'd been at one of their houses a couple weeks back.
He did this new-agey thing, what was it called- one of the fishermen asked the other? "Reiki," he said. "I think it's called Reiki."
It was pretty cool, they had to admit - people who'd been sick, he just did this thing with his hands, he kind of touched them, and it was like they were totally fine. They both agreed - he was a pretty cool - albeit still weird guy.
But really - getting in their boats - telling them to push him out in the water? Especially after a day like they'd had? Come on.
"Um, are you kidding me? We're done for the day. We didn't catch anything. We're headed home."
But he was insistent. "Get your nets. Come with me. We need to go out there, to the deep water."
"Maybe you didn't hear me. It was a bust. It's time to go home."
The man wasn't giving up. The fishermen looked at each other, and sighed. They did feel like they owed him the benefit of the doubt after all that he'd done to help their family and friends. And they couldn't say for sure if the place he was pointing was a place they'd already tried. Maybe he knew something.
And so they got their nets together, and got back into their boats, and like he said, moved into the deep waters, and dropped their nets down deep.
And lo and behold, they caught so many fish, their nets started to break.
So they called to their buds on the shore, their fishing partners James and John, told them to come out too. Give it another shot.
They were skeptical of course, having had that same bad luck earlier. But they saw all the fish and quickly pushed off, and dropped their nets into the deep.
There were five of them out there, overflowing with more fish than they knew what to do with. They were pretty overwhelmed.
To think that just a couple hours before they had wondered how they'd have enough for dinner.
Now to say these were the kinds of guys that didn't cry much would be quite an understatement. But right there, the one called Peter broke down, tears streaming down his face. "I can't believe this. What just happened? How did this happen?! Who are you?! We're not worthy!"
The other guys laughed a little but they too were moved beyond words.
The strange man looked at each of them, and then with great love in his voice, he said to them, "Don't be afraid. Today your lives changed. Next, we'll get to work on the rest of the world. Sound good?"
And with that simple invitation, and all they had seen and heard, they returned to the shore, and then they left their boats and their nets behind, and began a new life.
They were bummed because they had been out on the sea all day, but hadn't caught anything. Fishing was their livelihood, so actually they weren't just bummed - they were a little scared. Would they be ok? Would they have enough - to feed their families? To pay their bills?
It didn't happen very often - a whole day without anything to show for it. But it did happen. Try again tomorrow, they figured.
So, there they were, packing up their stuff, washing their nets, when this guy headed towards them, and without a word, got into one of their boats.
You can imagine they were more than a little irritated.
"Hey, guy. What are you doing? Those are our boats." The man didn't answer. This was getting weird.
"Push me out a bit, into the water, would you?" He said. As they got closer to him, they realized that actually they knew this guy. He'd been at one of their houses a couple weeks back.
He did this new-agey thing, what was it called- one of the fishermen asked the other? "Reiki," he said. "I think it's called Reiki."
It was pretty cool, they had to admit - people who'd been sick, he just did this thing with his hands, he kind of touched them, and it was like they were totally fine. They both agreed - he was a pretty cool - albeit still weird guy.
But really - getting in their boats - telling them to push him out in the water? Especially after a day like they'd had? Come on.
"Um, are you kidding me? We're done for the day. We didn't catch anything. We're headed home."
But he was insistent. "Get your nets. Come with me. We need to go out there, to the deep water."
"Maybe you didn't hear me. It was a bust. It's time to go home."
The man wasn't giving up. The fishermen looked at each other, and sighed. They did feel like they owed him the benefit of the doubt after all that he'd done to help their family and friends. And they couldn't say for sure if the place he was pointing was a place they'd already tried. Maybe he knew something.
And so they got their nets together, and got back into their boats, and like he said, moved into the deep waters, and dropped their nets down deep.
And lo and behold, they caught so many fish, their nets started to break.
So they called to their buds on the shore, their fishing partners James and John, told them to come out too. Give it another shot.
They were skeptical of course, having had that same bad luck earlier. But they saw all the fish and quickly pushed off, and dropped their nets into the deep.
There were five of them out there, overflowing with more fish than they knew what to do with. They were pretty overwhelmed.
To think that just a couple hours before they had wondered how they'd have enough for dinner.
Now to say these were the kinds of guys that didn't cry much would be quite an understatement. But right there, the one called Peter broke down, tears streaming down his face. "I can't believe this. What just happened? How did this happen?! Who are you?! We're not worthy!"
The other guys laughed a little but they too were moved beyond words.
The strange man looked at each of them, and then with great love in his voice, he said to them, "Don't be afraid. Today your lives changed. Next, we'll get to work on the rest of the world. Sound good?"
And with that simple invitation, and all they had seen and heard, they returned to the shore, and then they left their boats and their nets behind, and began a new life.