The Visit to Peter's boat

THE VISIT

 Simon :

There was once a fisherman by the name of Simon (Later was called as Peter). He and his brother Andrew, they owned a boat. They were rough men used to battle the sea on a daily basis for their livelihood. Fishing was as familiar as breathing to them. They were so good at it. Sometimes, when they set out to the sea, they marveled at its beauty and pondered in their heart about God. They were Jews and followed the God who made the Heaven and the Earth. Yet, it felt like God was so far away from them. Even though, on the outside, they looked tough, on the inside they were sorrowful men conscious of the sin in their lives. They were seekers who yearned to know God.

One night, Simon and his friends set out to catch fish in the Sea of Galilee. All night they labored hard but caught nothing. Disappointed, they reached the shore and started to clean the nets. The lake was quiet but all of a sudden they saw a huge crowd coming.

Jesus was there leading the crowd. Without asking for permission Jesus got into Simon's boat and told him to put his boat a little way into the lake. From there, Jesus taught the people and Simon listened too. Simon had never heard anyone like Jesus before. He was unlike any of the religious leaders of his time for sure. The religious leaders would dare not come near Simon or his boat. Fishermen wore just a few clothes to cover themselves and the religious leaders thought that it was a disgusting and shameful thing. Not to mention their stinky smell that in itself was appalling. But Jesus didn't care about any of these things. Something was different about Jesus. Something about Jesus made his heart feel so glad. He started to feel a great respect towards Jesus.

The Catch:

After Jesus had finished teaching the people, He told Simon to go into the deep waters of the lake to catch fish. Simon told Jesus, that it was no use going again as they had searched the lake last night and found no fish.  Yet, because Jesus had told him he wanted to obey and give it a try. They set out a few miles into the waters and threw their nets. To their utter amazement, they caught a huge quantity of fish. Their nets were about to tear so they signaled their partners - John and James who were on the shore to come and help them. 

Some Useful Fishing Lessons:

1. The best time to go fishing is early morning. When the sun rises, the fishes get attracted towards the sunlight and move closer to the water surface and become easy preys. It is to be noted that the miracle happened in the morning. 

2. A prior knowledge about where to find fishes is essential. Fishes love where there are weeds, spring water and places with sudden change in water depth (like where river meets the lake) and so on. Jesus just said "Cast your net into deep waters". He never said "Cast your net where there is a lot of fish". The words that Jesus spoke was enough for the fishes to be caught that day.

3. The possibility of a carpenter advising an adept fisherman (who had experienced failure in fishing the previous night)- as to where to cast the fishing net and immediately successful in catching a huge quantity of fish is almost impossible. It was a miracle.

What happens next ? The Name Change:

When Simon saw this, he recognized that Jesus was indeed the Chosen One from God - His Lord indeed. But with this realization, he felt shameful too. Shameful because he knew that he was a sinful person and felt so humbled before Jesus. Not because Jesus made him feel so. It was his own conscious that made him feel that way. He fell down at Jesus feet and said, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man".  Jesus promised him "You are not Simon anymore. You are Peter (Meaning: Rock) and you will be fisher of men. Simon didn't expect this. He came as a sinful man to Jesus but Jesus looked into his heart and saw Simon through God's eyes. God saw Simon as a Rock that would be the base of a kingdom to be raised. He was going to be a man who brought people to God's kingdom. 

Peter and his fishing companions took Jesus at His Word. They left their fishing profession, their families and decided to follow Jesus. For Jesus is the light of the world. And no one who follows Him will ever be disappointed. 

What started out as a bad day for Simon and his companions turned out to be a blessed day. They not only caught fish that day, but they also met Jesus and He gave them a new purpose, a new beginning and a new hope to live a worthy life. 

Prayer:

Dear God,

Come visit me like you visited Peter in his boat. I may be filthy, stinky and rejected, but after you visit me I will never be the same. You will give me a new name. A new beginning. A new hope. And I will not be disappointed. For you are the light of the world. For, in you I find meaning to live. And after you visit, I would like to forget all about my family and my upbringing. I want to obey you with all of my heart.  I want to follow wherever you go. Even through that dreadful way to Calvery where you died for my sins to make me blameless. To follow you, is my utmost desire. For where can I go apart from you Lord. Like a fish that would perish outside water, I would die if  you are not there. 

In Jesus Name we pray

Amen