Luke
5:1–11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the
lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of
God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone
out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one
belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then
he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking,
he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a
catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we have worked all night long but have caught
nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.' When they had done this,
they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they
signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they
came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter
saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Go away from me, Lord, for I am
a sinful man!' For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of
fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who
were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, '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.
Reflection
Do I realize that being close to Jesus
would make demands on me?
How does Jesus invite me to use my
practised skill in a new way, for the good of the gospel?