Jesus came up with a strange idea. "Let's go fishing out into the deep water. I've got a hunch there's a catch out there." Simon, experienced fisherman that he was, tried to be polite in his answer to this landlubber. "You know, Master, we've been out the whole night, and caught nothing." He didn't add, but was probably thinking, "This guy doesn't realize that no one goes deep sea fishing in broad daylight around here". But Simon, having failed to accomplish much by his own tried and true methods, was in no position to question the Lord's strange suggestion. What he does say is the sentence that will change the entire course of his life. Perhaps he said it with a sigh of resignation. "If you say so...we'll do it." Well, you know what happened.It all begins when Jesus comes to us in the middle of our lives, where we work, where we live, the seaside, the classroom, the hospital, the office, the kitchen, and asks us to trust him enough to do one strange little thing, like fishing in the deep water in broad daylight, like trusting in him after we have been laid off to start a new vocation. It's the kind of thing that's a little weird, quite a bit out of your comfort zone. It's the sort of request that demands trust because you wouldn't normally do it. It's like the student at church this weekend who shared that he wanted to join the Peace Corp after he graduates from college. Or, it's like the young woman who spent ten years huddled over a computer screen designing software and finds herself "rightsized." Out of work, she feels a calling to ministry and starts seminary studies not sure where she will end up. A little odd; not anticipated, unplanned. That's the way Jesus' call often comes. Christ invades our everyday lives with one of these little offbeat impulses, these strange biddings. We have the feeling they are coming from him, though we're not at all sure. And a lot hangs on what we do with them. What if Peter had ignored Jesus' strange suggestion?
The other thing about Jesus' strange request is that it came at a point of failure and vulnerability. "All night long, and nothing." I love that little phrase. For me it depicts how we often feel about our lives. Striving, working, struggling, but with meager results. It speaks of the feelings we often have of life futility, dissatisfaction, and boredom. "All night long and nothing."
But that's often where Jesus' call comes to us: where we least expect it. Where we've failed. Where we feel over our heads. Where we feel uncomfortable. Where we sense our own futility. Jesus does not typically walk into our lives where we feel in control, where we are flush with our own success. It's in our places of vulnerability and confusion, failure and sin. He likes to get us out there in the deep water in broad daylight where we feel a little silly and strange.
God prays for us in times of darkness: “Even though I walk through a dark valley, I will fear no harm for you are at my side: your rod and staff give me courage.” (Psalm 23:4).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are in deep waters over their heads. I think Jesus is constantly inviting us into the deep places. He's calling us to acts of trust and courage, while we want to play it safe. He's calling us to step out in faith and freedom while we cling to our safe and familiar fears and anxieties. He's calling us to think and live deeply, to face our doubts and fears, and abandon ourselves to the depths of God's abundant life.
