Luke 5:1-11 NRSVue
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3He 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. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and 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.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
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Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
This is not an argument for the Prosperity Gospel which tells us that if we do the right things God will bless us with abundance of wealth and health—and that if we don’t get the promised abundance it is our own fault.
Reflection
The real message here is in the last few words: ‘they left everything and followed him’. They left behind them their great catch, because they had been captivated instead by the person of Jesus. We too are to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ – we are to live in God’s world and judge the world’s affairs from that vantage point.