Stroll through Scripture for January 26, 2025

Based on Luke 5:1-11

This is Jesus calling his first disciples.  And in some ways, it’s so off the wall that it leaves the reader asking questions that have no answer.  I think that’s on purpose.  Luke’s focus is on how expansive the Kingdom of God is. This is a gospel account that breaks down barriers and expectations, on purpose.  

We see this already happening in the first four chapters of the Gospel: 

• John the Baptist does his work in the wilderness, not in the city. 
• Mary’s Magnificat is about flipping the power structures.  
• The birth of Jesus is among the poor and the first proclaimers of his birth are shepherds out in the fields, hardly a royal announcement.  
• Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan.
• Jesus goes out in the wilderness himself, is tempted by the devil with things that the civilized world values and cares about.
• And finally, Jesus literally proclaims that God’s Kingdom includes gentiles, which enrages the synagogue to the point that they want to kill him. 

Starting with Chapter 5, this breaking down barriers is about to go into overdrive.  In this Sunday’s reading, we hear Jesus call some fishermen as his first disciples.  Like the shepherds who proclaimed his birth, fishermen would not have been an obvious choice for the work that Jesus had in mind.  But God’s ways are not human ways – for that we can be grateful.  

In this story, we hear Jesus interacting with Simon.  Simon’s name in Hebrew means “he who hears.”  How appropriate that Simon is the first to respond to Jesus, who calls to him.  He hears Jesus and responds.  

This is a story that goes far beyond catching fish.  Jesus is speaking their language.  Just as Jesus will speak to people in their own “language” throughout his ministry.  Jesus speaks to us in ways that we can hear him.  For Simon, James, and John, Jesus speaks to them through the trade they practice – fishing.  And he adds significance and importance to what they are doing.  They aren’t just fishing for the sake of survival.  When they follow Jesus, there will be more than just survival.  There will be Good News.  There will be hope.  There will be an alternative to the way things have operated – especially for those on the margins of society, and those that have been considered outsiders. 

Questions for Reflection:

• Think of your own name.  Does it have a meaning?  What has meaning in your life?  How has Jesus been speaking your “language?” 
• What is Jesus calling you to in following him?