Why “petersboat”

This past Thursday we read from the Gospel of Saint Luke, 5:1-11. It’s one of my favorite passages, and it happens to be the one that inspired me to use the title petersboat for this column and other things, like the website petersboat.net. Here’s the passage.

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

I love it, because it reminds me of the way we use columns and websites. They’re like Peter’s boat, pushed off a bit from the shores of our intimate communal life, but at the invitation of Our Lord, that he might use the boat (or column or website) to teach the multitudes.

Then, after he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

I love this too. Peter’s words “...but at your command...” remind me of the words that he spoke when Jesus came walking toward him on the waves of the storm, “Lord, command me to come to you on the water!” Peter knows that Jesus only needs to speak a word to make possible something that would otherwise have been impossible.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they made seized him and all those with him, even James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon.

It’s the real and honest response of a real and honest man. Peter has no explanation for how Jesus enabled them to catch all those fish, but he knows one thing, that this Jesus is holy and good. And in that light, Peter sees his own need for grace, his need for Christ.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

This is Luke’s way of saying that it was big deal, what happened to them. These men were changed forever and became fishers of other men, using as their nets the wonder that poured from their hearts and lips as they recalled this day on Peter’s boat. +