There is something about fishing!

T

here is something striking about Jesus calling fishermen to become his first disciples. The Gospel does not tell us exactly why Jesus chose fishermen, but perhaps we can ask: "What was there about fishing that Jesus could build upon?"

I can think of at least three reasons.

First, fishing had already formed in them some of the qualities needed for discipleship.

When I was a child, I sometimes went fishing with my grandfather. I remember that fishing involved a lot of waiting. As a child, of course, waiting was probably the hardest part. You cast the line, watch the water, and wait. You cannot command the fish to bite. You cannot hurry the process simply because you are getting impatient.

Looking back, I realize that my grandfather was teaching me something without necessarily saying much. Fishing teaches you to wait. It teaches you to pay attention—to the water, the weather, the slightest movement of the line. And it teaches you humility because you can do everything right and still go home without a catch.

Perhaps Jesus saw something similar in Peter and the other fishermen. Their work had already been forming in them qualities that he could deepen into discipleship: patience to wait, attentiveness to notice, and humility before what they could not control.

The second reason is that fishermen already knew how to work with others.

Fishing was rarely a one-man operation. Peter had Andrew; James had John. Out on the water, they depended on one another. And in today’s Gospel, when the catch becomes too large, they signal to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.

Fishermen knew something very practical: some catches are too big for one boat.

Jesus could build on that too. When he called them to become fishers of people, he was not calling them to an individual mission. He was forming a community. They would travel together, pray together, disagree with one another, forgive one another, and eventually carry the mission together.

There is something beautiful in the fact that Jesus called people who already knew how to share a boat. He was not simply looking for impressive personalities with wealth, power, or prestigious titles. Definitely, he was not after lone rangers. Because Jesus was forming companions for a shared mission to catch plenty more fish in the sea.

And this remains true for us. Jesus does not call us to become successful individuals for God. Oftentimes the mission God gives us is simply too large for one group of people, one institution, or even one religious congregation, let alone one individual. There are moments when discipleship means having the humility to signal to another boat: "Come and help us pull in the nets."

The third reason may be the simplest: fishing was ordinary work for fishermen.

There was nothing extraordinary about Peter going fishing that day. He had probably done this countless times before. And on this particular day, things were not even going well. They had worked through the night and caught nothing. It was business as usual—perhaps even a bad day at work.

And that is where Jesus surprised Peter.

Jesus did not wait for Peter to leave his ordinary life before encountering him. Jesus entered Peter’s ordinary life. He stepped into his boat like a fish in its own water and in its own lake. Suddenly, the same boat became a pulpit. The same nets that had come up empty became full. The same group of fishermen became the Twelve Disciples. An ordinary day became a life-changing encounter for all.

Perhaps this is how Jesus continues to surprise us, right where we are in our own boat doing just the ordinary thing we do. We sometimes expect God to appear only in extraordinary moments. During a retreat, we just look for an extraordinary prayer experience and consolation. We spend a lot to go to faraway places looking for Jesus. But he may be waiting somewhere much more familiar: the same office, the same classroom, the same community, the same family, the same ministry, even the same problems we deal with every day. We do not go out first looking for Jesus; he comes to us first.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, form in us the patience to wait, the humility to share the boat, and the openness to find you in the ordinary. Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ