Day 2: A Fuller Account

First Thursday in Lent

Scripture: Luke 5:8-11

^{NRS 8} But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" ⁹ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; ¹⁰ and 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." ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Devotional: Where Mark and Matthew present a very concise account of the call of Peter, the detail prone physician provides a much fuller story. Luke informs us that Jesus had already been in Simon Peter’s home and healed his mother-in-law. He was not some stranger who stepped into Peter’s boat. He was a man, perhaps a friend, but Peter would never have dreamed He was the Son of the Living God. He began to teach from the boat and Peter didn’t object. He instructed them to let their nets down and they reluctantly obeyed. Their imagination didn’t have room for a boat sinking kind of catch. The others called for help, but Peter suddenly recognized that Jesus was so much more than he at first thought. He didn’t understand that Jesus was the Messiah, but he decided to address him as Lord as he labeled himself a sinner unworthy of Jesus’ presence. Responding to a call begins with knowing who is calling but it continues with recognizing who we are and accepting that we are the very type of people that God would use to accomplish His will. Peter, like Isaiah, recognized how unclean he was when confronted with the holiness of Jesus; but Jesus, like the seraphim, removed that fear and called a simple fisherman to serve the Kingdom and change the world. What we must recognize in Luke’s account is the kind of people that Jesus calls into ministry. Rather than calling the well trained and educated with the appropriate pedigree, He did the unexpected and called the ones whose success was totally dependent upon God. Through his dependence upon God the Holy Spirit, Peter built the church and revealed God at work in his life and the world. We are here today because a fisherman surrendered to the call. The physician’s gospel teaches us that even if we think we have nothing to offer in service to the Kingdom, we are exactly the kind of people that Christ calls to transform the world.

Prayer: Lord, help each of us today see in the mirror what You see in each of us; so we may go forward into ministry with an identity as Your called children. Help us stand confidently in Your view of us embraced by Your grace that removes all fear as we prepare ourselves to minister to the world in Your name and through Your love.

Song of praise:            Greater by Mercy Me

                                                

Spiritual discipline challenge: Today our challenge involves the inward discipline of study. Read the full passage of this story, Luke 5:1-11, then review the notes in your study Bible or commentaries on the Internet. Seek to discover why Luke tells this story so differently from Mark or Matthew’s versions and why this matters to us today.