Thursday, September 7, 2023 - What do you think Jesus is calling you to today? Will you answer his call?

To read the texts click on the texts: Col 1:9-14; Lk 5:1-11

The call of the first disciples in the Gospel of Luke is different from the other Synoptic Gospels. While in Matthew and Mark Jesus calls to them when he was passing by the Sea of Galilee, here he is in Simon’s boat. While there are similarities between this account in Luke and the account of the miraculous catch in John 21, 1-4, there are also differences. The most striking difference is that Luke uses the story here as the setting for Simon’s call to follow Jesus, whereas John uses it to show that Peter was reconciled with the risen Jesus after having denied him. While in John, Jesus is not in the boat but on the shore, here in Luke he is in the boat. In John there is only one boat, that in which the disciples are, here there are many boats. The nets in Luke are beginning to break, but John explicitly mentions that despite the large haul, the nets did not break.

The point that Luke seems to make is that following Jesus on his way will entail a completely different life style, will call for a different set of priorities. Where Simon and the others were focusing on fish (material, temporary, passing things), Jesus calls them to focus on people (spiritual, permanent, things that last).