It's Gospel, Sunday, Nov.14 at 9am in the Guild room

Gospel Adult Seminar: Let’s Go Fishing! Jesus & Fish, including the calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be Disciples:

Luke 5:1-11
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.“ Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.“ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!“ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Why did Jesus entrust fishermen from Bethsaida with spreading his message?
Fishermen were savvy businessmen. They were multilingual. Their native tongue was Aramaic. They would also have known Hebrew. Knowledge of Greek would have been essential for people like Peter and his co-workers who were involved in the fishing business. The gospels suggest that they were able to carry on conversations with Greek speakers the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mk 7:26), people in the Decapolis where the curing of the deaf man took place (Mk 7:31), and the incident of Philip and Andrew conversing with the Greeks (Jn 12:20-23). They may also have had a smattering of Latin. Peter converses with the Roman centurion, Cornelius (Acts 10:25).
Fishermen had to be skilled at their trade, knowing the when, where and why of fishing, but they also had to be patient, not easily discouraged, strong, hard-working and community- oriented. Are these skills still good for discipleship in this day and age?
The fish became a cryptic symbol of Christianity during the early church, a pass word to determine the religion of the stranger. In Greek, the Acronym: IXQUS ----- Ichthys ----- Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior.
What about Zebedee? We’re not always ready for adventure. Perhaps, at those times, we’re still following Jesus, but we are also dragging our feet. Zebedee is a reminder that I can’t stay in the boat my whole life and still find myself in the place where Jesus is going. I must follow. Time to go catch some fish.
Submitted by Walt Jaap