Scripture
18One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20And they left their nets at once and followed him.21A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matthew 4:18-22
Observation
This story is one of my favorite moments in all of Scripture. It’s a turning point in their lives and an invitation to turn the world upside down. A holy man walking up to common men and inviting them on a holy mission stirs my heart to no end. A few years ago during my Master's course, my professor gave some historical background that brought a whole new layer of understanding to this calling. In a Jewish family, a son had two options for vocation. A Rabbi or the family business. By age 10 or 11 they would have memorized the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). By age 12 they were considered adults and participated in a Bar Mitzvah. The family would choose a local Rabbi they respected and would set up a time to be tested by them. The goal of the testing was to find out if this young man could become a Rabbi himself by answering rapid-fire questions. This test would determine their vocation for the rest of their lives. They would either be called to follow the Rabbi or they would be told they didn't make the cut and would be sent back to the family business. Peter, Andrew, James, and John had all failed the holy test. By the time Jesus walked onto the shores of Galilee they had long since given up on any other occupation but the family business. They would be fishermen until the day they died. With all this historical context in mind take a moment to read the passage above again. They had already heard the stories of this man, announced by John the Baptist, to be the long-awaited Messiah. Now the long-awaited Messiah was tapping into a long-awaited dream. When Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people” he wasn’t just talking about a new occupation, he was talking about a new vocation and a fresh identity. They had failed the test to be a Rabbi. Luke 5 tells us they had failed the test of a fisherman as well having fished all night only to come up empty. The point is that they felt as low as they possibly could when Jesus invited them to pass a new test- the trust test. “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.” (Luke 5:5-7). They passed trust test number one and then they received trust test number two. When Jesus called them to follow Him they had to leave behind the biggest catch, the wealthiest moment of their lives, the expectations of the family and set out to follow a man they had only just met. “And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.” They may have failed the Rabbi’s test when they were younger, but they had passed the test of Rabbi Jesus. Their occupation no longer defined their vocation. They were now working for Jesus and their lives would never be the same!
Application
Occupation is on everyone’s mind right now. As of this morning, 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment. We haven’t seen this level of job loss since The Great Depression. Depression is exactly what many American’s are struggling with as they struggle to make ends meet while waiting for government assistance. Even the “essential companies” that remain open have seen a massive drop financially. God’s heart is not in this Pandemic but His hand is using this Pandemic to bring us back to trusting Him no matter what. Jesus called his would-be disciples from their occupation (fishermen) to a new vocation (fishers of men) thus connecting their identity directly to Him. They would no longer be defined by what they did or didn’t catch, but by the unconditional love of the One who called them by name. While we are in this waiting game, God is not playing games. He is walking on to the shoreline of our souls, looking us in the eyes, and whether we are still working or not, is asking us the same question, “Do you trust me?” What if during this time when many of us don’t have jobs God wants to move us from an occupation mindset to a vocation mindset? The dictionary defines the difference this way: “vocation is an inclination to undertake a certain kind of work, especially a religious career; often in response to a perceived summons; a calling. While occupation is an activity or task with which one occupies oneself; usually specifically the productive activity, service, trade, or craft for which one is regularly paid; a job.” Whether we are still working or not God is calling all of us to respond to His calling because God is still working. We are all called to be fishers of men. Right after reading that sentence, our thoughts condemn us with how many times we have failed the tests as parents, children, neighbors, employees or as Christians. We all have. So had Simon, Andrew, John, and James. They would fail Jesus multiple times throughout the Gospels but that would not change the calling on their lives. It starts again every single day. Just like showing up for work, we show up, every single day in faith and say with Simon, “If you say so, I will do it again.”
Prayer
Thank you for calling all of us to follow You! Thank you for not walking by me and my failures. You looked past all of my mistakes and saw someone You could use to change the world. In this changing world I see my vocation, my calling starts here at home with my family and extends out to my neighbors, the employees at the grocery store, and the next Zoom call. My prayer is that when the Pandemic ends, when the job market resuscitates, when some sense of normalcy returns we would not return to finding our identity in our paycheck or our position. I pray that each would pass the trust test and continue to see our calling as fishers of men no matter where we are.
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