That is a key point of the passage. But I never really considered that Jesus' invitation comes on the coattails of a very successful fishing trip. Jesus had just helped them reel in probably one of their biggest catches ever (v. 9 states the people who witnessed it were "astonished" at the catch). They had just hit a load, and this could have meant a change of economic fortune for them. For sure it was a solid payday.
We don't know what their outlook was before they got the catch. Luke's narrative is pretty passive as far as this is concerned, but we can imagine an unsuccessful fishing trip would be pretty frustrating if a person's livelihood is at stake. Maybe Simon, James and John's fishing partnership was on the brink of failure. Maybe they needed a catch that day just to make ends meet. Regardless, I'm assuming even a small catch would have been a reward, and for it to be of the magnitude described in the passage, I bet the partners were overwhelmed.
An extension of this story into modern culture might go something like this: 3 friends own a small shop together. When the economy slowed in 2008, their business couldn't move its inventory and its financials looked pretty grim. Business was slower than ever and the company was near bankrupt. One morning, the 3 friends gave themselves an ultimatum. "Ok," one said. "If we don't end today in the black we have to call it quits. If we shut down now we can cut our losses."
A Hours went by. No sales. Not even a customer. One of the owners began to shut down the shop and switched off the open sign.
Just then, a recent acquaintance stopped by and offered some unwelcome marketing advice. "Turn that sign on!" he said. "You can't get customers if they don't know you're open!"
Then the strangest thing happened. Customers began to walk in. First one, then a couple more. Before long, the shop was filled with them. And they weren't even looking for deals. Items were being pulled off the shelf in bulk, and the owners could hardly keep up with all the sales. They kept the shop open several hours late, and that day ended up being the most profitable day they had ever had. They couldn't believe it.
Cheesy, I admit. But it helps me recognize something.
When I achieve a "success"--whatever it may be--I usually take that as a sign that I'm on the right track and should keep going. The bigger the success, the stronger my resolve in my path. In the story above, why in the world would the business owners quit now? They've just had their best day in retail ever.
But is this wrongheaded thinking? In the Luke story, Simon, John and James left their profession immediately after a tremendous success. Why? Because they had the opportunity for success on a much grander scale: catching men instead of fish--participating in the work of the Kingdom instead of the work of this world. And Jesus seemed to use the material success of a gigantic fish catch as a metaphor, as if to say: "if you think that was awesome, come see what else we can do."
I wonder if I've ever had a fish catch like the one these three experienced. Then I wonder if by blessing me with it, Jesus was really trying to invite me to do something much bigger. If so, I'm afraid I might have been busy basking in the success of the fish catch and planning my next trip.
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