My purpose in reading through the Gospels with Annie F Downs is to spend time watching how Jesus interacts with people. And I’m always drawn to the stories of how Jesus interacts with Simon Peter because in Peter’s passionate, impulsive behavior and especially his failures, I see myself. So I’m listening again to the story of Peter’s call to discipleship in Luke 5 and I wonder. What did it take to make these business owner/ fishermen leave the boats behind to follow Jesus?
And this time, it occurs to me— Jesus and Peter have already had several interactions. In the previous chapter in fact, Jesus had already been to Peter’s house and healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. What I am noticing is that Jesus spends a lot of time with individuals, allowing them to see Him in many different environments. Having seen the healings and heard the teachings, it was surely easier to believe the harder statements later on, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6) and “I go to prepare a place for you,” (John 14:2.) Opening up my life and being transparent enough to let others see me in many circumstances allows me the possibility of being able to share things which are important to me. So I don’t think it was an accident that Peter and those boats were available to row Jesus out a bit so that He can speak to the gathered crowd. I don’t know if it was pre-arranged, but certainly Peter was already seeing in Jesus something that he wanted to know more about. That day Peter definitely had a front row seat. And after the teaching, after the crowds had left, I am so touched that Jesus wants to thank Peter for his time and the use of his boat. What would a fisherman enjoy? The ones in my life are just thrilled to haul in a catch and that’s what Jesus offers Peter—the best tip of all time! Peter realizes that this is no ordinary carpenter with a lucky guess— Peter’s seen the healing, he’s heard the teaching, and now he has the catch of the day when there had been nothing. He’s ready to follow this man wherever. And Jesus expressed His gratitude in a personal and generous way. People mattered, Simon Peter’s time and his boat mattered. Jesus honored that. I want to do that too—pay attention to what would be meaningful to someone else. To let people know that their time and their stuff matters. To make them feel seen. Hey, Peter got serious about his life choices when Jesus tipped him. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us how to see and honor people.
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AuthorLoving words written to increase hope. Archives
May 2020
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