“They Left Everything and Followed Him”
Today’s Gospel takes us to the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, where Simon Peter and his companions are coming to the end of a disappointing night. They have worked for hours, doing what they know best, yet they have caught nothing. Their nets are empty, their bodies are tired, and there seems to be little left to do except wash the nets and go home.
It is precisely at this moment of disappointment that Jesus enters Simon’s boat.
There is something deeply consoling about this. Our Lord does not wait for Peter to have a successful day before coming to him. He enters the boat when the nets are empty. He comes into Peter’s exhaustion and disappointment, and from there He begins to reveal what God can accomplish when human weakness is placed into His hands.
After teaching the crowds, Jesus turns to Simon and says, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Simon knows the lake. He is an experienced fisherman, and everything he knows tells him that there is little reason to try again. His answer is therefore very human: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” Yet he does not stop there. He adds the words upon which this entire encounter seems to turn: “But at your word I will let down the nets.”
That simple response contains one of the great lessons of Christian faith.
There are times when we too find ourselves standing before empty nets. We have prayed for something and have not seen the answer we hoped for. We have worked hard and seen little fruit. We have tried to repair a relationship, guide a child, overcome a weakness, rebuild something that has been lost or remain faithful through a difficult season, and eventually we become tired.
It is especially at such moments that Christ asks us to trust Him.
Faith does not mean that we will always understand what God is doing. Peter certainly did not understand why he should lower his nets again. Faith means being able to say, even when we cannot see the outcome, “Lord, because You have spoken, I will trust You.”
And so Peter puts out into the deep.
Those words of Jesus, “Put out into the deep,” speak not only to Peter but also to every disciple. Christ does not call us to remain forever in the shallow waters of a comfortable faith. He calls us into a deeper relationship with Him, where we gradually surrender the parts of our lives that we would rather keep under our own control.
It is easy to trust God when everything is going according to our plans. The deeper faith begins when we can still trust Him when the road ahead is uncertain.
Perhaps there is an area of our lives today where Jesus is asking us to go deeper. It may be a relationship that needs forgiveness. It may be a sin that we know we must finally surrender. It may be a decision we are afraid to make, a responsibility we have been avoiding, or simply the invitation to take prayer more seriously and give God more than the small space we sometimes reserve for Him.
Peter discovers that obedience to Christ does not lead him into emptiness. The nets suddenly become so full that they begin to break. The other fishermen have to come and help, and both boats are filled.
Yet the most important miracle taking place that morning is not happening inside the nets. It is happening inside Peter.
When Peter sees the extraordinary catch, he does not become proud of his success. Instead, he falls at the knees of Jesus and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
For the first time, Peter seems to understand more clearly who is standing before him. And when a human being truly encounters the holiness of God, we also begin to see ourselves more truthfully.
Peter recognises his sinfulness.
But notice how Jesus responds.
Peter says, in effect, “Lord, I am not worthy of You. Go away from me.”
Jesus answers, “Do not be afraid.”
This is the heart of the Gospel.
Christ already knows Peter’s weaknesses. He knows his impulsiveness. He even knows that one day Peter will deny Him. Yet Jesus does not walk away from him. Instead, He calls him.
“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”
The Lord does not call only those who believe themselves perfect. If that were the condition for discipleship, none of us could follow Him. Christ calls sinners who are willing to allow His grace to transform them.
This is why the Church continually calls us to conversion and why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a precious gift. When we recognise our sin, the Christian response is not despair. We bring our sin to Christ. We confess it, receive His mercy and allow Him to raise us again.
Peter’s story should therefore give courage to anyone who has ever felt unworthy of God’s love or incapable of being useful to Him. God knows our weaknesses better than we do, yet He still calls us. His grace can accomplish through a humble heart what human strength alone could never achieve.
And then we arrive at perhaps the most challenging sentence in today’s Gospel: “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”
Think about what they are leaving behind.
They have just experienced the greatest catch of their lives. The very thing they had spent the entire night trying to obtain is now lying abundantly before them.
And they leave it.
Why?
Because after encountering Christ, they have discovered something greater than the fish.
They have discovered the One for whom the human heart was made.
This does not mean that every Christian must literally abandon work, possessions or family responsibilities. For most of us, following Jesus will happen precisely within those responsibilities. A husband and wife follow Christ by loving each other faithfully. Parents follow Him by raising their children in faith and love. A person follows Christ in the workplace by living honestly and treating others with dignity. We follow Him whenever we choose forgiveness instead of resentment, truth instead of convenience, generosity instead of selfishness and faithfulness instead of compromise.
But every disciple must leave something behind.
We cannot truly follow Christ while deliberately holding onto whatever leads us away from Him. There are attitudes, habits, sins, resentments and attachments that cannot accompany us into the deeper life to which Jesus calls us.
And this is why the final words of the Gospel are so powerful. Peter, James and John do not merely admire Jesus. They follow Him.
Christianity is ultimately not simply admiration for Christ. It is discipleship.
Jesus still walks into the ordinary circumstances of human lives and says, “Follow me.”
He comes when our nets are full, and He comes when they are empty. He comes in moments of confidence and in moments when we feel that we have failed. He comes into our families, our work, our disappointments, our hopes and our fears.
And sometimes He asks us to lower the nets once more.
Perhaps today we are tired from a long night of trying. Perhaps there is something for which we have prayed for a long time. Perhaps we cannot yet understand what God is doing.
Then we can borrow the faith of Peter and simply say:
“At your word I will let down the nets.”
Lord, I may not understand, but I trust You.
And when Christ calls us beyond the familiar shore, may we also have the courage to hear those words that He spoke to Peter and that He continues to speak to His Church:
“Do not be afraid.”
The fishermen began that morning concerned about fish. By the end of it, they had discovered their vocation.
They began with empty nets and ended with overflowing boats. Yet the greatest gift they received was neither the fish nor the miracle.
It was Jesus Christ.
And having found Him, they understood that there was nothing greater they could do with their lives than leave everything that held them back and follow Him.
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus Christ, You came to Simon Peter when his nets were empty and his strength was spent. Come also into our lives, especially into those places where we are discouraged, uncertain or afraid.
Give us the faith to trust Your word even when we do not understand Your ways. Lead us beyond a comfortable faith and teach us to put out into the deep.
When we become conscious of our sins, do not allow us to fall into despair, but draw us toward Your mercy. Forgive us, restore us and make our lives useful in the service of Your Kingdom.
Free our hearts from everything that prevents us from following You completely. Teach us to recognise that no possession, success or earthly security can compare with the treasure of knowing You.
And when You call us, Lord, give us the courage of Peter, James and John, that we may leave behind whatever separates us from You and follow You faithfully all the days of our lives.
For You live and reign with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Amen.