The Bible v Facebook

 The Bible v Facebook

When war broke out in the Ukraine this week, I wanted to pray but prayer alone seemed so inadequate. Then the Spirit moved within me and I heard the ancient cry of Scripture. The words of Psalm 2 came to my heart and I cried out with the millions more of faith throughout time and place;

“Why are the nations in an uproar; *
why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the Kings of the earth rise up to warfare

against God’s People?
The Holy One whose throne is in heaven holds them in derision.
And now, you Kings, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Submit to God with fear, *
and with trembling bow before the Most High,
Lest God be angry and you perish, * 

For your time on earth is short and you will give and account for all that you have done.” 

I printed these words to my Facebook page thinking that the ancient words would help to express something deep within us all. But something in what I wrote was problematic.

Within moments my account was restricted. Apparently the words of Scripture give offense to one of Facebook’s algorithmic bots. I was astonished to think that the prayer of God’s people of faith down through the ages was met with rejection from this particular ubiquitous electronic medium.

Like many of you, I have been struggling with Facebook’s place in our culture of late and how it has occupied an outsized role in our national and international life. In fact I think Facebook has been used quite effectively to divide Americans and Europeans by a very clever and devious mind. The resulting weakness in the West gives the upper hand to anybody who may wish to launch a military campaign in Eastern Europe. 

It didn’t take long for me to finally draw the line. If my Facebook account can be restricted for quoting Scripture, then it has come time to delete my account and to declare a Solemn Fast for myself from Social Media.

What happened as a result of that action was a series of conversations with family and friends. And this I believe is what humankind needs more urgently than ever; the sacrament of human conversation. Whatever our point of view, let us at least find a way to speak to one another about it as if we were all children of the same God.

In today’s Scripture passages we do more than speak with one another. Moses and Jesus find themselves speaking directly with God. Imagine being in the Presence of the Living God!

When Moses held high converse in the Presence of the Holy One his face would shine and the people were afraid to come near him. So Moses put a veil over his face, until he went back again up the Mountain where the sacred conversation continued. Then he would remove the veil in the Presence and his face would shine yet again. 

Pay attention when you pray, something like that radiance begins to shine in your own heart and soul as you approach the Holy. Think about that for a moment or two…

In today’s Gospel the sacred conversation reaches a whole new level well beyond human understanding. Here the Disciples are confronted with Moses who represents our deliverance out of slavery and God’s gift of the Law. Elijah likewise appears representing the Prophets and God’s love of Justice especially on behalf of the poor. 

Jesus is there too and I can imagine what that might have been like. I’d be dumbstruck. And so they were for a while but Peter couldn’t help himself. “Let’s make three dwellings; one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 

“Peter what are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know.”

How can anyone know what to say in the Presence of such an awesome experience of the Living Christ and his Transfiguration? How can anyone know what to say in the Presence of the Law and the Prophets and the Love of God made Flesh and Blood in Jesus?

You think you have something to say about that? Best you hold your tongue, listen and look.

Jesus is Transfigured. Moses and Elijah fade into the background and Jesus emerges from one Glory to another. His raiment is brighter than any fuller’s soap on earth could make. 

Moses at the Burning Bush asked God; “What is your Name”. Listen up and God will tell you.

Moses was summoned up to the Mountain of God and had nothing to say because God laid down the Law. 

After all it is God who asks the questions and we who give the answers. We learn that lesson time and again throughout history. No King or Queen, no Pharaoh, no dictator, no autocrat, no president on earth is god. Only God is God.

But Peter thought that somehow we could make three dwelling places; one for the Law, one for the Prophets and one for Jesus. But there is no way to put God in a box. God’s Glory shines in and trough and above and beyond anything our minds can fathom. Perhaps it is best for us to keep a holy silence in the Presence of the Living God.

But the Good News is not that God is beyond human knowing as Jesus reveals it. In fact it is all so simple. When Jesus died and rose again, the Love of God also came to life within each of us. As Jesus forgave us, so we forgive. As Jesus reconciled us to God, so we reconcile each to the other on earth. As Jesus stretched out his loving arms on the hard wood of the cross everyone comes within the reach of his saving embrace.

Which brings me back to the case of the Bible v Facebook. 

"Why are the nations in an uproar? 

Why do the kings of the earth imagine a vain thing. 

Do they not know that God is God?

We read in Scripture; “the fool has said in his heart; there is no God.” ~Psalm 14:1. 

Perhaps some algorithmic bot would take offense at that too. 

It is a tragic mistake for any King on earth to think there is no God.

Which is why I pray the prayer of Scripture. 

Today we all pray for those who suffer in the midst of warfare. For men, women and children whose homeland is under attack, and for refugees who have no home to go to.

May our hearts open to them as God’s heart opens to all humankind. 

In the Name of God the Most Holy Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul

 

Below are the appointed readings for Transfiguration Sunday with words and sentences highlighted that speak to my heart. 

Transfiguration Sunday

The Collect:

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he

had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Psalm 99

The Lord is King;

let the people tremble; *

he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake.

 

The Lord is great in Zion; *

he is high above all peoples.

Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; * he is the Holy One.

“O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; *

you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

and fall down before his footstool; * he is the Holy One.

Moses and Aaron among his priests,

and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *

they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.

He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *

they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.

“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *

you were a God who forgave them,

yet punished them for their evil deeds.”

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

and worship him upon his holy hill; *

for the Lord our God is the Holy One.

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

The Beatitudes 2.0

 The Beatitudes 2.0

In our home the rule was; “no cursing”! It was honored more in the breach than in the observance. Ours was a multigenerational home. My Grandmother, uncle, mom, brother and me, all lived under one roof. When the language got a little salty, which it often did, my grandmother would become severe. Brandishing her wooden spoon, she’d declare; “I’ll thank you to hold a civil tongue in your head!” Still the air often turned blue with a string of epithets from my uncle and not infrequently from my mother. And that, my friends, would make my grandmother cringe. 

There’s a part of me that cringes at the thought of God cursing. Today we read what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals.” The language makes me wince. But Jeremiah is seeking to make a point. 

Namely, that if we trust in mortals and not in God we are indeed invoking some kind of judgment upon ourselves. Do I make flesh and blood a god? Do I trust in my own strength? Or do I recognize that life itself is a gift?

Surely all of us trust in God above all else. But then I wonder do we hedge our bets from time to time. St. Paul wonders how serious we are about living the Risen Life of Christ. As an Easter People the idea of the Resurrection is at the core of everything we do, whether we actually believe it or not. Like every article of faith in the Nicene Creed, the idea of the Resurrection is something we live into. 

Who can understand such a mystery as the Resurrection? The Virgin Birth? The Triune God? There is no way on earth we can fully understand every article of faith.

Thankfully, faith is not at root an intellectual exercise. Faith is what we do and how we live. As for me I dare to believe everything that Jesus did and taught by living into the way he lived and taught.

Which brings us to the Beatitudes 2.0. We all know the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. Many of us were required to commit these words to memory as youngsters. And if we didn’t memoize them, we know them at an even deeper level of the spirit. But what of these words from Luke’s Gospel. 

Class, what is the title of this sermon?

Yes! Excellent, that’s correct, “The Sermon on the Plain” as the scholars call it! It takes place, alongside the Mediterranean Sea, near Tyre, 38 miles and Sidon, 48 miles from the Mount of the Beatitudes. It appears that Jesus had his “stump speech”, something that he would repeat time and again as he made his way from town to town during his ministry. His ideas developed over time, and perhaps varied from audience to audience as the setting and the need changed.

This version of the Beatitudes is much more direct than the more familiar one. Here Jesus talks about the poor. They weren’t “poor in spirit”. They were just plain poor. He blessed them. Likewise those who were hungry, hated, excluded, reviled and defamed. Jesus’ love and compassion reached out to all these; and because it did, they crowded around and he blessed them.

But Jesus has sharp words for some in today’s Gospel. He goes on to say; “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”

When Jesus saw oppression he had strong words. In Seminary we are taught to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. In the tradition of Jesus, the fifth century Celtic theologian, Pelagius, wrote “A person who is rich and refuses to give food to the hungry may cause far more deaths than even the cruelest murderer.” 

Those words are prophetic for the Irish and for many others caught up in famine, poverty, slavery, and oppression to this very day. There are those who have and others who have not. This is not justice.

In one congregation after another, I have taken up the cudgels on behalf of the needy, and folks mostly stood foursquare behind me. It is not unusual for a priest to come into conflict. God knows I’ve had my moments.

Every priest plays to mixed reviews. There’s the old story of the time when the rector fell ill and was hospitalized. Within a few days the recovery was going well when the Senior Warden stopped by with prayerful reassurances. In fact the Vestry had taken a vote that very day for the priest’s speedy recovery. The vote was 7-5!

Today, Psalm 1 takes precedence over the other 149. 

It is well worth heeding its words.

“Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, * nor lingered in the way of sinners,
Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
       but the way of the wicked is doomed."

Uh-oh…there’s yet another edgy word “doomed”.

If I have a quizzical look about me sometimes when I read the Scripture, it is only because I’m trying to make sense of it. As challenging as that may be, when trying to make sense of the world we live it that will produce far more than quizzical looks on my face. That’s only because I’m still seeking God’s Justice.

If I wish to be happy in God’s world one thing I do know; it will begin with a Blessing. I will bless anyone and anything I can, beginning with those in need. This is what Jesus did both in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Sermon on the Plain. Everything else, I leave to God

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen

Fr Paul

Below are the scriptures assigned to be read this Sunday with highlights marked that speak to my spirit. 

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

The Collect:

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament: Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.  Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.

Psalm: Psalm 1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
       nor lingered in the way of sinners,
       nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
       and they meditate on his law day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
   bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
       everything they do shall prosper.
It is not so with the wicked; *
       they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
       nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
       but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

Gospel: Luke 6:17-26

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Another Fish Story

 
Another Fish Story 

Red Rock Park is about half a mile from my house and I enjoy walking there along our seaside promenade. The seasons, the sea and sky, the gulls and seabirds provide a never ending source of spiritual satisfaction to my soul and I find myself rejoicing with the imagination of our Triune God who is constantly painting a canvas of Glory right before our eyes.

During the more temperate seasons, folks like to gather at the park with their fishing gear and there they sit day after day, night after night, hour after hour, visiting with each other, telling stories, catching up on the news of the day. Once and only once have I seen someone catch a fish. But what a fish it was! When the creature caught onto the line excitement immediately electrified all who were gathered there. The fisherman in question struggled against the power of the fish. The rod he held in his hand bent to such a degree that it looked like it would snap in two. He was unable to haul the catch to shore by himself so several other stout fellows were dispatched below to lend a hand and haul the fish ashore. Finally, after a long and heroic battle between man and beast the fish was subdued and they brought the creature to shore. Proudly the fisherman held the fish by his gills for all to see. That fish measured from his foot to well above his waste. 

At which point he announced; “Everybody’s coming to my house to eat tonight!” 

Can you imagine the celebration! What fun!

Can you imagine the joy in heaven when just one of us catches God and is caught by God. The scripture says; “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. ~Hebrews 10:31. And when I say “fear” I mean it in the biblical sense of awe and wonder. 

In today’s Gospel there’s not just one but a whole netful of fish; so many that when hauled aboard ship the vessel began to sink. In such a dramatic scene it’s all hands on deck. The excitement, the danger and the reward are all palpable. It was an amazing haul and one that was unforgettable to the disciples, so much so that they told the story again and again until it was written down for us in today’s Gospel. 

The story speaks to us today. Here we are on a cold February day in Haverhill several thousands of years later, thousands of miles away, reflecting on how we are caught up into God’s net. Nothing is ever the same again once we are gathered together closely into a relationship with the Triune God and to one another. 

Life itself takes on a new way of being. We relate to one another differently when we are woven together in God’s net. Because Christ forgives us we forgive one another. Because of his compassion our cup overflows toward one another with an abundant measure of generosity. And since we are reconciled to God in Jesus we are also reconciled to one another. This is the Dream of God; to live as one as if we are now the Body of Christ.

This is our life’e end; to live in the fear of the Lord by being toward each other the way God’s being is toward us. Thus we are filled with the kind of joy that redeems all our days and wipes all the tears from our faces and all our sins from our souls. All our hopes, all our fears, all our guilt are caught up into God’s net and hauled into God’s nearer presence from birth to death and well beyond. “All is well with us now and all manner of thing shall be well with us”. ~para Dame Julian of Norwich.

At a time of national crisis when King Uzziah died, Isaiah dreamed another dream of God and he “saw the Lord sitting on a throne. Seraphs were in attendance above him and one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

You may see now what I mean when I say that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

The prophet is dumbstruck by the experience and says the only thing he can say;

“Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

The prophet regained his composure; “Here I am send me.”

This is Good News. The coal has been taken from the altar of God. Your guilt has been taken away. God sends you! 

Paul sums up the Good News even more succinctly. His words have the sound of a Creed to them;

“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am.

And whatever else you and I have done with our lives good and bad alike, each of us can say “I am what I am”. You are the one  who Jesus loves enough to stretch out his net and to haul you into God’s kingdom.

When we fall into the hands of the living God we cannot restrain ourselves. Our spirits rejoice like the Psalmist. 

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
       before the gods I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
   and praise your Name, *
       because of your love and faithfulness;
When I called, you answered me; *
       you increased my strength within me.
Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *
       O Lord, your love endures for ever;
       

Imagine the feasting in Heaven because of you! Thanks be to God. Amen.

Fr Paul

In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen

Below are the readings appointed for this Sunday with highlights that speak to my soul.

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

The Collect:

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Psalm 138

1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
       before the gods I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
   and praise your Name, *
       because of your love and faithfulness;
3 For you have glorified your Name *
       and your word above all things.
4 When I called, you answered me; *
       you increased my strength within me.
5 All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, *
       when they have heard the words of your mouth.
6 They will sing of the ways of the Lord, *
       that great is the glory of the Lord.
7 Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *
       he perceives the haughty from afar.
8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
       you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
       your right hand shall save me.
9 The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *
       O Lord, your love endures for ever;
       do not abandon the works of your hands.

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.