In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 4:18-23
At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
Our Gospel reading today tells us of the calling of Saints Peter, Andrew, James, and John by our Lord one day by the Sea of Galilee. Nearly forty years ago I spent several weeks living near the Sea of Galilee; and at the time, the level of the lake had fallen very low. So low that a fishing boat from the time of Jesus that had sunk beneath the waves long ago was uncovered. It was found to be in a remarkable state of preservation. It now forms part of a museum exhibit near the lake; but then it was sitting in what was essentially a shed, being treated to ensure that its sudden return to the world above the water did not cause it to disintegrate.
The shed was open; and people were free to come and go and get a good, close-up look at it. It was by no means enormous, in the way that today’s fishing boats are. And it was far from perfect, but in more than good enough condition to give a very good idea of what boats of the time were like. It’s just over eight meters long and two meters wide; and based on the images of what it would have looked like in its glory days, it seems essentially to be like an overgrown rowboat with a small mast and a sail.
If you look up ‘Sea of Galilee Boat’ online, you’ll find images of it. But I think you have enough information for now to have an idea of what they look like and help set the scene in your mind. Additional, given that fisherman in the region generally fish at night and they are washing their nets when Jesus arrives, it is reasonable to suppose that these encounters took place in the morning, not too long after a night’s work and the boats have been unloaded.
Concerning this passage, I have sometimes heard people talk about it as if Jesus showed up that day out of a clear blue sky, a total stranger to these men, and he essentially snapped His fingers, the fishermen were hit with some kind of spiritual thunderbolt, and these men at once dropped everything and followed Him. And this is then held up as example to others: something along the lines of ‘I am telling you that Jesus is calling you, just like those fishermen, and you must now follow Him without a moment’s hesitation, just as they did, if you are to be saved!’ But it is a false example.
For I am sure that you remember from your own reading of Scripture, and as the Fathers remind us, that this was not their first meeting with Jesus. In the very first chapter of Saint John’s Gospel we are told that Saints Andrew and Peter met Him first by the Jordan, where Saint Andrew heard Saint John the Baptist declare ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’ And Saint Andrew then went and found his brother, St Peter, and told him that ‘we have found the Messiah.’ Some of the details about what occurred between the meeting at the Jordan and the meeting by the Sea of Galilee may be lost in the mists of time. But one thing is perfectly clear: when these men answered the call that day, it was no blind leap of faith based on no information whatsoever. They knew Who Jesus was; and had very good reason to follow Him.
The reason why this is important, I think, is because of the very last words written at the end of the Gospel from which today’s reading is taken. They were spoken by our Lord Himself to His apostles just prior to His Ascension:
‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages. Amen.’
This is what the work of the Church is about. It is about teaching people why it is that they should follow Jesus. It is not merely mentioning Him, almost in passing, and thinking that you have done your duty by doing so, and the rest is up to God. But God does not send such spiritual thunderbolts, at least not very often. He founded a Church to preach and teach to the nations, to all people, to guide them into the Church and welcome them in through the Mystery of Baptism.
The boat, in order to survive two thousand years, had to be hidden deep in the mud under cold and murky waters. This is not how the Church has spent the same amount of time. The Church has thrived and flourished by following Christ’s command to teach all people to observe all that He had commanded his disciples to do. This they did; and this we, as His disciples today, must continue to do, now, always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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