Fishing gets into your blood. It doesn’t matter if you use bait and a hook or a million dollar boat and a dozen crew members. Pulling something from the unknown waters and using it to provide for your family is something that runs deep in a man. If you’ve watched the TV series “Deadliest Catch” on cable, you’ll know what I mean. These men are out there, sleep deprived, hungry and cold, just to catch something in a trap or a net and sell it to provide income for them and their families. There’s also the matter of pride in being able to say you brought in the really big catch. My close friend used to work on a boat like that. He’s told me the stories of scary moments, rogue waves and the camaraderie between shipmates. I’m sure I’m getting the highlight reel, but I wonder if he still misses those times.

Fishing is one of those vocations that is timeless. The techniques change, but the concept is the same. The Gospels give us a pretty good picture of the life of a fisherman in Galilee. You’d go out in a boat in the evening, let down the nets that you spent the previous morning mending, haul the nets in once in awhile and in the morning, come back to shore to sell your catch. Some nights would be good, and other nights very poor. Some mornings, you were grateful just to make it back alive and in one piece after a vicious storm. Men died fishing, just like they do today. Boats sank, and sometimes... things just went wrong. It was a risky life, but it was one I’m sure Peter and the other fishermen loved. It was as deep in his blood as it was in other fishermen.

In fact, it is fishing that Peter returns to after his spiritual leader, Jesus, had been crucified and then miraculously raised to life. You could say that at this point, Peter is adrift, and he naturally comes back to what he has always known. He fishes all night with his friends. The hours roll by, but his nets are empty. Finally, dawn appears on the eastern shore. It gets light enough and their eyes are just able to make out of a figure onshore. He is a long way off and they don’t recognize him. He calls out to them, “Friends, have you caught any fish?” When they tell him no, he tells them, “Throw your nets on the right side of the boat, and you’ll find some.” I’m sure that at that moment, Peter looked at his friends with a look that said “Where have we heard this before?” They throw their nets over, and, sure enough, their nets are filled with a large catch. John tells Peter that it’s the Lord, and Peter throws his clothes on (What? You don’t fish naked too?), jumps out of the boat, and swims to shore. Peter, it seems, is just as impulsive as ever.

They make it to shore, and Peter helps drag in the net. Jesus has a fire going already, and he tells them to bring some of the fish they just caught. I’m not sure if you realize how good these fish tasted. Freshly caught fish taste incredibly good, especially if they’re roasted over a campfire and you haven’t eaten since the night before. To top it all off, they were looking into the eyes of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and sharing a meal with him. I’m sure that this is the origin of the slogan “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Then, things take an odd turn. Jesus turns to Peter and asks--not by his familiar nickname of Peter, but by his full name, Simon son of John--he asks him “Do you love me more than these?” Peter responds in the affirmative, and Jesus tells him to feed his sheep. But then Jesus asks him again, and then again, “Do you love me more than these?”

Peter is hurt. He doesn't understand why Jesus has asked three times. Peter thinks Jesus doubts his answer. After all, it was Peter who denied Jesus at his trial not once or twice, but three times. Yet, three times is actually the key to understanding the reason behind Jesus’ question and his directive to feed his sheep. By asking Peter the same number of times that he denied knowing his teacher and friend, Jesus is actually reinstating him to full brotherhood within the group.

Finally, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him more than fishing. Jesus wanted Peter to seriously evaluate whether he would go back to being a fisherman or go on to become a fisher of men. Peter was at a turning point between two vastly different careers. One was a career that he had proven himself at. He knew he could make a living and support his family by fishing. The other alternative was something that for most men should be terrifying. There was no visible means of support. People had recently been trying to kill them. Their leader had guaranteed that if the world hated him, it would hate his followers as well. Peter had, at best, an unknown future ahead of him. Yet, even by this catch of fish, Jesus was implying that he would be taking care of. It would not be a bowl of cherries, because in the very next breath, Jesus foretells Peter’s death. Yet one thing is clear: Peter truly loves Jesus more than fishing and is willing to follow him no matter the cost. Considering the human heart, that may be the biggest miracle of all.

For me, this is a rich passage to draw from for my own life. For the past year, I have been looking at my options for a career and finding that I could play it safe and be an IT geek, or choose to take what I believe my love for God is leading me into. There is no visible means of support. I'm taking hits for what I've written. Yet, I feel God is telling me to feed his sheep. My only response is, "Yes, Lord. You know men's hearts. You know that I love you." The rest of it is in his hands and he will lead me into the next step I need to take.

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