Fishing (04/06/24)
According to the gospels, some of the Lord's disciples were fishermen by trade. In fact, when He called these disciples they were busy washing their nets after
having fished all night. Jesus came to them and got into Simon's boat and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and from the boat taught the multitudes that followed Him. "Now when He had stopped speaking He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your net for a catch.' But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.' And when they had done this they caught a great
number of fish and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink" (Luke 5:3-7). Simon and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you shall catch men" (Luke 5:9, 10).
A very similar incident occurred three years later. This incident happened after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the disciples by the Sea of
Tiberias. Apparently the disciples had returned to their occupation of fishing. Once again (as in the first story) they had fished all night and caught nothing. The Lord appeared to them on the shore and asked them if they had any food. "They answered Him 'no.' And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish" (John 21:5, 6).
Because of the similarity between these two incidents, we
might think they are talking about exactly the same thing in the spiritual sense. But [our theology] says that "there is not any repetition [in the Word] unless it is used to mean something different than before" (see Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven 107, 435, and 734). When we find out what these two incidents represent in the spiritual sense, we do indeed find that they are talking about different things. Nevertheless, they are related, for both refer to evangelization.
The difference between the two is one of time, or of what
comes first and what comes second in the work. The first incident represents what the disciples could and would become if they followed the Lord. ...The story of their call is a representative picture of [what was] needed in their preparation for the work of spreading the good news. The second incident, represents their actual efforts at evangelization. It is their carrying out of the Lord's command to make disciples of all nations. (Rogers, NCL 1988)
EDM: In other words, as we seek to apply what we have learned to our relationships with others, is our focus on the goodness
(or love) which the truth leads to? This is what draws people in!
