Go deeper out.
Dawn broke over the hills. A rosy hue of cheer he did not
appreciate. Once in a while, he wished it would not herald a new day, another
day of emptiness. With each swing of his
arm, the net would flare out, slap on the water and sink to the bottom, raising
their hopes with each measure of deep and more at the familiar pulling on the
drawstring to close its mouth before pulling it back on to the boat. The nets
hadn’t come back completely empty of course and each slight pull of weight in
it had excited them, till they opened it to dead fish, shells, sticks and
seaweed.
His hands were not sore; why would they be? This was barely
work. He wished for the familiar ache in his shoulders and arms, his fingers
stiff with heavy hauling; it would mean he had something to show for his time
spent out here, something to take home to the family. Ruth would have smiled
again; instead of the worried frown that seemed to have taken over her pretty
face lately. She had every reason – there was barely enough after the Romans
had taken their taxes, and the temple priests took their share and then with
what was left, he had his family to take care of.
The soft bump of the keel of his boat touching the shoreline
broke his reverie. His younger brother, Andrew, hopped out with the crew and
pulled it beyond the reach of the whispering waves. Together, they fussed over
thier nets which had to be washed clean before putting them away for the
evening run when they would try their luck again. Disappointment mirrored on
their faces though they did not speak of it. Second day in a row. Where were
the fish?
A glance along the beach where the softly hissing waves
moved lazily in a pattern along the sand showed his partners by their boats,
mending and washing their nets as well. They hadn’t been any luckier. Empty or not, the nets had to be washed, any
tear in them mended and then laid out to dry. All, crucial for their
livelihood.
People moved about higher up where the grass gave way to
the road, prospective buyers returning to their carts equally glum. The lack of
fish affected more than just the fishermen; the ripples would reach to the
tables of the rich and wealthy who cared nothing for the fishermen who had
toiled all night. They would grumble about a lazy workforce who should work
harder if they wanted to earn a living.
What did they know?
Simon slapped the net angrily against the water, as if it
would help wake the sleepy, errant fish. They were out there he knew it, and
they were meant to be in his nets; he cursed under his breath. He had been
fishing in these waters ever since he was old enough to walk; his father, his
grandfather – that’s all they had ever done. Fish. He knew these waters better
than anyone. He knew where the fish rested during the day, where they swam at night;
he knew when they bred and when they spawned. He knew them. Yet. Where were the
fish?!
A shadow fell over his work and stayed. He looked up into the
bearded face, of the Rabbi. Simon stood up with a smile. “Rabbi, my mother in
law is well now and has made me promise to invite you for a meal the next time
I see you.” An invitation he hoped the
rabbi would politely accept for another day – Simon wasn’t sure if there would
be anything at home today.
The Rabbi smiled in acknowledgement, and turned to his
brother who had come up to join them.
“Hello, Andrew.”
“Rabbi” Andrew acknowledged solemnly.
The Rabbi looked over their shoulder and the brothers turned
to the noise behind them. A crowd had gathered and was fast approaching. “May I
use your boat?” and at their surprised silence, he continued, “I need to speak
to them” he gestured at the people “and I cannot do it here. It would be easier
just beyond the breakers.”
Andrew and Simon exchanged a glance – why not? There was
nothing else to do now anyway. No fish to clean nor dry, nothing to salt nor
separate. They shrugged, and motioned for the teacher to get in. When the water
was calmer just beyond the waves, the Rabbi stood up and holding on to the mast
to brace against the slight bob of the craft, he began to teach. His voice
reached easily, the wind carrying the words. The crowds lapped them up as
eagerly as the waves that licked the sands.
Simon leaned over the edge, watching small fish dart about
in the clear waters. “Call your big brothers” he murmured, “we shall be waiting
tonight.” Soon enough, the rabbi was dismissing the crowd, and Simon picked up
his oar to bring the craft back to the shore, when to his surprise, the Rabbi
suggested, “Come, let’s go out into the deep. And let down your nets for a
catch.”
Simon, always frank and never one to waste words, “Master,” he
said slowly like he would to a child. He was a fisherman; the Rabbi, only a
carpenter, so Simon felt the need to explain why they could not indulge a
ridiculous request. “We have been out all night, doing just that, and as you
can see, we have nothing to show for it.” His arm swept to the shore where some
catch would have been laid out, and to the bottom of his boat that looked too
clean to have been witness to flailing fish gasping for their last breath. Its
hot, the sun too high, the fish may be resting closer to the bottom of cooler
depths, his instincts and experience pushed unspoken thoughts.
His eye caught Andrew’s. His brother had been a follower of
John the Baptist who now languished in the prisons of Herod, which was another
story, and it was at one of those meetings that Andrew had met the Rabbi. And
of course, whenever Andrew was excited over anything, he had to rope Simon in
too and had dragged him off to meet the rabbi. Simon, ever indulgent of his
little brother, had rarely denied him anything. Not since their father had
passed away leaving the family in Simon’s charge. And Simon knew the boy was hurting about
John’s fate; he couldn’t refuse him today. Besides, his little brother was staring
at Simon, upset at his tone with the rabbi.
Simon sighed, “Nevertheless, if you want us to, we shall.
Hey boys!” He called to James and John, his partners still by their boats. “We are going
fishing. To the Deep! Come if you want to.” As expected, they laughed, and
waved him on. His own crew dared not, not if they knew what was good for them. Faces
stiff, they unfurled the sail which flapped to pick up the wind; their craft glided
out with the hot noon sun blazing down.
The rabbi had turned his face to enjoy the wind as it pushed
his long hair off his face. He closed his eyes, a smile on his lips.
“How far out?” one of the men whispered to the other. They
had been a crew for years and knew the futility of the exercise just as well; the
lake here was already deeper than their nets could reach.
Simon looked at the rabbi in question and at the nod,
indicated that the nets be thrown out. Splash! The first net lay for a breath
on the surface before sinking slowly. Others followed almost immediately. Fighting
impatience he reminded himself - Simon owed the rabbi for his mother-in law’s
recovery. He looked for more silver
linings: the words the rabbi had spoken from the boat had an authority he had
not heard from other rabbis and teachers at the synagogues. Blood suckers, his
brothers, had described them and though Simon had pinched him into silence, he
tended to agree. But the Rabbi he now carried in his boat was different:
approachable. Oh well, he sighed deeply, may this wasted morning be counted in his
list of good deeds, he prayed.
Yet, watching the men sit silently without hope, waiting for
orders to retrieve their nets, he could barely hold back his frustration. He
would have to clean off the debris and rubbish that would snag in and he
wondered how many more holes he would have to mend before breaking off for lunch.
His stomach growled as if to remind him. He could not abandon the nets either;
they would have to be washed – again –he wondered how much rest they would get before
their run at night.
Simon glared at his brother; he should understand there was
a limit to how much Simon would do for him, then followed Andrew’s stunned gaze
into the water. It was dark and troubled. “Pull up the nets!” he commanded. As
the drawstrings closed the mouths and the men tugged at it, the water boiled
with thrashing fish! The crew of seven struggled at the weight in them. A
sickening tear along a side of a net, spilled out some of the catch.
“Hey!!” He bellowed, waving his arms to catch the attention
of his partners who were waiting patiently for them to return. They scrambled
into their boat as they realized what was happening.
Both boats were filling fast with fish whose tails whipped
about as they sought to escape, their sharp dorsal fins spiked up in distress.
But the men were laughing, ignoring the cuts on bare legs. The nets were thrown
out again and again, and each time, they came up laden and heavy.
Gulls squawked and screeched as they dived and fluttered
around them in a cloud at the unexpected bounty. The sun glinted off the
surface of the lake where two boats in the middle of a lake struggled to cope
with an impossible situation.
Simon stared at the rabbi who had moved to the narrow prow
of the boat to allow the men space. The
boat was so full, it barely moved with the waves, so there was no danger of the
Rabbi falling off balance. His eyes bore back into Simon’s, a slow smile
curling the corners of the mouth under that beard. Wading through knee deep
fish, Simon climbed up the step that separated the prow from the bottom of the
boat; his frustrated, impatient thoughts of earlier calling against his
conscience. Falling to his knees he cried out, “Lord! Leave me. I am a sinner!”
“I hope the invitation to lunch is still open. I am
famished.” Came the reply.
Based on Luke 5: 1- 10.
Susy Matthew
Oct 2019.