At 64 sq.m., The Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius) is a freshwater lake teeming with fish. The lake is given to sudden, isolated and very violent storms, so the fishing boats were constructed in such a way as to withhold the battering of the sea. We encounter three fishermen. Their lives were shaped by and for fishing this lake. Theirs was no hobby and fishing was not given to chance, this was not for sport; this was for livelihood. The Galileans had developed the science of harvesting fish that were seeded in the lake to sustain the economy of the region. They salted the fish, packed them in barrels, and shipped them through the Mediterranean world. This is not the world of sustenance fishing or of the simple street fish markets. This is a middle class economic enterprise.

The life of the fishermen did not follow the usual agrarian cycle of life, and so seemed somewhat out of sorts with the rhythm of the rest of the world. The farmer arises at dawn and is in the field all day, the fisherman works all night and then must sleep and engage in his commerce during the day. There is evidence of social division between the fishermen and the farmers.

The fishing village of Capernaum at the time of Jesus was a commercial center. It is here that the Gospel scene opens; it is here that one man’s life takes a turn he never expected.

It had to be a bad night. From what we know about fishing the lake to end up without catching a single fish was astonishing. While folding their nets a stranger got into the boat and asked them to pull off shore from where he taught the assembled crowd.

We do not know what Jesus taught that day; Luke does not record his sermon. Instead the emphasis is on the effect of that sermon on one of those fishermen. After Jesus pointed out their failure to catch any fish, he suggested that they go back out and try again. We also do not know why, but Simon, a skilled fisherman, having listened to Jesus’ sermon, immediately did the unthinkable. At Jesus’ word he returned to the lake and caught more fish than his boat could even handle.

Whatever he experienced, his response to Jesus is even more astounding: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

His encounter with Jesus reminds us of Isaiah, who is swept up to the Heavenly Liturgy, throne of God. Isaiah, a court prophet in Jerusalem, receives a dramatic call to prophesy on a much deeper spiritual level. No longer is he merely offering political advice to the king, he now instructs people and king in their pressing need to set themselves aright before God. The enthusiasm of his, “Here I am, send me” response to the vocation he has received is balanced with his own realization that he was not worthy to receive this commission, “I am a man of sinful lips living among a people of sinful lips.”

Even more astonishing is the Pharisee who devoted his energies to squashing a movement called, “The Way.” The belief that this man, Jesus the crucified might be the Messiah was abhorrent to him. He vigorously and violently persecuted those who professed Jesus as Lord. He was even present at the martyrdom of Stephen. His own encounter with the Resurrected Christ on the Road to Damascus completely changes his life and sets him to the task of proclaiming the Gospel. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of his and their calling, as he alludes to his dramatic conversion.

The need for on-going conversion, to continually set ourselves right before God is the current that runs through each of these encounters with the Word of God. Simon Peter, Isaiah and Paul were each on a right path for themselves and were justified before God. Fisherman, prophet and Pharisee each understood and acted on the Word of God in their lives in ways which made sense to them. That is, until they encountered it in new and dramatic ways.

The recognition of their own sinfulness is the first seed to be planted as we continue to strengthen our relationship with God. As we embark this week on our forty days of Lenten journey, let us find the courage and wisdom to acknowledge our sinfulness so that we might discover the wonderful mercy that God has planned for us.

Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish and School, Holmdel.