“The Sea of Galilee”.
23 Simon, a famous fisherman, was packing up his fishing
gear. He had got up early in the morning, when it had not been dawn yet, to cast his
nets, but he caught nothing. Being a good professional and a strong character, he
watched and grieved, as if with enmity, the blue and peaceful waters that seemed to
have hidden the fish in their depths. Suddenly, he saw someone from afar
approaching the place where he was standing. When that person got closer, he
recognized his brother, Andrew, a disciple of John, the prophet from the wilderness.
He embraced him happily and kissed him, asking him what he was doing on the
seashore. Andrew’s face was beaming with joy, as he said: “We have found the
Messiah (which, translated means Christ)” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The
Gospel of John”, ch. 1, verse 41).
“The Gospels” do not tell us what was in Simon’s heart. However, we think that,
when he heard about God’s Messiah, promissed by our Creator and expected to
deliverer the Hebrew people, the hope revived in his heart and he left the nets that
he was struggling to repair, the ark and his friends, and went with Andrew. Being
brought to “Messiah”, Jesus looked at him and told him: “Thou art Simon the son of
Jona; Thou shalt be called Cephas (which means Peter)” (The Bible, The New
Testament, “The Gospel of John”, ch. 1, verse 42).
Then, the turn of the sea came to demonstrate, by undeniable facts, that Jesus
Christ was the Lord, the Son of God. A little later, Simon Peter complained to Jesus
that he had labored all night with his companions and that they had caught nothing.
At Jesus’s request, Peter sailed the ship away from the shore and he cast the nets
again, although he did not hope to catch something (now it was too late, the sun had
risen recently in the sky, and he was well aware of the secrets of his trade). After
they had thrown the nets, they fished so many fish that their nets began to break, and
their ships began to sink. His professional pride being affected and also ashamed by
his attitude and weak faith, scared, Simon Peter threw himself at Jesus’s feet, in
tears, saying, “Lord, depart from me because I am a sinner” (The Bible, The New
Testament, “The Gospel of Luke”, ch. 5 verse 5–8). This fisherman, who could
write, but who was not educated at the high schools of the antiquity, after three and
a half years of experience with his Master, years of victories and failures, would
write two “Epistles” of special beauty and spiritual value.
24
We tried to reveal that, by means of the sea, the human being experiences
feelings and aspirations, seeded in his/her heart from the very beginning by the
Supreme Creator, God. Peter, a seaman, was, in fact, among the first called to be
Jesus’s disciples. Since the beginning of his discipleship, Jesus promised that he
would be “a fisher of men”. Willing, but often wrong, he was reprimanded and
23 “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. . .” (see The Bible, “The Gospel of Matthew”,
ch. 4, verse 18).
24 For instance, The Bible, The New Testament, “The First Epistle of Peter”, ch. 2, verse 9, states:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. Idem,
“The Second Epistle of Peter”, ch. 3, verse 13, p. 1198: “But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells”.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
19
23 Simon, a famous fisherman, was packing up his fishing
gear. He had got up early in the morning, when it had not been dawn yet, to cast his
nets, but he caught nothing. Being a good professional and a strong character, he
watched and grieved, as if with enmity, the blue and peaceful waters that seemed to
have hidden the fish in their depths. Suddenly, he saw someone from afar
approaching the place where he was standing. When that person got closer, he
recognized his brother, Andrew, a disciple of John, the prophet from the wilderness.
He embraced him happily and kissed him, asking him what he was doing on the
seashore. Andrew’s face was beaming with joy, as he said: “We have found the
Messiah (which, translated means Christ)” (The Bible, The New Testament, “The
Gospel of John”, ch. 1, verse 41).
“The Gospels” do not tell us what was in Simon’s heart. However, we think that,
when he heard about God’s Messiah, promissed by our Creator and expected to
deliverer the Hebrew people, the hope revived in his heart and he left the nets that
he was struggling to repair, the ark and his friends, and went with Andrew. Being
brought to “Messiah”, Jesus looked at him and told him: “Thou art Simon the son of
Jona; Thou shalt be called Cephas (which means Peter)” (The Bible, The New
Testament, “The Gospel of John”, ch. 1, verse 42).
Then, the turn of the sea came to demonstrate, by undeniable facts, that Jesus
Christ was the Lord, the Son of God. A little later, Simon Peter complained to Jesus
that he had labored all night with his companions and that they had caught nothing.
At Jesus’s request, Peter sailed the ship away from the shore and he cast the nets
again, although he did not hope to catch something (now it was too late, the sun had
risen recently in the sky, and he was well aware of the secrets of his trade). After
they had thrown the nets, they fished so many fish that their nets began to break, and
their ships began to sink. His professional pride being affected and also ashamed by
his attitude and weak faith, scared, Simon Peter threw himself at Jesus’s feet, in
tears, saying, “Lord, depart from me because I am a sinner” (The Bible, The New
Testament, “The Gospel of Luke”, ch. 5 verse 5–8). This fisherman, who could
write, but who was not educated at the high schools of the antiquity, after three and
a half years of experience with his Master, years of victories and failures, would
write two “Epistles” of special beauty and spiritual value.
24
We tried to reveal that, by means of the sea, the human being experiences
feelings and aspirations, seeded in his/her heart from the very beginning by the
Supreme Creator, God. Peter, a seaman, was, in fact, among the first called to be
Jesus’s disciples. Since the beginning of his discipleship, Jesus promised that he
would be “a fisher of men”. Willing, but often wrong, he was reprimanded and
23 “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. . .” (see The Bible, “The Gospel of Matthew”,
ch. 4, verse 18).
24 For instance, The Bible, The New Testament, “The First Epistle of Peter”, ch. 2, verse 9, states:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. Idem,
“The Second Epistle of Peter”, ch. 3, verse 13, p. 1198: “But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells”.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
19