Saint Luke - Chapter 5
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| The first miraculous draught of fishes. J-J Tissot. |
And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth,
[2] Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum : piscatores autem descenderant, et lavabant retia.
And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
[3] Ascendens autem in unam navim, quae erat Simonis, rogavit eum a terra reducere pusillum. Et sedens docebat de navicula turbas.
And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship.
[4] Ut cessavit autem loqui, dixit ad Simonem : Duc in altum, et laxate retia vestra in capturam.
Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
[5] Et respondens Simon, dixit illi : Praeceptor, per totam noctem laborantes nihil cepimus : in verbo autem tuo laxabo rete.
And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net.
[6] Et cum hoc fecissent, concluserunt piscium multitudinem copiosam : rumpebatur autem rete eorum.
And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke.
They inclosed a great multitude of fishes—for Peter had said, “At Thy word I will let down the net.” Behold here the fruit and reward of obedience. Jesus did this—1. In order that by providing them with food, He might prepare them for their vocation and ministry. I have chosen you to be My disciples, make not excuse that ye must work for your livelihood as fishermen. Behold this miraculous draft of fishes, and believe that I am able to provide you with all things necessary for life more easily and more abundantly than ye are able to provide them yourselves. 2. To teach from this miracle, that they were soon to become successful fishers of men.
[7] Et annuerunt sociis, qui erant in alia navi, ut venirent, et adjuvarent eos. Et venerunt, et impleverunt ambas naviculas, ita ut pene mergerentur.
And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking.
And they beckoned unto their partners—because from joy and wondering astonishment they were unable to speak.
[8] Quod cum vidisset Simon Petrus, procidit ad genua Jesu, dicens : Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum, Domine.
Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
[9] Stupor enim circumdederat eum, et omnes qui cum illo erant, in captura piscium, quam ceperant :
For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken.
[10] similiter autem Jacobum et Joannem, filios Zebedaei, qui erunt socii Simonis. Et ait ad Simonem Jesus : Noli timere : ex hoc jam homines eris capiens.
And so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Fear not (be not lost in astonishment, from henceforth you are to be fishermen in a higher sense of the word), from henceforth thou shalt catch men. ζωγρῶν from ζωγρέω, which means—
First, to hunt or catch some living thing, hence the Arabic translates it, from henceforth thou shalt be a fisherman, for thou shalt fish for and take men. Thou, Peter, shalt catch men, not by wounding and disabling them, as wild animals are taken; but as fish which are unhurt by the net, so thou shalt catch men not by violence or force, but through the power and operation of the spirit.
Secondly (if we derive the word from ζῶν and ἐγρομαι or ἐγείρω), to quicken, or recall to life. Hence S. Ambrose (Hexam., lib. v. cap. vi.) “Thou shalt be a life-giver to men;” and the Syriac, “Thou shalt be a fisher of men, to recall them to life.” Fishermen, indeed, catch fish to provide themselves with food, but thou, O Peter, art to become a fisher of men, not to destroy them, but to give them life by raising them from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness, for like as fish taken from the water die, so men caught by thee become dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, and, in a sense, as fish are assimilated by those who feed on them, so do those who are inclosed in the Gospel net, become in very truth members of Christ.
Figuratively, the ship of Peter is the Church, the head of which is Peter and his successors. The Pope is therefore the chief fisherman to whom the words of Christ apply, “Thou shalt catch men.” It is the duty, therefore, of the Roman Pontiff directly and by means of others to convert the heathen, as the early occupants of the see of Rome converted the Roman people and sent apostolic men to preach the word of life to heathen lands.
Thus S. Gregory sent Augustine to convert the English people.
S. Ambrose observes, that some men, e.g., the martyrs, like fish, are taken by the hook; others, i.e., the body of the faithful, by the net, and adds, “Nets are the means whereby the Apostles catch men, for nets do not destroy but preserve what they take, and bring to the surface that which is floating below.”
Nets are called in Latin “retia,” because they are retentive “retinentia,” of that which they have taken.—Gloss.
[11] Et subductis ad terram navibus, relictis omnibus, secuti sunt eum.
And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him.
''At the time of Jesus Christ, the Lake of Tiberias was much frequented, but now it is entirely deserted. At the time of my visit to it, about 1888, there were not more than fifteen boats to be seen on it, and Lamartine tells us he did not see one., a great change from the time of the historian Josephus, who speaks of four thousand boats, such as skiffs, barges and other crafts of various build, with more important vessels. Not only were there then upon the lake the fleets of the various fishing communities which were dotted along the coast, but there were also the ferry boats, used for taking passengers for different kinds of merchandise to and fro between the shores, as well as the craft belonging to the garrison of the town of Tiberias, then a regular military station.
It was from the boat of Simon, later to become a fisher of men, that Jesus brought about the first miraculous draught of fishes, which was a type of the conversions of the future. It was in the same boat, which then symbolised the Church, that Our Lord stilled the tempest and reassured the disciples, who typified redeemed mankind.'' [Taken from The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J-J Tissot, 1897]
The Sea of Tiberias
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| Sea of Galilee (from Gamla, Golan Heights). 2019 |
Davidbena 2019 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
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| Sea of Galilee, showing Gamla (Golan Heights) |
The lake is fed by several torrents and by copious hot springs on the north and west, but principally by the Jordan, which enters at the north-east corner and rushes out at the south-western extremity. The depth of the lake nowhere exceeds 150 feet. Its water is sweet and good to drink. Fish are so abundant that catches of 600 pounds are not rare, and in one exceptional season (1896) 9200 pounds of fish were hauled ashore in one huge net. Storms are alarmingly sudden and frequent. The hot atmosphere of the gorge (averaging in the shade 93 deg. F. in summer, and 50 deg. in winter) sucks down the cool air of the heights through the narrow wadis to the east and west at the north end, and in half an hour the surface of the lake tosses furiously. Half an hour again suffices to restore the lake to a mirror-like calm.
Today the shores are barren and desolate, with gloomy patches of volcanic soil to the north and west. There is scarcely a tree to be seen, nor even any verdure except where an overflowing torrent waters the northwestern plain, nor any human habitation save the sombre houses of Tiberias to the west and a few straggling villages. But in the days of Christ nature and man united to render these shores singularly attractive. The vine and the fig flourished ten months in the year, and every variety of fruit ripened in the various seasons: thick woods surrounded the lake even down to the eighth century of the present era, and the plains yielded rich harvests twice in the year. Nine, perhaps ten, cities encircled the lake with an almost unbroken front of wharves and harbours. Ruins of theatres, hippodromes, temples, synagogues, baths, and villas witness to the presence of all the refinements of Graeco-Roman culture. Fishing was an important industry (cf. Beth Saida = "Fishing-House," and Taricheæ "Pickling Factories"), and the fishermen, though reputed generally pious by the Rabbis, were a force to be reckoned with in troubled times. The fish were exported to all parts of the Roman world. The standing population of the towns, of which the smallest had at least 15,000 inhabitants, was largely increased by multitudes of sick who flocked, especially in summer, to the world renowned springs near Tiberias.''
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
Ad Jesum per Mariam
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