By Terry Lees
FOLLOWING the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, Simon Peter and the other disciples returned to Galilee where their encounter with Jesus first began.
On the Sea of Galilee, they tried to relive their former occupation as professional fishermen.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (John 21:3).
It’s no surprise that after the trauma and revelations, following the crucifixion and death of Jesus, these ordinary men were back in Galilee, and decided to put up the ‘gone fishing’ sign.
Fishing is a great way to clear the head and mind of cluttered thoughts.
A wise man once said: “Three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is water, and one-quarter is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn.”
As a youngster growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney, beyond the city limits, one of the events I excitedly anticipated was the annual family holiday camping trip.
Mostly it was in seaside places.
It wasn’t so much the camping, it was the fishing I most enjoyed, whether from a rowboat, the beach, rocks, dock, pier or beside the streams. I loved fishing.
In looking back to those days of my life, a joy floods my being as I contemplate those times with my father.
At the time, I may not have given much thought to how important they were.
Hindsight can be a blessing, as I come to understand just how precious those moments were – are – to me.
Looking beyond those wonderous thoughts, I realise I learned some valuable life lessons from fishing, many of them taught to me by my dad or ‘uncles’ – the respectful name we were taught to address friends of our parents.
There’s a saying: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Fishing teaches self-sufficiency. Yet, for me there were many other learnings.
I learned stillness and the beauty of solitude, patience, creativity, the importance of being quiet, to slow down and savour peacefulness, the need to be prepared, to share, the joy of bonding with family and others and I guess I even learned something of humility, for mine wasn’t always the biggest catch.
Surprise was a big part of fishing – I never knew what I was going to catch.
And, truth be known, I learned how to handle disappointment, because of those times I didn’t catch anything and returned to camp empty handed and perhaps a little despondent.
Yet, above all else, fishing taught me to not only respect nature but to love it and give back to it.
Whenever I hooked a fish that Dad regarded as undersized, he encouraged me to put it back in the water from which it came.
Initially, excited by the elation of the catch, I didn’t understand why he asked me to do that.
“Son,” he said, “there are plenty of bigger fish in the sea and that one won’t feed our family. If you put it back, it will grow, spawn, and lay hundreds of eggs. Then there will be plenty more fish for us to catch next year.”
The hook was always carefully and tenderly removed, and the small fish released. There was a satisfaction in giving back.
Often, our fishing expeditions commenced in the early morning hours before dawn, which meant we got to take in the beauty of sunrise over the ocean.
A dawn is among the most spectacular views one can ever see and experience.
In reminiscing about those childhood fishing trips, I realise it was primarily fishing which instilled in me a great love of nature.
Fishing provided multiple opportunities to connect with nature, to sit with it, reflect upon it, be absorbed by, and enjoy it.
So, it is no surprise to me that the Apostles chose to go fishing – it brought them closer to God.
We know the rest of the story. Some seemingly random bloke on the shore suggested they put out their nets on the other side of the boat.
And, surprise, surprise, they got a monster haul of fish. So many that they couldn’t even pull in the nets.
The man on the shore was the Risen Jesus and the great haul of fish symbolised the new mission he entrusted to the disciples – the shift from fishermen to “fishers of men and women”.
Jesus commissioned his disciples – and that includes us – to go out and carry on the work he began.
We too have “gone fishing”.
C’mon – bait the hook, cherish the moment and treasure life.
