Listen

Peter and those with him were overcome with amazement because of the number of fish they caught. James and John, Zebedee’s sons, were Simon’s partners and they were amazed too.

Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Luke 5:9-11

Think

These days, we’re taught to expect the unexpected. But to be truly amazed — to be shocked or afraid — it takes something really extraordinary. Peter, James, John, and Simon were amazed, possibly even made afraid, by the incredibly full nets they pulled up. When these soon-to-be-disciples of Jesus (who were still “just fishermen”) tossed in their nets that day, they might have been expecting something good to happen. Maybe they’d catch some fish. Have some extra money to buy food for their families. Gain a good reputation for being skilled fishermen. All good things to expect.

What they couldn’t foresee was that pulling up their nets on this day would catapult them into a new way of thinking. An AMAZING — yes, scary — way of living, in which the “nets” they would throw from this day forward were to gather people. And those people gathered other people. And those people (which now include us) experienced “new” in a way they never thought possible.

Gina Yeager-Buckley

Pray

O God of new life, I look at the days ahead in this new school year, and I wonder what will happen. What is coming? What do you have planned for me? God, I am amazed at what you enable me to see and do. In this time of “new,” I pray that I might reach out to others in a way that draws them to you. Amen.

Go

Go into the world. Make disciples. Make people curious. Make your faith visible.