PETER'S EGO AND THE GREAT CATCH OF FISH

Being a storyteller at heart, I am always looking for stories that slip behind our defenses and show us as we really are. I adapted this story from John Shea entitled Gone Fishing. I hope it will make you think.

Can you imagine the many evenings Jesus spent with his disciples? As they traveled from village to village, I can see them out on a hillside, sitting around a campfire. And they would talk. And Jesus would teach. And they would reflect on what was happening.

One night Peter turned to Jesus with a big smile on his face. “We’re doing real good.”

“We?” said Jesus.

It caught Peter by surprise, after all it seemed that Jesus had wanted his disciples to follow him in expanding the ministry. Jesus had sent them out two by two, and they had taught and healed. After a few moments of silence, Peter finally said, “All right, you’re doing real good.”

“Me?” said Jesus.

Peter was silent for a second time. “All right, God is doing real good,” he finally admitted.

Jesus saw how reluctant Peter was to let go of his ego and admit that what was happening was of God. He just laughed, and the laugh really irked Peter.

Peter raised his voice, “Look! I was somebody before you came along. You didn’t make me. I know that people see us, and they are saying, ‘There is Jesus and his sidekick Peter. Jesus heals them and Peter helps them up.’ That’s what they say now, but it wasn’t always that way. People knew me in my own right. I was respected and even looked up to. They would say, ‘There goes Peter, the greatest fisherman in all of Galilee.’”

Now Jesus would never put anyone down. He simply said, “Yea, I heard that you were a very good fisherman, Peter.”

“I was; I mean I am a good fisherman!” said Peter. “And tomorrow I am going to prove it. We are all going to go fishing, and you will see how all of the other fishermen respect me and look to my lead.”

“I would love to go fishing, Peter,” replied Jesus. “You know, I have never been fishing. But what will we do with all of the fish we will catch?”

“We’ll eat a few, and we’ll sell a few, and we’ll dry a few for later,” said Peter. “One day of fishing should be enough to supply us for a month. You’ll see.”

“Oh!” said Jesus with a rather puzzled look on his face. Peter wondered how someone as obviously intelligent as Jesus could be so slow in such practical matters.

The next morning at dawn Jesus and Peter were down at the shore of the Sea of Galilee readying the boat. Sure enough, it was just as Peter had said. When the other fishermen saw Peter, they all came over to greet him, “Mind if we come along?”

“Why not?” shrugged Peter, trying to hide his pride.

When they had gone back to their boats, Peter looked over at Jesus, “See, they look up to me!”

Peter’s boat led the way. Jesus was sitting in the bow of the boat, hanging on as they crossed the waves. Now Peter had a real grasp of what it took to locate fish. He tasted the water. He scanned the sky. He put his hand into the air to check the wind. He peered down into the water . . . then he pointed, “Over there.”

“Why isn’t anyone talking?” asked Jesus.

“Shhh!” Peter shook his head.

The boats formed a wide circle around the area that Peter had pointed to. Peter motioned for all of the boats to let down their nets.

“Why don’t they just toss them in?” asked Jesus, who was trying to learn about fishing.

“Shhh!” came from Peter a second time.

The fishermen let down their nets and began to pull them back in. But something was wrong. The muscles of their arms did not tighten under the weight of fish. The nets rose quickly; the arms of the men were slack. All they caught was water.

The fishermen rowed their boats over to Peter’s. There was a chorus of anger. “The greatest fisherman in all of Galilee, ha. You brought us all the way out here for nothing. We have wasted the best hours of the day, and we don’t have a single fish to show for it. Go back to preaching, Peter. Leave the fishing to us.” And they all rowed back to shore, shouting curses across the water.

Jesus said nothing. Peter checked his nets. He was not going to be stopped by one empty net. He was going to show them he was the greatest fisherman in all of Galilee. Once again, he tasted the sea, scanned the sky, checked the wind and peered into the sea. At long last, he looked at Jesus and said, “Over there!”

No sooner had he said, “Over there!” than Jesus was at the oars, rowing with all his might. His muscles were straining with each pull. Nothing! Empty nets again.

All day long under the hot sun Jesus and Peter rowed from place to place on the Sea of Galilee. And all day long under the hot sun Jesus and Peter let down the nets. And all day long under the hot sun Jesus and Peter hauled in their nets. And all day long under the hot sun Jesus and Peter caught nothing.

Evening fell and an exhausted Peter raised the sail to make for shore. The weary Jesus reclined in the bow. It was then, as the boat glided toward the shore, that it happened. It seemed as if all the fish in the Sea of Galilee came to the surface. They leaped on one side of the boat, and they leaped on the other side of the boat. They leaped at the stern, and they leaped at the bow. It was as if all of the fish were escorting the boat toward shore. Then in a mass suicide of fish, they began to leap into the boat. They landed in the lap of Jesus. They smacked Peter in the face. When the boat pulled up at the dock, it was brimming with fish, as a matter of fact, it was creaking under the weight of all the fish.

The other fishermen were waiting. They circled around Peter and slapped him on the back. “Peter, you scoundrel. You knew where the fish were all the time, and you never let on.” They hit him on the shoulder. “Peter, you rouge, you were putting us on. You surely are the greatest fisherman in all of Galilee.”

But Peter said nothing. As a matter of fact, he was uncharacteristically quiet. He only said, “Give fish to everyone in the village. Tonight, no home will go without food.” After that he said nothing.   

And Jesus went up to the mountain to pray alone.


[Adapted from John Shea. Stories (Acta Publications, 2008), pp. 97-102.]