Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Gone Fishing (02/01/07)
-
TITLE: A Catch Not To Be Forgotten | Previous Challenge Entry
By Nick Secula
02/06/07 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
"Indeed. Makes it hard on a family man." I responded to the gentlemen. And what a rough day it was. Not a single fish made its way into the nets. The day seemed like a promising day at the start, beautiful weather and unusually calm water. We had been out all-day and continued through the night.
I brought my ship ashore and was talking with the other fisherman; they had not caught anything either. I asked the brothers who regularly fished these parts of the Sea of Galilee. James and John both were surprised at their lack of success. Mind you these men were no amateurs and knew these waters better than any of us accept maybe Peter.
After I got a couple of the snags in my main net mended I went to find Peter as he always had advise when it came to fishing these waters. It was on my short journey up the shore in search of Peter that what began as an odd and failed fishing day, became a day I would never forget.
A man had come by the shore with a multitude of people following him. As I tried to peer through the crowd at the man drawing all of the attention my mind searched through the names and the high society figures that would draw such a crowd. Though when I got a good look at him, he wasn’t one of the local officials. I could hear him talking and people talking but couldn’t make out what was being said so I drew closer. As I drew closer some words seemed to pass from the crowd to my ear. Something about repentance and my mind quickly said this must be a rabbi from one of the big cities. The man walked towards a boat and put out a bit from the shore.
The voice I could barely make out began to become crisp and clear as they resounded off the sea and the wall of rock behind us. It was just then I remembered where I had seen this man. It was at a carpenter’s shop many years before. He was just a teenager back then. As I listened his words sang deep into my mind. Carpenters don’t speak like this, I thought to myself. Even the rabbis and scribes at the synagogue don’t speak with presence this man demands.
In what seemed like moments this man had captured my mind and my intrigue. I listen intently on his every word. When he brought his words to a close, I could see him speaking to Peter. Peter began steering the boat back into the deeper water. And then he began recasting the nets.
As Peter pulled the nets back up, the boat began taking on water for the catch was so enormous. Another boat quickly came to the aid. The two boats struggled bringing the catch ashore. As Peter pulled the nets to the shore I stood in amazement. It was a catch not to be forgotten. It wasn’t the enormous catch of great fish but it was the catch of Peter. Having grown up here I thought Peter had seawater for blood. I thought his strength was in his nets, yet he laid them down and followed this carpenter who spoke with such authority. What could pull Peter from the sea? Were the rumors right? Had the Christ arrived? Was the Lord’s Messiah the young man I saw so many years ago in the carpenter’s shop?
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Be careful of spelling: accept/except and advise/advice were two that I caught.
Good job catching the "voice" of this anonymous fisherman.