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Simon and Peter
In today’s Scripture passage, we heard about how Peter first met Jesus in a meaningful way. His life was changed totally by meeting Jesus. It is a wonderful story of conversion. He was a changed man. Jesus gave him a new name, Petros, Peter, the Rock.
You know names are important. They tell us who we are. They give us our identity.
But Simon was nothing like Peter. He was not rock. He was flimsy, emotional, impulsive and capricious. He was not at all like a solid rock. He didn’t think about consequences before he spoke. A lot of times, he didn’t know what he was talking about. He said he would never deny Jesus. He even compared himself with others. Even if everybody else deserts you, I will never do that. And he denied Jesus, not once, but three times.
Knowing all that, Jesus still gave him the name, Peter, the Rock. That wasn’t who Simon was but that was who Simon would be. Indeed, he became the rock. On him, church is founded.
Today’s story was the beginning of that journey. Even after this incident, he was still not like rock. But this was the beginning of that journey. For Peter, it was a journey of change. He found his life. He found what he wanted in his life. He found what was important in life.
Finding Importance
Finding what is important in life is what we all should do. Our life is beautiful and precious. We cannot waste it away. Every minute of it, we have to cherish it. We don’t have time to waste it away.
We cannot just follow what others do. We have to live life that is meaningful to us. Nobody can tell me what is meaningful to me. We have to find it on our own.
The problem is it’s hard to know. It is hard to know what is really important to us.
We are shaped and molded by our environment in a significant way. If we were born in a religious family and surrounded by religious people, then being religious becomes important to us. If we were born in a musical family and surrounded by musical people, then being a great musician becomes important to us.
So what is important and meaningful to us is very much influenced by our circumstances. In that sense, creating a good environment for our children is very important. In a good environment, they will learn what is important in life.
Some time ago, our family met together. And Josh called Nolan and said, “Tell granddad two things you learned when we had vacation.” Nolan said, “Be grateful and be generous.” That’s how they learn values in life.
Peter grew up in a fishing family. Fishing was the most important thing for Peter. That was his value, his goal, and what gave him meaning. He had no reason to think about anything else.
Yes, our environment is very important. It helps us know what is important. And it shapes us who we become.
But at the same time, it can limit us. It can shape us so powerfully that it doesn’t allow us to see anything beyond. We may not be able to see that life can be bigger.
We have to provide a good environment for our children but at the same time, we have to also help them go beyond their small world. We should provide them with an opportunity to search for their own life, finding their own meaning. There is life we can teach. But there is life that they have to learn on their own.
Callings From God
There is life that is given to us. We have no choice for that. We didn’t choose what kind of parents we would have. We didn’t choose to be born in a certain family, like religious family, musical family, academic family, or an immigrant family. So there is life that is given to us.
But there is life that we are drawn to, life that attracts us. There is life that is revealed to us. There is life that falls at us out of nowhere. There is life that shapes the direction of our life. Some people may call it destiny. I want to call it calling. There is calling from God.
That was what happened to Peter. Fishing was important to him but he realized that there was something bigger than fishing.
When he caught so many fish with Jesus’ help, he saw something else, not fish. He saw something more than fish.
He said this.
I am a sinful man! (Luke 5:8)
It was not a typical response we would expect. The typical response would have been,
Wow, Wonderful, Thank you. You made my day.
But he said instead, “I am a sinful man!”
Was he reminded of a particular sin that he committed on that day? Or was he sorry for questioning Jesus when he told him to let down his nets into the deep water? Come on Jesus, I am a professional fisherman and I caught nothing all night and are you telling me to put down my nets again? I just washed them. Was he sorry for thinking that?
I don’t think so. It was not because of a particular sin that he committed. His eyes were open to a much larger world. He saw how small he was. He realized that he was nothing but a dust and yet he mistakenly thought that he knew it all. He recognized his shortcomings. That’s why he said, I am a sinful man.
Jesus showed him life was much bigger than Peter knew. So many times we are trapped in our small world. Our thinking becomes conditioned. Like Moses, we say, “Who am I?” I am only a broken person.
Often, we are limiting ourselves. We are the worst enemy for our own growth. We doubt about ourselves. We have an incapacitating attitude.
Caring for Others
Jeremiah said the same thing. God called him to be a prophet.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’(Jeremiah 1:5)
But Jeremiah said,
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ (Jeremiah 1:6)
But God said this
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, (Jeremiah 1:7, 8)
That was what Jesus said to Peter. Don’t say that you are only a fisherman. You are more than a fisherman.
‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’(Luke 5:10)
What does it mean to catch people?
Last week, we reflected on love. The week before, we reflected that the greatest gift is each other. What remains eternally is not how great we are but how much we care about others. That remains forever. It has eternal value. Catching people is exactly that. Caring about others. Leaving a positive impact on people’s lives is the most meaningful thing to do.
Pursue Bigger Things
When we go to a funeral, we hear eulogy. We often hear how that person impacted their lives. At So Yong Kim’s funeral, In Ha did the eulogy. Remembering his sister, he said she taught me how to live.
It’s not about giving up your career. It is about making profound impact on people. How many people I influence is not important. Even if it is one person, it is Ok. If we can have a positive impact on that person’s life, then our life is worth living.
Life is bigger than fishing. Life is bigger than success.
Don’t stop pursuing what is important in life.
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