A Most Demanding Job

John gives us a story of a dark night of fishing failure that is interrupted, transformed by Jesus into a story of great abundance. When the disciples dare to do what Jesus tells them to do, to lay aside their own failures and frustrations and cast their nets on the other side of the boat, there is success, abundance, and new possibility. And yet, there’s more. There is also vocation. The first words these disciples heard from Jesus were “follow me.” Now Jesus repeats his call to them. Stories of vocation serve as bookends in John’s Gospel. The risen Christ does what Jesus the teacher did; ordinary laborers are called to “follow me,” putting them to work for Jesus.