Heschel Center KUL: Why did the disciples, becoming “fishers of men,” abandon their nets?

photo by KUL Heschel Center

In today’s Gospel, the disciples become “fishers of men.” But if we think a little more deeply, this image becomes somewhat disturbing. Fish pulled out of the water quickly perish, they have no chance of survival. So why did #Jesus call his disciples “fishers of men”? Why do the disciples abandon their nets? Dr. Faydra Shapiro, director of the Israel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations, writes about the metaphor of fishing for men against the backdrop of the #HebrewBible, in a commentary for the Heschel Center KUL.

The key is to understand why and in whose name one is acting. This context provides a deeper understanding of the comparison in Matthew 4:12-23.

We publish a test of the commentary on the Gospel of the Third Ordinary Sunday.

Like many people, I was struck by the strange image in this reading of this Sunday’s gospel reading of the disciples becoming “fishers of men.”

I think it’s very easy to read this superficially: Jesus stumbles across fishermen so he calls them to become fishers of men. Nice and simple. Had Jesus come across farmers, washerwomen or lion tamers, perhaps he would have called them to become harvesters, cleaners or tamers of men. But it’s Galilee and there’s a large lake, so fishers of men it would be.

But if we think a little more deeply, it’s an unsettling image.

Fish pulled from the water die quickly. Fish belong in the water. They only thrive in the water. God created them that way. It was this very fact that saved the fish from the flood in the time of Noah – they didn’t need the ark and in fact the ark would have killed them.

And read against the background of the Hebrew Bible, this metaphor of fishing for men becomes even more complicated.

As far as I know, there are only two references to “fishers of men” in the #OldTestament. And they are both strikingly negative images about God’s judgement of his beloved people who have followed false gods.

In Jeremiah chapter 16, God promises that the Israelites will be punished by exile at the hands of the gentiles – the Babylonians. God would make sure that the Israelites would be fished by fisherman and hunted by hunters, with no place to hide. The children of Israel will suffer at the hands of these “fishers of men”.

In Habbakuk chapter 1, the image is even more disturbing. Habbakuk is deeply worried and confused by God’s use of the cruel and violent Babylonians to punish the people of Israel. How could God allow Nebuchadnezzar to joyfully catch the people of Israel up like fish in his net. And not just that – Nebuchadnezzar actually makes offerings and sacrifices to his net because he believes his success at conquest comes from his tools and abilities and nowhere else.

Habbakuk is rightfully shocked that God should allow this. And maybe we should be too when Jesus gives this call to the first four disciples to become “fishers of men.”

It’s a big question, how this image has moved from one of God’s judgment at the hands of Gentiles in the Hebrew #Bible to one of God’s salvation at the hands of #Jews in the New Testament. But I think there are two interesting matters to note here:

The issue of the net

In Habbakuk there is the image of the net as something worshipped by the Babylonians, who cannot see that their success comes from God. Yet in the gospel reading we see in both cases the disciples specifically abandon their nets in order to follow Jesus. Perhaps this can be read this as a rejection of the Babylonian approach, who are fishers of men, idolizing their armies (the nets), and unable to understand why or under whose authority they act, whereas the disciples will become fishers of men without nets, following Jesus.

The element of judgment remains

The call of the disciples to be “fishers of men” must be profoundly connected to the previous verse, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is only through repentance and a clear understanding of why and under whose authority, that one can be a redemptive fisher of men, and distinct from Nebuchadnezzar who idolizes his own power and success.

 

About the author

Dr. Faydra @Shapir# is a specialist in contemporary Jewish-Christian relations and is the Director of the Israel Center for Jewish-Christian Relations. She received the National Jewish Book Award for her firs publication (2006). Her most recent book, together with Gavin d’Costa is Contemporary Catholic Approaches to the People, Land and State of Israel. Dr. Shapiro is also a Senior Fellow at the Philos Project  and a Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Religions at Tel Hai College in Israel.

 

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