What does he know, this carpenter,
of habitat and fish think,
of the movement
and congregation of shoals,
to tell us, schooled
in line, tackle and nets,
and in the pathways of fish
in the sea-lanes below the waves,
To tell us,
bone-weary from a night
of trawling in vain,
to cast our nets on the other side
where no fish tarry.
Let us humour him,
our Master,
knowing this time at least
he must be wrong.
But what is that massive moving shadow
filling every cranny of our nets
breaking now
under the weight of such a haul
we never had before;
and what fish!
Every known species in our nets!
What manner of man is this?
He must indeed be God in human flesh.
How could we have doubted him?
Lord leave us
for we are not worthy of your time and love.
But there was no hint of reproach
in the Master’s smile;
only reassurance and compassion
for their guilt and doubt,
for he had come for the fallen,
not for the proud.
Luke 5:4-10
Dr Oliver Seet is a member of Wesley Methodist Church and a Board Director of the Metropolitan YMCA.
Picture by Phonix_A/Bigstock.com