Fishing was the main livelihood in all the cities and small villages surrounding the Lake of Tiberias. During those times, fishing belonged to the lower social class with hardly a culture of their own, who were not conscientious of their religious duties and were said to have fallen short of the social norms of “good education,” so to speak. Together with the peasants and other poor, they formed part of the so-called “amhaares” (primitively known as “people of the land,” “countrymen”; later known as “sinners,” “lawbreakers”). The fishermen by the lakeside either worked for a patron who got the lion’s share of the earnings, or constituted an independent group which, with the help of family members, formed small cooperatives that would help ease their enormous financial difficulties.
What is left of these small wharves of Jesus’ time is still preserved in various points on the lake. Tabgha, for example, is about 30 kilometers from Capernaum, whose steps are about two thousand years old. The wharf of Capernaum is located in the reconstructed portion.
Jesus recruited his first disciples from among the fishermen who were his friends. With them he formed a group, a community, and gradually discovered his vocation, his mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God in a world where many changes were needed. The first five disciples and later on his twelve staunch followers became, in effect, the first ecclesial community.
At the start of any human endeavor, there is much groping, much immaturity as one continues with the search. Plans are never defined to perfection, neither are the objectives nor consequences clearly seen. Thus the risk and the trust that is placed in the Lord for the success of the undertaking. The same was true of Jesus and his group. The leadership of Jesus within the group was not imposed nor established right at the beginning. Rather, it was something that would gradually develop and be nurtured. Slowly, the first fishermen of Capernaum saw in Jesus a great companion, a great friend, a natural leader with a generous character and strong will, and finally a shepherd who would tend his flock and lead them as the liberator they were waiting for.
The task that Jesus and his friends are to face, which is to catch people, is communal and demanding. The Kingdom of God requires collective endeavor. As in fishing, it takes much of one’s time and patience, a keen sense of observation, strategy and astuteness. Jesus likewise tells his friends that God, who is a fisher of people, will cast the nets in order to catch human beings. This is a scene that is found in the parable of the fishing net (Mt 13:47-50) which refers to God’s judgment of the world. The good fish will be separated from the worthless ones (which at that time were understood to be the “bad fish” because they lacked scales and fins, as in the case of conger eels, and therefore not fit for human consumption). Jesus tells his first disciples that the time for God’s judgment has come. The symbol of the good fish and the bad fish is substituted by the big and the small fish.
What is left of these small wharves of Jesus’ time is still preserved in various points on the lake. Tabgha, for example, is about 30 kilometers from Capernaum, whose steps are about two thousand years old. The wharf of Capernaum is located in the reconstructed portion.
Jesus recruited his first disciples from among the fishermen who were his friends. With them he formed a group, a community, and gradually discovered his vocation, his mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God in a world where many changes were needed. The first five disciples and later on his twelve staunch followers became, in effect, the first ecclesial community.
At the start of any human endeavor, there is much groping, much immaturity as one continues with the search. Plans are never defined to perfection, neither are the objectives nor consequences clearly seen. Thus the risk and the trust that is placed in the Lord for the success of the undertaking. The same was true of Jesus and his group. The leadership of Jesus within the group was not imposed nor established right at the beginning. Rather, it was something that would gradually develop and be nurtured. Slowly, the first fishermen of Capernaum saw in Jesus a great companion, a great friend, a natural leader with a generous character and strong will, and finally a shepherd who would tend his flock and lead them as the liberator they were waiting for.
The task that Jesus and his friends are to face, which is to catch people, is communal and demanding. The Kingdom of God requires collective endeavor. As in fishing, it takes much of one’s time and patience, a keen sense of observation, strategy and astuteness. Jesus likewise tells his friends that God, who is a fisher of people, will cast the nets in order to catch human beings. This is a scene that is found in the parable of the fishing net (Mt 13:47-50) which refers to God’s judgment of the world. The good fish will be separated from the worthless ones (which at that time were understood to be the “bad fish” because they lacked scales and fins, as in the case of conger eels, and therefore not fit for human consumption). Jesus tells his first disciples that the time for God’s judgment has come. The symbol of the good fish and the bad fish is substituted by the big and the small fish.
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