Simon and his partners had fished all night long, and had nothing to show for it; they were washing out their nets before they went home to sleep. But Jesus came along the shore, along with a great crowd that wanted to listen to him: so he appropriated Simon’s boat to use as a pulpit – with Simon as well (Luke 5:1-3). I wonder how long Jesus preached. An hour? Two? I wonder how successful Simon was at staying awake.

After the sermon, Jesus proposed that they should put out into deep water and lower the nets to catch some fish. Listen to Simon’s response: “Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets” (5:5). You remember how, in one of the readings from a couple weeks ago, in order to listen, we need to read the lines out loud. Go ahead: read it out loud. You’ll need to do it several times: first as if Simon is really whiny; then as if this is the moment when Simon has suddenly come to faith; and then as if Simon is just so tired and depressed (turn your inner Eeyore up to eleven for that last one). It’s a fun exercise: you can really hear how the way you say it changes the meaning.

This conversation – like most of the Bible – was originally oral, rather than written: so we should recognize that it makes a real difference what Simon’s words sounded like. Part of the meaning was carried in the words (which Luke wrote down); but part was carried in Simon’s voice tones (which Luke did not write down). As we’ve noted, there are actually many many Bible stories where this is true: where we need to read the words out loud, in order to have a chance to hear those voice tones.

And when we do that, several different ways, we’ll often recognize our place in the story with much greater clarity. More than that, we might well hear Jesus telling us, “Do not be afraid” (5:10) – words we need to hear pretty often. And we might even discover how telling Bible stories like this one will help not only Simon, but ourselves, at our task of drawing in more people.

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Help us, Lord, to listen to your word: to hear the way the tone of voice affects what we hear, even though those voice tones are not written down. Grant us courage, so that we won’t be so afraid; and help us fulfill the calling you give us to draw in those who have never before quite recognized your voice.

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