Meanwhile, in Galilee

“AND FINALLY, I say to you,” Jesus announced, from the back of Simon Peter’s boat, to the crowd that had gathered on shore, “love one another as I have loved you. Thank you, Capernaum! Thank you, and good night!”

Stepping back, Jesus was surprised by how far they’d drifted from shore. “You seemed like you needed a break,” Simon said. “There’s nothing better than being out on the water.” Jesus looked at the shimmering sun, the rippling sea, felt the gentle rocking of the boat. As a carpenter, Jesus had never had reason to be on a boat before. But Simon was right—this was just what He had been needing.

“So, whassup?” Simon asked. “You said you had things to do?”

“Yes. I have things that my Father wants me to do. They are unpleasant things.”

“Unpleasant? But Joseph’s the nicest guy I know. What does he want you to do?”

“I said my Father, not my dad,” Jesus said, sounding more than a little irritated.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” offered Simon, not understanding but eager to switch the subject. “You could always be a fisherman. Several of us do it who are good at dodging responsibility.”

Jesus rolled His eyes and let it pass. “Maybe you’re right, Simon. Let’s have a go at this fishing thing. Can we let the nets down here, in this deep water?”

Simon sighed and got up to gather the nets. With little faith, he threw them into the deep water, where he was certain there were no fish. Within minutes the nets were full, bursting at the seams.

Back at the dock, their friends Thomas, James, and John were waiting. They quickly unloaded the fish and made their way to the local tavern. Settling around the table, Simon asked Jesus, “So, how did you like fishing?”

“It doesn’t present much of a challenge, really” He replied. “I’m thinking we need to make it a bit more difficult, perhaps try targeting only one fish at a time.”

“One fish at a time?” The others gasped.

“Yes,” Jesus continued, “and we should use lures made of hair and feathers, to trick the fish.” With a tiny bone off of his plate, a length of thread from the tablecloth, and a feather from the floor of the open-air plaza, Jesus whipped up the world’s first fly.

“But Jesus, it would take forever and a day for us to catch enough fish for the market. We’ll all be broke.”

“Oh no,” Jesus said. “These fish we’d let go, to catch them again another day.” He then showed them his creation, which looked remarkably like an insect.

Silence fell over the table. James finally spoke up, “But we have families to feed.”

“That’s the best part!” Jesus said. “Remember that month I spent in the mountains? I found streams full of beautiful fish called trout. If we put a little cabin up there, there’ll be people who’ll pay us to lead them to trout.”

“I seriously doubt that,” declared Thomas.

“But Jesus,” implored Simon, “we aren’t stream fishermen. We don’t know trout. We only know the Sea of Galilee. Will these people also pay us to lead them to redbelly tilapia?”

“Unlikely,” Jesus said. “But you aren’t fishers of trout. You are fishers of men.”

The idea seemed ludicrous. It would require an enormous leap of faith. Luckily, Jesus’ restoring-faith game was strong. As the men stood to leave, Jesus, always the Teacher, turned to give them another lesson. “This stool,” He stood and lifted it, “has three legs. A stool with two legs will not stand, but a stool with thr—”

“We get it,” Simon interrupted. “Just because none of us are ‘professional carpenters’ (air quotes), we know how a stupid stool works.”

“Oh, right. My bad,” Jesus said. “OK, just remember, trout love three things: water that is cool; water that funnels them food; and water deep enough to hide in.”

The men all nodded quietly, despite understanding none of what Jesus was telling them. It wouldn’t be until after His death that they would finally comprehend His message: “He wants us to open a fishing lodge!” James said. “Let’s make this happen. But don’t let Judas in on it. You can never trust that guy.”

CHARLES CANTELLA is a writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His book, A Touch of Grayling, was released in 2020.