John Chrysostom, On Lake Gennesaret and on Saint Peter the Apostle

not loving money, unblemished virginity, unbending asceticism, an undivided union; to endure every labor for the sake of the truth, not to fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. While the Lord was teaching these things and saying yet more in addition: He who loves his soul will lose it; and again: He who wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me; and again: Do not acquire gold, nor silver, nor copper for your belts, nor a bag, nor a purse, nor two tunics; as the Lord was teaching these things, Simon, hearing, who thought he had rented the boat to the Lord, began to grumble and say to himself: From this man shall we expect to receive a wage? I have fallen into a loss for the night and day; who has met me today? This man discourses about having no possessions; he teaches that no one should have anything. Perhaps he wants me to sell the boat too, so that I may distribute to the poor; do I expect to receive a wage from him? While Simon was debating these things with himself, the Lord fulfills his teaching, so that he might display his miracle-working, and fully convince Simon. For it is a labor to ever persuade an unlearned man with words.

Then when the Lord had finished his word, and the whole crowd was pleased, Simon approached the Lord and said: Your words are good, and your voice is pleasant, and your teaching is honorable, but nevertheless fulfill for me the payment of the agreement; command me to receive the wage for the boat ride, so that I too, rejoicing with the crowd, may depart to my house. And the Lord said to Simon: As you just heard, do you wish to receive your wage, Simon? Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch, and take the wage promised to you by me. And Simon said to the Lord: Shall I fish again and let down the nets, and endure the labor? Would that I had not even groped through the night with empty hands. For are you more skilled in my seamanship? Or do you possess something in the unseen deep? You are able to be a teacher; for are you also a hunter of fish? Depart from me; for I see you carrying nothing. Why am I wasting time? Did I not protest these things to you from the beginning? And the Lord said to Simon: Do not regard me as helpless, Simon; do not consider my hands and my bosom; 64.50 I carry your wage not in my hands, but in my mouth. Having toiled all night, you caught nothing; for the night of helplessness is the Jewish mindset. In the day of grace let down the nets; for the light of fruitfulness is Christian obedience. Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch. Then Simon said to the Lord: As you just heard, Master, having toiled through the whole night, we caught nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets. And having done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish; and the net was breaking. O the paradoxical events! Peter does not lack for concern; The net was breaking. And he was looking around at Christ, and observing the fish, and contemplating the event. He was not strong enough to handle the load, and drew helpers to him; For they signaled, it says, to their partners in the other boat, in which were James and John, to come and help them. They signaled, they did not shout, sailors who accomplish nothing without shouting and noise. Why? Because the strangeness of the event brought them to speechlessness.

For what could they shout, if not only to signal, seeing a divine mystery? And those from the other boat also ran together, where James and John were, and they began to gather the fish, and as many as they gathered, so many more multiplied. For the fish hurried, which one would first serve the command of the Master; the small outran the large, the medium swam past the larger, the large leaped over the small; they did not wait for the hands of the fishermen, they tumbled themselves into the boat. The bottom of the lake was not stirred, none of the fish to remain below

ἀφιλάργυρον, παρθενίαν ἀῤῥύπωτον, ἄσκησιν ἀλύγιστον, συζυγίαν ἄσχιστον· πάντα πόνον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ὑφίστασθαι, μὴ δειλιᾷν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι. Ταῦτα τοῦ Κυρίου διδάσκοντος καὶ ἔτι μετὰ προσθήκης λέγοντος· Ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· καὶ πάλιν· Ὁ θέλων ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν, καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι· καὶ αὖθις· Μὴ κτήσασθε χρυσὸν, μὴ ἄργυρον, μὴ χαλκὸν εἰς τὰς ζώνας ὑμῶν, μὴ πήραν, μὴ βαλάντιον, μὴ δύο χιτῶνας· ταῦτα τοῦ Κυρίου διδάσκοντος ὁ Σίμων ἀκούων, ὁ δόξας τὸ πλοῖον μεμισθωκέναι τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἤρξατο γογγύζειν καὶ λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Παρὰ τούτου μισθὸν προσδοκήσομεν λαβεῖν; ἐπιζημίᾳ νυχθημερινῷ περιέπεσα· τίς μοι συνήντησε σήμερον; Οὗτος περὶ ἀκτημοσύνης διαλέγεται· μηδένα μηδὲν ἔχειν διδάσκει. Τάχα ἐμὲ θέλει καὶ τὸ πλοῖον πωλῆσαι, ἵνα πτωχοῖς διανέμω· παρ' αὐτοῦ μισθὸν προσδοκῶ λαβεῖν; Ταῦτα τοῦ Σίμωνος διαλεγομένου ἐν ἑαυτῷ πληροῖ τὴν διδασκαλίαν ὁ Κύριος, ἵνα τὴν θαυματουργίαν ἐπιδείξηται, καὶ τὸν Σίμωνα πληροφορήσῃ. Κόπος γάρ ἐστιν ἰδιώτην λόγῳ πεῖσαί ποτε.

Εἶτα τοῦ Κυρίου τὸν λόγον πληρώσαντος, καὶ τοῦ παντὸς πλήθους ἀρεσθέντος, προσελθὼν ὁ Σίμων τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔφη· Τὰ μὲν ῥήματά σου καλὰ, καὶ ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία σου τιμία, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐμοὶ τὸ τῆς συντάξεως πλήρωσον· κέλευσόν με λαβεῖν τὸν μισθὸν τῆς ναυτιλίας, ὅπως κἀγὼ σὺν τῷ πλήθει χαιρόμενος εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου ἀπέλθω. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· καθὼς ἀρτίως ἤκουες, τὸν μισθόν σου βούλει λαβεῖν, Σίμων; Ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος, καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν εἰς ἄγραν, καὶ κομίζου τὸν ἐπηγγελμένον σοι παρ' ἐμοῦ μισθόν. Ὁ δὲ Σίμων πρὸς τὸν Κύριον· Πάλιν ἁλιεύσω καὶ δίκτυα χαλάσω, καὶ κόπον ὑπομείνω; Εἴθε μηδὲ τὴν νύκτα κεναῖς χερσὶν ἐψηλάφησα. Μὴ γὰρ τεχνικώτερος εἶ τῆς ἐμῆς ναυτιλίας; ἢ κέκτησαί τι ἐν τῷ ἀφανεῖ βυθῷ; ∆ύνῃ διδάσκαλος εἶναι· μὴ γὰρ καὶ ἰχθύων θηρευτής; Ἔξελθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· βλέπω γάρ σε μηδὲν βαστάζοντα. Τί καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ἀπόλλω; οὐ ταῦτα παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐμαρτυράμην σοι; Ὁ δὲ Κύριος πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· Μὴ ὡς ἄπορόν με πρόσεχε, Σίμων· μὴ τὰς χεῖράς μου καὶ τὸν κόλπον μου κατανόει· 64.50 οὐκ ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ στόματί μου τὸν μισθόν σου βαστάζω. Πᾶσαν τὴν νύκτα κοπιάσας, οὐδὲν ἔλαβες· νὺξ γὰρ ἀπορίας τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ φρονήματα. Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς χάριτος τὰ δίκτυα χάλασον· φῶς γὰρ εὐκαρπίας τὰ Χριστιανικὰ πειθαρχήματα. Ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος, καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν εἰς ἄγραν. Τότε ὁ Σίμων πρὸς τὸν Κύριον· Καθὼς ἀρτίως ἤκουες, Ἐπιστάτα, δι' ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες, οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ῥήματί σου χαλάσω τὰ δίκτυα. Καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες, συνέκλεισαν πλῆθος ἰχθύων πολύ· διεῤῥήγνυτο δὲ τὸ δίκτυον. Ὢ τῶν παραδόξων πραγμάτων! οὐ λείπει τῷ Πέτρῳ φροντίς· ∆ιεῤῥήγνυτο τὸ δίκτυον. Καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν περιεβλέπετο, καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύας κατενόει, καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐνενόει. Οὐκ ἴσχυσε τὸν φόρτον ἐκλύσαι, καὶ βοηθοὺς ἐπεσπάσατο· Ἐνένευον γὰρ, φησὶ, τοῖς μετόχοις τοῖς ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἦν Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης, ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτούς. Ἐνένευον, οὐκ ἔκραζον, οἱ ἄνευ κραυγῆς καὶ θορύβου μηδὲν διαπραττόμενοι ναῦται. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι τὸ ξένον τοῦ πράγματος εἰς ἀφωνίαν αὐτοὺς ἤγειρεν.

Τί γὰρ εἶχον κράζειν, εἰ μὴ μόνον ἐννεύειν, ὡς θεῖον μυστήριον ὁρῶντες; Συνδραμόντες δὲ καὶ οἱ τοῦ ἑτέρου πλοίου, ἔνθα ἦν Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης, ἤρξαντο τοὺς ἰχθύας συλλέγειν, καὶ ὅσον συνῆγον, τοσοῦτον ἐπληθύνοντο. Ἔσπευδον γὰρ οἱ ἰχθύες τίς πρῶτος ὑπουργήσει τῷ προστάγματι τοῦ ∆εσπότου· οἱ μικροὶ τοὺς μεγάλους παρέτρεχον, οἱ μέσοι τοὺς μείζονας ὑπερεπλεύριζον, οἱ μεγάλοι τοὺς μικροὺς ὑπερήλλοντο· τὰς χεῖρας τῶν ἁλιέων οὐ περιέμενον, ἑαυτοὺς ἐκυβίστευον ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον. Ὁ πυθμὴν τῆς λίμνης οὐκ ἐκινεῖτο, οὐδεὶς τῶν ἰχθύων κάτω μένειν