St. Luke gives a more filled out portrait of the call of the first disciples of Jesus — two pair of fishermen brothers. Why fishermen? Why not his fellow carpenters or priests or farmers? Fishermen have to work get ready to go out on the water. Once they are out there they continue to ply their craft seeking a good spot, using the proper equipment, finding the right bait. But even after all that they are not in control of how many fish they catch — the fish have to bite! That is the story of an apostle in a nutshell: lots of hard work, constant effort to find what will work to attract the fish, but whether the “fish” bite is in the hands of God.
