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March 29th, 2002
Received by H.
Cuenca, Ecuador.
My dear H___:
One morning, just as the first sunbeams were visible, we returned
from our nightly fishing. I say we, that is to say, practically
all the disciples, but without the Master, because he had not accompanied
us. We were in two boats, that of Peter and Andrew, and another
boat of Zebedee. It had been a calm night, too calm. We had only
been able to catch a few fish. We were tired, or perhaps overtired,
we were sleepy and ill-humored, especially Peter.
When we came to the shore, we beached the boats, and began to clean
our nets. Concentrating on this work, and almost dozing off, we
hardly realized that people were approaching to buy fish, but there
was not much for us to sell.
And then Jesus came, full of energy and with a radiant face after
a refreshing sleep. When people saw him, they immediately urged
him: “Master, tell us of the Kingdom of Heaven." And Jesus
did so. As more people arrived to listen to his words, because in
the other boats, too, there was not much to buy, they pushed Jesus
more and more towards the waters edge, because all wanted to be
near him, until Jesus finally laughed and called to Peter:
"Simon, my friend, do me the favor of pushing your boat into
the water. Then we’ll set out a little off the shore, so that
I can speak in peace. People are almost throwing me into the water."
Simon grudgingly, grunting something incomprehensible, gesticulated
to us to help him, and we began to push the boat into the water.
Finally, Jesus got in, and at a distance of a few yards from the
shore, he continued his sermon. It was an impressive speech, I am
sure, but Peter showed little interest yawning obviously. Completing
his discourse, Jesus said:
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“Dogs engender dogs, and blood engenders blood. But
Love engenders life. How much does a mother love her child,
and she gives it all her love. And when she has another child,
she does not divide her love, giving one half of it to the
first one, and another half to the second one. No, brothers,
love grows, it multiplies, and is not divided. And so it is
also with our Father in Heaven. He has infinite Love for us,
for all of us, He is like a Fountain, emanating the Water
of Life, a Source whereof we may drink until our thirst is
quenched, and Its flow never lessens.
Drink from His Water, and live through It.”
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Then he said goodbye to the people and turned
to Peter:
“Simon,” he said to him, “I want you to call James
and John to get into their boat and join us, and then we’ll
row out there into the lake, where the water is deeper."
Peter looked at him full of surprise, responding reluctantly: “What
for? We have been out there all night and have caught nothing. And
even the children know that it is useless trying to fish by day."
Andrew cast him a reproachful glance, as if saying: “Shut
up, old grumbler, and obey!” “Ok, ok,” Peter gave
in. “Let’s go.”
He called over to the Zebedee brothers to join them on their boat,
and off we went.
Luke relates in his
Gospel:
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One day the people were crowding closely round Jesus to hear
God’s message, as he stood on the shore of Lake Gennesaret
Jesus noticed two boats drawn up on the beach, for the fishermen
had left them there while they were cleaning their nets.
He went aboard one of the boats, which belonged to Simon,
and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then he
sat down and continued his teaching of the crowds from the
boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Push
out now into deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
Simon replied, "Master! We’ve worked all night
and never caught a thing, but if you say so, I’ll let
the nets down."
And when they had done this, they caught an enormous shoal
of fish—so big that the nets began to tear.
So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come
and help them. They came and filled both the boats to sinking
point.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and
said, "Keep away from me, Sir, for I’m only a sinful
man!"
For he and his companions (including Zebedee’s sons,
James and John, Simon’s partners) were staggered at the
haul of fish they had made.
Jesus said to Simon, "Don’t be afraid, Simon. From
now on your catch will be men."
So they brought the boats ashore, left everything and followed
him.
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It is true, the story has been quite embellished. There is nothing
left of Peter's reluctance, however, it is also true that Peter
was astonished, and even more, awed. He had seen many things that
Jesus had performed, even when he resuscitated Thaddeus in Naym,
but now, when he was dealing with a simple fish “haul,”
although so abundant as it had never been before in his life, he
witnessed a miracle of daily life. He was an expert concerning the
lake. He knew that one could not fish successfully by day, and he
knew that the deep water in the middle of the lake was not the appropriate
place to fish, and now he faced a miracle, whose extent he could
grasp in its entirety. Yes, Peter, Andrew, and the other professional
fishermen were more impressed than I was, because I only understood
that it was an extraordinary haul of fish, but I was not able to
grasp its true scope.
This was the reason why Peter felt awe in front of Jesus, and this
is why he pronounced the words: “Mari, Sir, move away from
me, because I am a sinful man."
Jesus wrote through Dr. Samuels:
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Furthermore I did tell my disciples at the lake of Gennesaret
to lower their nets in a certain place to be able to make
a great haul of fish, which they did, and this took place
as a result of my psychic knowledge that a great school of
fish had just reached that area of the lake and my disciples,
especially Peter Simon, were especially overcome. (Revelation
18: The first miracle and other absurdities)
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However, in order to conclude this episode, the final verse reads:
So they brought the boats ashore, left everything and followed him
[Jesus]. And this is not true. Now we really had much work, washing
and gutting the fish, before the sun would rise even higher, and
selling our haul.
Meanwhile, Jesus went away to the south, to a lonely place, near
what today is the village of Tabgha, where he used to spend days
absorbed in meditation.
Now, dear brother, a little warning. My last few messages may cause
the impression that Jesus traveled through the country, performing
miracles and healings everywhere. But this is not correct. Of course,
whenever there was the opportunity, Jesus helped sick people, but
his true work was that of announcing the Kingdom of Heaven: The
availability of God’s Love, and soul transformation. And to
explain these very difficult contents, he made use of parables.
It is time to finish. I leave you now with my
blessings.
Your brother in Christ,
Judas
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