Christ Preaches from a Boat

Christ Preaches from a Boat
By Herman Saftleven

“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”
Luke 5:1-6

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Painted nearly 400 years ago, this painting is a reminder of how easy it can be to miss Christ in the busyness of our lives. Here, we can see dozens of people engaged in various forms of work and distraction along the Galilean seashore. Near the center of the painting, only noticeable upon close inspection, is depicted the scene from Luke where Jesus taught the multitude from Peter and Andrew’s boat and then blessed his future disciples with the miraculous draught of fishes. As this painting so poignantly suggests, despite the great spectacle of such a miracle—especially in a fishing village like Capernaum—the crowd who witnessed it and who listened to Jesus’s teachings were far fewer in number than those nearby who simply failed to notice, caught up in their own cares.

C.S. Lewis once remarked, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.” It is in the incognito, in the seemingly ordinary, where the divine can be found. In our own lives, amid the ceaseless tide of responsibilities and challenges, how often do we fail to notice the divine teacher beckoning us to ‘come and see’? Rick Warren taught that “We often miss hearing God’s voice simply because we aren’t paying attention.” And this is a problem for Christians and non-Christians alike. The decision to seek out Christ in our life is a daily one. As Lewis elsewhere explained: “The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.”

In our daily routines, it’s easy to overlook the divine moments and messages the Lord places in our path. By cultivating spiritual sensitivity and prioritizing our relationship with Christ, we can better recognize His presence and guidance. But this will often require that we slow down. As Rev. Eugene Peterson has taught, “Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is filling our time with our own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions.” Let us strive to slow down, open our hearts, and seek the Savior in all aspects of our lives. By doing so, we ensure that we don't miss the profound teachings and blessings He offers us in the ordinary moments of our day.

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