Simon was a fisherman. Flap your hands like fins and say: “Glug!”
A really good fisherman! Hold your hands wide apart and shout: “It’s a whopper!”
And a boat owner, to boot. Salute and say: “Ahoy,matey!”One day, Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret.
The crowds were there too, waiting to hear what he had to say.
They were so keen that they pressed closer. Make pushing motions with your hands.
And closer… Repeat pushing action.
And closer to Jesus. Repeat pushing action.
Until he thought he would tumble into the lake!
And then he spotted Simon.
The fisherman… Repeat fish action.
The really good fisherman! Repeat whopper action.
And a boat owner to boot. Repeat ahoy motion.
Simon had been out fishing all night. And he was sitting by his boat, mending the fishing nets.
“Can I borrow your boat?” Jesus asked Simon.
Simon agreed, and the two of them climbed into the boat and floated a little way away from the shore. And, from there, Jesus spoke to the crowd.
When Jesus had finished speaking, he turned to Simon and said: “Let’s go out into deeper water and catch some fish.”
Now, Simon was a fisherman… Repeat fish action.
A really good fisherman! Repeat whopper action.
And a boat owner to boot. Repeat ahoy action.
So he knew a thing or two about fishing.
“Master,” he said to Jesus, “we were out fishing all night. And we caught nothing. Nothing at all! But if that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”
Simon sailed his boat to the deepest part of the lake.
Simon dropped his nets down into the water.
And before he could say “Captain Birdseye”, the nets filled up with fish.
Flapping and flipping and flopping, there were so many fish that Simon feared his nets would break. So he signalled to his partners, James and John, and they sailed over to lend him a hand.
They pulled on the nets. Make a pulling motion.
And they pulled… Repeat the pulling motion.
And they pulled harder still… Repeat again.
Till they pulled those nets aboard. Repeat a final time.
And when they emptied them, both boats were filled with fish. They were filled so full that the boats began to sink.
Simon fell to his knees, and with the fish flapping round his feet, he said to Jesus: “Go away, please. I’m a sinful man. I’ve done lots of wrong things.” (Which is pretty much what the prophet Isaiah said when he found himself in the presence of God.)
“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus replied.
“You’re a fisherman, Simon.” Repeat fish action.
“A really good fisherman!” Repeat whopper action.
“With your own boat, to boot.” Repeat ahoy action.
“But, from now on, you’ll be fishing for men!”
When they had safely returned to shore, Simon and his brother Andrew, and their partners James and John, left their nets and boats behind, and went to follow Jesus.
