"What are we gonna do?"

In my previous post I wrote about sowing kingdom seeds and expecting "earth-changing wonders." Here's an apropo clip from the new History Channel series, "The Bible."

The more I've thought about this scene, the more I like it.

Take this bit of dialog:

Peter: "Hey! What are you doing? You can't just climb into my boat!"
Jesus: "You're right. Give me a helping hand."

The boat, of course, is Peter's life. And, as much as my Reformed/Calvinist friends may disagree, Jesus doesn't just climb into Peter's boat whether Peter wants him to or not; nor does he walk on the water and jump in. He simply extends his hand and says, "You're right. Give me a helping hand." (Is that a request or a command?) Even then it's an awkward entry, with Jesus flopping into the boat much like the nets full of fish will be pulled into the boat later in the scene. I like it. A lot.

Then there's the bit where Jesus stirs the water with his hand after Peter has cast his net. He's calling the fish and they respond to his call, giving their lives in self-sacrifice. They are his creatures. They respond to him. And he will make all things new. His plan is to do it with Peter's helping hand. Christ is there, hovering over the water, stirring the water—like the Spirit at creation—but Peter casts the net. And the catch is abundant, wonderful, beyond Peter's comprehension—in a word, a miracle. As the fish respond, so Peter is called to respond, to participate in making all things new, to join the Kingdom, to give up his life for a whole new one.

In the entire scene Peter doesn't believe first and then respond. He responds or acts even in his disbelief.  "There are no fish here." He knows there are no fish. He does not believe he will catch fish. He does not believe that Jesus knows what he is doing. But he casts the net. He responds. He acts.

Then he reflects. "How did this happen?" Which is, as we know, the question the disciples will ask over and over as they walk with Jesus through his teaching, his miracles, his cross, and his resurrection. It's also the question of Lent as we journey through the gospels.

Peter's "What are we gonna do?" is very similar to Bonhoeffer's "What then shall we do?" But in this clip it became very clear to me who "we" are.

"What are we gonna do?"
"Change the world."

Oh, boy! Which is to say, Amen!
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Thanks to Jim Wallis of Sojourners for sharing this clip and his thoughts. If you're interested, here's the link to the Sojourners site with this clip and a few others from the series.