Story One

It was around that time that they arrived at the coast. On a long stretch of shoreline there stood a fisherman who had but one hand. He performed his craft with one arm in a sling, lightly strapped to his chest. The disciples looked around but saw no one else that might be helping the man and it seemed that he alone had brought in the catch. They sat and watched, astounded that the fisherman had enough strength in only one useful arm to cast such a large net. It was the kind that is anchored on posts and used the waves to lead fish into its hold. The man kept one arm strapped while he used the other to set his net against the tide. Each time a collection of light waves would come, the man would slowly walk around the waist-deep water to each of his anchors, unclipping and pulling in the net. He would pick out each sizable fish and toss them into one of the baskets near him. Behind him on the sand were more baskets, most of which had already been filled. It was midday and the sun was high. Because of this, most of the fish had gone away to deeper water and the man’s catch was slim. Still, he continued to slowly make his way around from one anchor to the next. The disciples watched this for a long time and were stunned. They sat cross-legged in the warm sand resting, and among them no words were spoken.

Later that day, Jesus arrived at the coast. He had stayed behind to eat with a group of Pharisees and the disciples had gone ahead in order to make camp on the shore. Now that He had arrived, Jesus wished to pray and eat at the end of His long journey. Seeing the disciples sitting in the sand, He approached them and noticed that there had been little preparation for the night. They had been so perplexed by the fisherman and wavering in the sun that they had not made camp. This had become a bit of a habit for them, as by this point on their journey the disciples had become accustomed to a host family taking care of their end-of-the-day-needs. The group was still and silent, tired after a day in the sun, and had not conversed amongst themselves since they first watched the fisherman. They seemed to be so spellbound by the man's efforts that they did not greet Jesus. Seeing the fisherman and the disciples' awe, Jesus asked Peter to come forward.

“Why do you sit here in silence?”

Peter answered and pointed to the fisherman. “All day, that one-armed man has walked around through the waves, setting and unsetting his net. Even when the sun was at its highest, he continued to work, though most of fish were gone.”

Jesus looked around at the disciples and was grieved at their amazed eyes. “Do you only cast your nets when the sun is low and the shade is over? Would you stay home from the docks if your leg was hurt and in a wrap? Look at the baskets he has collected on the sand. Are those not the same fish that you pull into your own nets? If you fished with the same devotion and strength that he does with one hand, imagine the size of your catch with two.”

Author's Note:

This is a story loosely based around The Man with a Withered Hand, in the third chapter of the Book of Mark. In the story, Jesus heals a man who only has one working hand. This is done in front of a group of Pharisees who were insulted that Jesus was "working" on the sabbath. To be honest, my story does not share the same message that is in Withered Hand. In the original, Jesus is teaching about the importance of actions and their value over "rule-following." In my story, I just wanted to write a parable that had a message that lined up with other parts of Mark. Namely, I wanted to write a lesson that followed the teachings in Mark that concern how the Church should act and be formed. It was important to emphasize that Jesus' teachings become more direct in this Gospel. His lessons spoke to humble diligence for the sake of work itself, something that I wanted to epitomize in this story. As I had noted in my reading notes for the week, I wanted to tell part of the story/message through the words surrounding the dialogue, in addition to the words themselves.

Update: I did not want the character of Jesus to approach the fisherman, as I wanted to parallel his interpretation with that of the disconnected perspective of the disciples. So I opted for the addition of the disciples' lack of activity that day and hinted at the root of this lapse.

Bibliography:

Mark 3:1-7, Harper Collins Study Bible

Online Untextbook Link.