Time and time again throughout the Gospels, we see how Jesus is such an attractive personality, a kind of a superstar. You may recall, back in the 1970s there was a broadway musical called "Jesus Christ Superstar" which tried to capture that sense of his fame (I believe they made a movie also). However, Jesus is one who always put aside that stardom personality, because he was more than that, he wanted people to understand the Gospel of good news that he was proclaiming.
When we think of celebrities today - how they are often viewed as someone they are not, or maybe the issues they are sincere about are not heard simply because they "portray" or "act" as someone else in movies and we rarely see or hear about their true personalities or how they identify themselves in life outside of their acting roles. When people think of a celebrity they first think of who/what they are known for in the media, not who they really are off screen, and many of us don't know them in any other light than what we hear about them. I imagine that could be very difficult, to be unable to be taken seriously or viewed apart from your entertainment personality, to just be heard as a normal - real person who has sincere beliefs about different topics in life.
In Luke Chapter 5:1-11, Jesus sees the crowds were pressing in so he decides to get in Peter's boat offshore of the Lake of Gennesaret and preach from there. Why does he do this? He knows that by distancing himself offshore in front of all that are gathered, his words will reverberate off the waters and will be able to be heard by all that are in attendance. You may know what this would have sounded like if you have been on a Lake and from the shore you can hear your kids or your friends playing and screaming in the water and from the shore you can hear their voices very clearly. Simply, Jesus wanted to make sure his voice was heard. There is also something else we see here - there were two boats and Jesus enters into Peter's boat, and there is no doubt that Peter took great pride in this. He was the one who was chosen, but Jesus wanted to make sure that he wasn't being treated by Peter as a celebrity either so after he was done speaking, he put Peter (Simon) in touch with that area of his life that was incomplete when he tells him, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." Peter knew he was a failure, he had been fishing all night and had not caught any fish. Nevertheless, when he had done this they caught a great multitude of fishes, so much that their net broke and they beckoned unto their partners in the other ship to come help, and so they filled both the ships that they began to sink. Peter fell down at Jesus knees saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Peter and the others who were with him were astonished at the draught of the fishes.
This event, is an opportunity for us to see that the word of God must penetrate into the areas in our life that we feel as though we have failed, that we struggle with, that we are ashamed of or we have difficulties with. Do we allow the word to pierce our heart there? That is what this scene is about. Peter has to understand that the Lord loves him, no matter what he has done or failed to do, and it's at that moment he realizes this and is able to respond and follow Jesus. All his successes and failures are relative, and the most important thing in his life is to love Jesus. We all need to come to a personal relationship with Jesus, and not a superficial one where we treat him like a celebrity, rather, he is the one who is the center of our lives. It is much easier to say "I like what Jesus did and I admire him for it, but his life was very hard and he was persecuted and beaten." It is difficult to follow Jesus and say, "I will live a life like Jesus by loving him and following his teachings and doing what he did regardless if I am shunned or mistreated." Admiring Jesus for his celebrity is not following him. Jesus is someone who loves us beyond our shame, our faults and our difficulties and we can do anything because of that love. We can also turn back to follow Jesus, nothing can separate ourselves from him, or separate us from what he calls us to be.
Father Pedro Arrupe talked about how the love of God can change our lives. He said - "Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in love - what we are in love with, what seizes our imagination will affect everything - it will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude - so stay in this love, and it will decide everything."