Feb. 6, 2022: 5th Sunday C
Feb. 6, 2022: 5th Sunday C
Do you believe that God is calling you to a deeper life than what you see before you? Are you willing to “put out into the deep,” trusting that God wants you to experience the fullness of what He planned for you?
Peter and his companions did their best to catch fish all night long. However, all their time and effort had been for nothing, for their nets were empty. They were tired and disappointed as they washed their nets. Fishermen can never make any predictions when they cast their nets. They have to be patient, for they have days when the water gives nothing. All they can do is to mend their nets and prepare for the next day’s work.
We all have experienced what Peter and his companions experienced. We did our best at work, school, or relationships, yet at the end of the day, we have nothing to show for it. We may have studied hard for an exam, but the result is far from stellar. We may have done our best to be a good parent, yet our child goes the wrong way. It’s painful to experience failure after having done our best; it’s deflating to feel that one’s best isn’t good enough.
Peter was washing the net; so engrossed was he in his everyday affair that he was oblivious to the presence of God of the universe. Peter’s world was small; his boat and fishing were his livelihood but also his god. His mood and hope rose and fell with the results of the catch. For fishermen, an abundant catch of fish meant wealth, security, prestige, leisure, and power. Then Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat in order to use his prized possession as a platform to proclaim the Good News, “the Kingdom of God is upon you!”
Jesus invited Peter out into the deep water, the place where Peter experienced failure only hours before. It is just when we feel disappointed and weary that Jesus comes to ask us to follow him and participate in his mission. It is easy to stay put where our life is shallow, superficial, and safe after a disappointment. St. John Paul II said, “Put out into the deep! These words of Jesus ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence for ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.’” What is holding us tight from trusting Jesus and obeying his Words of Life? Is it what we possess? Freedom is not found in the things we own. When Peter witnessed the miraculous catch, it should have made him happy. Instead, he was overtaken by a sense of unworthiness. He cried to Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” The security, wealth, leisure, and power he sought now seemed so petty, false, silly, greedy, and empty.
Jesus replied instead, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Jesus takes our weakness, failures, sins, the broken pieces of our lives to bring about a deeper confidence in God’s mercy and compassion. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me,” wrote John Newton, a slave trade ship captain in the 1700’s. He survived a treacherous storm, turned his life around, became a pastor of a small church in Britain, and worked toward abolishing slave trade in Britain.
What is the main reason why we resist the call from Jesus to holiness in our life? Isaiah and Peter changed their hearts from reluctance to serve God because of their own shortcomings. Isaiah responded to God, “Here I am, send me.” Peter left everything and followed Jesus. Imagine Jesus getting into our boat (that is, our life) today. What about our present life-style would cause us fear, shame, or unworthiness? How would we have to change?
