DAILY GRACE
September 3, 2020, Thursday of the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time
Scripture: Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation:
“‘. . . if you say so, I will let down the nets . . . .”
It must have been quite a shock for Peter to have his workday routine upset by this itinerant rabbi. Peter and his partners had been out on the lake all night, disappointed because they weren’t able to catch any fish. In preparation for their next outing, they are mending their nets. Then along comes Jesus — a traveling rabbi. Once he has finished doing what a rabbi does, he turns to tell the fishermen to go back out for a catch. Rather than telling the rabbi that this is the worst possible time to go fishing, that they need to prepare their nets, and that he and his men are looking forward to going home and relaxing, Peter follows the rabbi’s command.
What’s really happening here? Jesus is asking Peter and the others to go against the first commandment of human existence: to play it safe. He invites Peter to move beyond the safety of human and physical limitation into the realm of the unknown. The overwhelming success of this adventure and the physical presence of this rabbi overwhelm Peter with the hidden reality of God’s presence. When we allow God in and experience what happens when the divine interacts with the human, we experience an overwhelming sense of closeness (and humility). Even though we may be uncomfortable with that nearness and the incredible realization that God is so close to us, the experience leaves us in awe.
Each of us is invited to “put out into deep water” — to stop living according to the limitations of our human expectations. When we let go of whatever moors us to the physical plane of reality, and allow ourselves to follow God’s invitation toward the spiritual ideals to which God beckons us, we will be surprised at the overwhelming sense of fulfillment that we discover.
Prayer
Lord, I fear what I don’t know and can’t see. You call me to go after what seems to be beyond human limitation. Help me to remember that you see what I cannot see. I am confident that with you guiding me, I will be amazed, but will also find rest. Amen.
Contemplation
God is closer than I know.