Many of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen
by trade. These men had a keen sense of
what they needed to do to catch fish and make a living doing so. Here comes Jesus after they've been trying to
catch fish all night long to no avail; he orders them to put out again in the
deep water and to lower their nets for a catch.
Jesus is not a fisherman – how does he know that there will be fish out
there for them? Behold, they catch so
many fish that their nets are in danger of tearing, that their boats are in
danger of sinking.
God can call us to do some things in
our lives that seem to be illogical & beyond reason – his call can go
against everything we know and all we've learned. God's call can break all of our familiar
patterns and take us from our comfortable surroundings. Yet, God's call often takes us out of our
comfort zone beyond anything we could ever imagine.
Think about what would have happened if
those disciples had been afraid, if they did not want to leave their
comfortable profession as fishermen?
They would have never opened their lives to the fullness of God's graces
if fear and trepidation would have kept them from breaking through their
comfort zone.
Most of you know that I am very
involved in prison ministry, and have been so most of the time I have been a
priest. Even to this day, when I enter
the prison to preside at mass or to visit an inmate, I am struck by how
different an environment I am entering.
I had no idea how to approach prison ministry when I first got started
in it, but I give thanks to God that he called me to this ministry and gave me
the courage to respond.
Let us not let our set patterns and
routines keep us from responding to God's call in our lives. With the help of the Holy Spirit, may we find
the courage to respond in faith.
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