"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him." -Lk. 5:8-11
09/04/2014 Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The call of Simon is great on so many levels. First off, there is the idea that Simon was done for the day. He had pulled his boat into shore and was cleaning out his nets. Not only that, but he was cleaning them out after a night of unsuccessful fishing. I know how I feel when I don't catch fish and I don't rely on it for a living! Yet even though he's tired, Simon agrees to take this stranger out far enough so that he can teach the crowd. In that act, Simon shows that he is willing to go the extra mile for his fellow man. Jesus then tells him to head out to deep water and drop his nets. Simon registers a slight resistance, but then is willing to trust this new teacher because by now, he has heard the power of Jesus' words. He is paid back with BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! (Read my original post on BOUNTY! BEYOND! BELIEF! here) Showing that when we trust God, even though it might not make sense to us at the time, he will not be outdone in generosity.
Simon then tells Jesus to leave him because he is a sinful man. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I know that there are many times that I do not feel worthy of God's love, mercy (and bounty). But Jesus does not leave, showing that His love is not contingent in the least on our perfection, but on our will to trust in Him. He then tells Simon not to be afraid and that he will now be catching men. This is the ultimate example that God has a plan for us and He will meet us where we are to start the journey.
What do you think about the way that Simon and the other fishermen respond? When they get to the shore, they leave everything and follow him. Would you have the courage to do that? We are still asked to do that. Oh, we are not asked to leave our boats, equipment and livelihood behind, which may tempt us to think the request is different. However, what Simon and the others left behind, were the things that held them back from following Jesus physically and getting to know him and learn from him. The only difference for us is that we, most likely, don't have to leave behind our livelihood to follow Jesus, because for us it is a spiritual concept. We do need to leave behind anything that keeps us from following Jesus spiritually, or keeps us from getting to know him or learn from him. But, like Jesus himself says, be not afraid, because as we can see from Simon's story, Jesus isn't trying to trick or deceive us, he is just trying to lead us to God's plan for our lives and the bounty that awaits.
God bless,
P.D.O.
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