The Fishing Challenge

~~~ 1 Cor 3:18-23 ~~~ Psalm 24 ~~~ Luke 5: 1-11 ~~~

 

I am particularly fond of today's gospel from Luke.

"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

 

A few years ago this was the theme for our annual women's retreat.

The whole passage has a wonderful message of listening to what God tells us.

Listening even when we have our doubts.

Listening even when we think we know better.

Listening when he is asking us to repeat something we have previously done.

 

Jesus told Peter and the others to lower their nets for a catch.

The fishermen had just returned from being out fishing all day.

They were tired and futrther more they had not caught any fish...

Why would they want to try one more time?

 

Jesus uses what we are familiar with and puts his own spin on it.

Jesus turns something we thought we knew

into something unbelievable.

Jesus takes the mundane and makes it remarkable.

 

Peter tries to talk Jesus out of this late fishing expedition,

but in the end they do lower their nets.

 

How often are we tempted to tell Jesus we are tired?

How often do we want to say to Jesus this will not work?

How often do we finally surrender to what God wants from us?

 

Jesus respected Peter and the others for their expertise

when it came to fishing.

They were the professionals. This was their livelihood.

This was how they supported their families.

 

"...the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God..."

 

These guys certainly thought they had all of the answers

when it came to fishing.

They knew these particular waters very well.

They had spent many hours and days fishing right here.

This is exactly why Jesus chose to test their trust in him.

Was he also testing their loyalty?

Was he testing their obedience?

 

It is as if Jesus was saying...

okay you 'know it alls' just cast out the nets and I will show you...

Jesus wanted to show them what he could do

in spite of their years of experience and wisdom.

 

His power transcends any knowledge or wisdom

we think we have acquired at our age.

Jesus creates abundance where they had not even caught

one fish that day.

 

"...they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing..."

 

In this abundance Jesus creates the need for them

to reach out to others for help.

He created community between the fishing boats.

In the past the fishermen were probably

only interested in taking care of their own catch.

This was their job.

Whatever they caught would be able to

bring in money for their loved ones.

They were not accustomed to sharing what they caught

with the other fishermen.

 

If the other boat was also theirs they alone had caught enough

to fill both boats.

They both benefited from the full nets of the one boat.

 

This bursting net full of fish was so impressive that

upon returning to the shore...

 

"...they left everything and followed him."

 

Surely they could not understand what he meant in saying

that they would soon be catching men.

 

All of their wisdom collectively did not prepare them for this

fishing expedition.

It was more of a 'deep see' experience.

They followed without any other questions.

Because they were willing to follow, Jesus was encouraged

to embark on his true purpose for being here among us.

Jesus did not come to go fishing with the guys.

But when he did it was an unforgettable day for these fisherman.

 

Peter fell to his knees admitting before Jesus and the others,

his peers, that he was truly humbled by what he had just witnessed.

 

 

Peter is so human...he is so much like us.

 

What would it take for God to challenge the wisdom and expertise

you believe you hold?

Where does your wisdom lie?

That is where you might look for God to be working.

Often he is at work where we would not expect.

Does It Get Any Better?

~~~ Acts 4: 32-37 ~~~ Psalm 93 ~~~ John 3: 7b-15 ~~~

We are reminded again of how the community lived together and joined all of their possessions for the good of the others. The apostles acted with great power from the Holy Spirit. Well known people even came with generous offerings and gave them to the disciples who distributed the funds to the needy.

Life was good.

They were living in the joy of the Lord.

Living in Joy makes all the difference in the world. Our society today rarely exhibits joyful living. Every night we are fed a steady diet of crime and violence...hardly what one would consider joy.

Nicodemus is a well educated person. What Jesus is saying to him cannot be learned from studying books. Jesus is speaking of things that blossom within the heart. The works of the Spirit are too mysterious to be captured in words.

We cannot grasp heavenly things, we accept them in faith.

Just as Moses lifted the serpent and cured the poisonous snake bites...

Our Lord was lifted upon a tree, the cross, to cure us of our sinfulness and purchase for us eternal life.

Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

Live your life intending to bring joy to those around you.

Beauty in Carrying the Cross

~~~~ James 2: 14-24, 26 ~~~~ Psalm 112 ~~~~ Mark 8: 34- 9:1 ~~~~

When I was in the convent, before taking my vows, we made our own crown of thorns. We clipped long branches from the thorny Mesquite bush. The thorns are quite sharp and the branches strong and hardy. In order to make them pliable and able to wind around into a circle we had to soak them overnight in water. The next day we were able to form them into the crown of thorns just the size for our head.

I can remember it being a solemn occasion as we sat securing our coil of thorns with pieces of wire and then attaching tiny delicate white silk flowers. We were going to be wed to Jesus. We were preparing for our wedding day. I even made a special box to keep this precious keepsake tucked away. It was gray and pink construction paper between sheets of clear plastic. There were six or eight sides I am not sure now. The handmade box was later relinquished for something stronger;
a metal cookie tin.

Some years later when I left the convent that crown of thorns was one of the few things I took home with me.  It was and still is something I treasure.When I married my husband and we went off for his military service we decided it best not to bring my 'cookie tin' along. We left it with my in-laws. They placed it safely hidden in the bottom of an empty brick planter in the living room.

Eventually we returned home and I was able to claim my crown of thorns. Recently I have used it for Lenten days of prayer. It still looks the same as the day I wore it on my head.
In over forty years these thorns are still intact.

Jesus told the crowd, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." While in the convent I had plenty ways to deny myself...times of prolonged silence, censored mail, begging for a bar of soap, forbidden to have contact with those not in my class. Community bathroom and showers down the hall, dormitory sleeping quarters, very little free time. Today those do not seem very significant, but when I was young they were huge.

"...take up your cross, and follow me."

It is not enough just to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is no guarantee of a burden free life. In some cases I think if you follow Christ you may even have more trials and crosses to bear. It is probably not so, but at times it seems if you believe you can take more.

When I look at my crown of thorns I do not think so much about the convent any more, I think about how the thorns were driven into Our Lord's precious head and then a huge wooden splintered cross was thrust upon his shoulders. I think of people I know who have had to carry heavy burdens in their lives...dread diseases...sexual abuse...loss of a child...alcoholism...etc.

The crosses we bear in life cannot be softened as my mesquite branches in an overnight soaking bath. They cannot be made more pliable, but we can allow others to help us carry our crosses. One thing I cherish in community is that while we each carry our own crosses we still reach out with a helping hand to lighten another's load. Together we follow Jesus. There is certainly strength in numbers.

When we help another with their cross, we are denying ourselves of self pity.

You cannot escape the cross and follow him at the same time.
If you try to ignore the cross; following Jesus is out of balance with the true Christian life.

When we embrace our cross with outstretched arms we are in alignment with the
Passion of Our Lord.

I invite you to look at the cross and the crown of thorns believing that Jesus understands. He will bring others into your life to help ease the burden. He will turn your sorrows into joy.

A couple years ago I took this picture in the narthex of our main church. The sun was shining through the stained glass window creating a soft blue glow across the thorn branches.

This kaleidoscope image reminds me that when we help each other carry their cross we can tend the thorn piercings. We sometimes miss the beauty in our crosses as we resist their reality. The thorns here are placed on the delicate blue from the stained glass.

This color was only possible because of the sun shining through the window.

Beauty can shine through our crosses too.

Look for the traces of color as you carry your cross and follow him.