Peter and his fellow fishermen had been working all night. They had just finished fishing and were putting up their tackle. The men were cleaning and repairing it, getting ready to get some rest. Then comes along Jesus, who says go back where you were and start fishing again.
It’s a simple little statement, but it contains so much. Jesus shows them in his actions that the reason they failed before was not the technique or lack of knowledge. The only thing they lacked in the previous trip was Him. The fishermen caught nothing without Christ; they would reap tremendous rewards with Him. It is as if Jesus was saying to them it was not the proper time before. You acted on your own, alone. Now work with me and for me. Follow me, and I will show you how to catch abundantly.
What does that mean to us 2000 years later? The Church is still putting out into the deep. We journey out into the world to be fishers of men. We are taking along Jesus with us in the Gospel and our hearts. Do we have the courage, like Peter, to say: Lord, I’ve been working all this time, but if you say the word, I will do it again.
The other thing we have to learn from Peter in the Gospel is humility. Scott Hahn said in one of his talks that “God finds humility irresistible.” Peter humbles himself, realizing that Jesus is more than just a man. So too should we.
The difference is most of us aren’t fishermen. What we are, though, is children of God. We are living temples of the Holy Spirit. In a way, we are a boat, a vessel. God asks us to allow Him to sit in our ship, rest in it, and teach from it. Like in the Gospel, He wants to direct us to where the biggest catch is, even if we’ve already been there. If God is for us, who can be against us?
As Catholics, we believe that Confession is where we go to clean our boat up and prepare it for His arrival. Holy Communion is how we invite Jesus into our craft. We walk forward and receive Him in the Eucharist and then allow Him to guide us back into the world we’ve been toiling in this whole time. Like the fishermen, we come in weary from the long week. We go into the confessional to clean and repair our nets. Like Peter, we, with true humility, strike our breast, and say, “Lord, I am not worthy.” Then we walk forward, place our hands out like a throne, and receive Him into our vessel.
How much more powerful will it be if we began to live our lives in a way that showed we genuinely believe this? Our demeanor coming out of the Church on Sunday would be one of confidence, knowing that we were putting out into the deep, but this time Jesus was with us. So, are you ready to go fishing?
A reflection on the readings for the Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great: September 03, 2020