FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C

[cappie]

 Simon Peter, the fisherman, is the first to be called by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel. His calling resembles Isaiah’s commissioning in the First Reading: confronted with the holiness of the Lord, both Peter and Isaiah are overwhelmed by a sense of their own sinfulness and inadequacy. Yet each experiences the Lord’s forgiveness and is sent to preach the good news of His mercy to the world.

 There is one word that describes the feelings of all of our scripture writers this morning: Paul included: futility. And futility is perhaps a feeling we can all identify with in year 3 of pandemic   We’re starting to believe our efforts are futile, that the end of the virus is not really possible. Futility robs us of hope, of possibility, of faith itself. This is where Peter is, he and his companions have been out all-night fishing and have caught nothing. They may be doubting their skills and capability as fishermen. This is where futility can land us. We don’t just begin to doubt what we can do. We begin to doubt who we are.

Then Jesus comes into the situation, and everything changes.

One thing Jesus says here jumps off the page: “ Put out into deep water.”  When we are feeling swamped by futility, we need to go deeper. When you feel like you have nothing but failure to show for your best effort, go deeper.

“ Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.”

What is the difference between beating our heads against a wall, i.e., doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, and following Jesus’ advice?

 We take Jesus with us. That is what changes the disciples’ action from “doing the same thing and expecting different results” into a sudden and bountiful harvest. When Jesus is with us—in our minds, in our hearts, in our conversations, in our discernment, in our priorities, two things happen. First, we are empowered to go out into the deep water. We are able to take risks and stretch ourselves and each other toward something new. And then, we can let down our nets and actually find fish. What was once the site of futility becomes the site of abundance, discovery, and sustenance.

Notice one more interesting detail in this gospel text. At the end of the fishing part of the story, we read this sentence: “And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.”

 We do find out by the end of the story that they make it back to shore, but that detail that Luke includes is important. The boat begins to sink. This is a symbol of having to leave your old life behind. The boat was the fishermen’s primary tool of the trade, the economic engine of their lives. But when Jesus showed up, the bounty and abundance his presence brought into their lives completely overwhelmed their old worldview, their old tools, old ways of living their lives. Saying yes to Jesus means we have to give up all our cherished sources of security, to find true security and freedom in him. And remember what the call is to Peter and his friends: to become fishers of people. This is about evangelism.

Peter and his companions begin this story sad, frustrated, afraid, and almost hopeless. They don’t believe there are any fish, and they don’t believe that they have what it takes to catch them. But Jesus says,  “Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch” and everything changes. The group of failed fishermen are courageous  followers of Jesus by the end of the story.

So, ask yourself: where do I find futility in my life? Where am I ready to give up? Where have I lost hope?

And then listen to the call of Jesus: “ Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.…  Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch”

The road from failure to evangelist is quite short—it just requires saying yes to Jesus and saying yes to depth. God’s Word comes to us as it came to Peter, Paul, Isaiah, and today’s Psalmist—as a personal call to leave everything and follow Him, to surrender our weaknesses in order to be filled with His strength.