Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
They were tired, frustrated at the emptiness of their efforts, and ready to go home to sleep. The last thing they wanted to do was push off shore and try again, let alone put in the effort of navigating out into the deep waters. Anybody who fishes knows that sometimes you go home with empty buckets and nothing to show for the trouble. And that’s just the way it is.
But something about the way Jesus has captured their attention, their imaginations, has caught them, like fish on the hook. He has spoken, not as their religious officials do, but as one with authentic and unmistakable authority. He has spoken in plain and simple ways that have touched their hearts, their hopes and longings, and won their trust. We might call it charisma, but not charisma alone. Jesus has shared with them “the Word of God,” and as the scriptures say, the Word of God does not return to Heaven until it has accomplished its work. Indeed, they have begun their adventure in this encounter with the Word of God himself.
Jesus does not appeal to their desire for comfort, rest, or what is predictable and familiar. He knows he has them “on the hook,” and he uses this allure to ask of them hard things- to renew their efforts, to go further out into the deep water than might have been their custom, and to throw their nets for a larger catch than they can imagine.
We know that the result of their efforts is a miracle that outlasts every other “big fish” story in history. Because that day, the real story is not their catch of fish. It is the fact that they have themselves been caught by a fisherman like no other (even if he was actually a carpenter, a fact that must have perturbed Peter!). Their true callings have been awakened, to leave aside what conventional lives they had been living, and to set out into the deep water of discipleship, and later to minister in Jesus’ own Way, Truth, and Life.
As leaders, we have the responsibility to organize and manage people and bring in the haul of fish, so to speak. But if we are truly leaders and not only task masters, we care about what is in the hearts of people, what capabilities they have and what gifts that we perceive, but they might not even suspect in themselves. Due to the trust and authority that we build with others, we have a capacity for positive influence, to name and draw forth gifts, and foster vocations. This might feel more than our responsibility, and perhaps like an intrusion into people’s lives. It is. And we aren’t the Word of God. However, as many of us know, someone along the way tapped our shoulders, asked the hard questions, and invited us out into the deep.
If we have first answered Jesus’ call ourselves, in whatever vocation we’ve said “yes” to, are we caring and courageous enough to invite others to do the same? The world needs people who are “hooked” by God and feel the pull to service, ministry, accompaniment, and the work for the Kingdom.
With you on the road,
