Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 6, 2012 - Thursday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 3:18-23 and Luke 5:1-11]Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.
After inaugurating his ministry in Nazareth and showing in the next few days that he has the power to bring about what he promises, Jesus now begins to put together his "team." In itself, this was nothing new. Well known rabbis of the time often gathered disciple-collaborators. All four gospels give us a variety of stories about how various disciples were "called." I find the story in Luke in today's gospel somewhat amusing. First of all, we have some frustrated fishermen. They are washing nets that had stayed empty. Peter may as well let the rabbi use the boat for a pulpit! He doesn't expect to get the compensation that he receives! Generosity to Jesus is repaid in great abundance! But I wonder what happened to that "great catch" that they brought ashore, since Luke says they all left their boats and Zebedee and went with Jesus! Poor Zebedee was left to deal with it all!
Jesus has good reason to tell Peter, "Do not be afraid!" Catching people instead of fish can be just as frustrating, but there's no question that the call is a powerful one and a generous response is rewarded many times over. At least that's been my experience! AMEN