Luke 5:4
And when He had finished speaking,He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let your nets down for a catch.”
I have many favorite stories in the Bible, and this one speaks to me in particular this week.
Put yourself in Simon’s shoes. You’ve been up all night fishing, and haven’t caught a single thing.
Jesus comes and gets into the boat to speak to the crowds of people on the shore of the lake of Genneserat. When he is done speaking, He instructs Simon to head for deeper waters and fish again.
Seriously?
Imagine how incredulous Simon felt at this request. He’s exhausted, frustrated, and the last thing on his mind is more fishing. He (probably) just wanted to head home and go to bed.
Instead, he follows Jesus’s instructions, and ends up with the biggest catch of his life.
He is astonished and frightened, realizing Jesus has just performed a miracle. He feels unworthy, and asks Jesus to depart from him. Instead, Jesus invites him to be a disciple and fisher of men.
How many times have we gone about our own paths on a career or life plan, and come up with our nets empty?
I look back at myself 20 years ago and laugh, remembering all the plans I had for my life. God has guided me to the place where He wants me to be …. it just took a while for me to listen.
Following God’s plan takes faith, bravery, and dying to self. I’m incredibly proud of someone I love dearly this week for taking a big leap of faith, and ‘putting out into the deep’. Watching him is a reminder to continually turn to God and seek His guidance in all things.
Tomorrow marks another one of my favorite Catholic feast days – the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I’m a lover of all things Mary, and this feast day is no exception. We celebrate Mary’s Assumption into Heaven — taken up by God’s power. The readings you hear depict Mary as the woman clothed with the sun, and reminds us of Mary’s love for others in the Visitation.
Looking to teach your young children about the Assumption? Women of Faith and Family has a Marian coloring page to get you started. Be sure and visit Loyola Press for a discussion of today’s readings that your children can understand.
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“faith, bravery, and dying to self” – that’s tough stuff for any of us, and I think it only gets harder as we get older.
Yes, Peter did kind of get a shock with all of those fish. I remember the Bible story book we had when I was a child had a good picture of the men counting the fish and their eyes just kind of popping out of their heads…K
Amazing how if we’d just listen more carefully with our hearts how our path to the answer may be shorter. Great post today 🙂
That passage was used once in the Diocese of Boise for one year’s vocations poster.