February 7, 2010 Cycle C
Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1-11
Writers from the time of Genesis to modern novelists find the chaos that comes in the image of water to be a fascinating locale in which to place their stories.
I was thinking about Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man in the Sea.” An old fisherman, down on his luck, sails off the coast of Cuba into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico where he catches a huge fish, only to loose it eventually to sharks.
Or take Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” It would not be a classic if it took place, some would say, at the Pueblo Reservoir. Science fiction maybe.
Or the film “The Perfect Storm,” in which a group of Massachusetts fisherman down on their luck put out into the deep waters where they encounter both a marvelous catch of fish and --- the perfect storm. I can’t imagine that story happening at Hermit Lake.
So many great fish stories demand the deep waters. The Gospel today is no exception. Simon, or Peter, as he would become to be called, is down on his luck. It is a classic setting for a great fish story. Peter has fished all night, caught no fish, and now as Jesus enters the scene, Peter is sulking in the shadows of Lake Gennesaret. There he is found washing his nets.
But then Peter hears words that ring down to us through the centuries of time. “Put out into the deep water.” At first Peter protests, just as we might. “Been there, done that.” But eventually Peter complies and as we say, “The rest is history.” Their catch is so large, so very large; it must have been the talk of every bait shop on the lake.
It is a great story because it evokes a memory in our own consciousness. We all have heard those words spoken to Simon Peter ourselves. “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” We have heard those words in our own lives. They are the central message in the Gospel for they say to us --- you need not fear the deep waters.
The notion of putting out into deep waters is a rich and powerful metaphor for us as Christians. Deep water signifies a place of uncertainty. A challenge, a risk, the unknown. It also points to tremendous opportunity. It is a place of redemption. A place where lost can be turned into gain. The deep water stands in opposition to the shallows of the shoreline, which is a place of comfort, of security, the familiar, the customary way of doing things. The shoreline is a place where we don’t have to risk too much.
But, our Lord calls us, despite our preference for the shallows, to indeed put out into the deep waters. And where is the deep water that we are commanded to put out into? Where is that deep water in your own life? And in my life?
Well, the answer is of course unique to each one of us. If you are a young person in high school or college, and you are thinking about how to spend your life – Do you pursue a career in business, law, or a trade? Should you get married? But sometimes while pondering these possibilities, all of them good, there might be a soft, but strong voice, that is heard saying to you, “Put out into the deep water.” What might that mean? Could it mean a vocation to the Deaconate, to the Priesthood, or to the Religious Life? Like deep water, a call to such a life raises the prospects of uncertainty, of risk, of leaving the comfort zone we may be living in. But we know for many who have heard this call, who have put out into the deep water, that it also carries with it the potential for tremendous rewards.
A call to a vocation may also mean a call to live a holy other-directed single life with all that it can entail. Certainly the vocation of marriage can be deep water at times. Marriage brings children, children become teenagers – the deep waters are evident!
Putting out into the deep water can mean a change in our attitude towards our family and our diocese, towards people in our community. It can mean a change to a simpler lifestyle. Living simply so others may simply live.
Today is our second week of our call to be generous to the request to support the efforts, work, and the mission of the Diocese of Pueblo. It is your way to respond by making a pledge of support for the next ten months to help our community raise the necessary pledges to reach our goal of over $95,000.00. We need everyone’s support. We began last week, but today I call on you to finish filling out your pledge cards and return them as quickly as possible. A request of $35.00 a month for ten months, or $350.00, or whatever you are able to give would certainly be a movement towards the deep water. Your response to that call of Jesus might be to put out into the deep waters by trusting God will enable you to fulfill your pledge.
I’d ask you if you have not passed out the pledge cards around you, to do that now, and to notice also the opportunity to fill out the page on the brochure to note your prayer request that will be turned into the Diocese and prayed for in the coming months at the Cathedral.
Jesus challenges us to lower our own nets, to risk our security and our comfort for the sake of the Gospel values of compassion, justice, and reconciliation. The call to trust in God is a worthy effort since God has shone His love for all of us. We do not hesitate to risk and to show our love and compassion for the wider community of the Diocese of Pueblo by the support that we are making today. That truly we be a people who are “rich in good works, generous and ready to share.”
Amen. Amen. Msgr. Tom, Pastor Christ the King