Matthew 4: 18 - 20
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two
brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed
him.
*
I have always loved
listening to this Gospel story. The imagery
is so alive that I can feel myself right there in the boat. I can feel the heat
of the sun, hear the seagulls, and smell the ocean. And there is Jesus walking
on the shore, smiling, pulling up the hem of his garment as he wades out a bit
into the water. He’s waving his arm and beckoning to us, “Come follow me.”
Hearing
this story as a young boy in Catholic school back in the Bronx, I thought it
was the greatest adventure that could ever be, better than Robin Hood, better
even than Star Trek: to drop everything, leave everything behind; to follow
Jesus to the ends of the earth.
But
as I got older, fell in love, and raised a family, something about this story
began to bother me — what happened to Peter and Andrew’s wives and children after they dropped their nets? What about Zebedee, James and John’s father, who
depended on his sons to run his fishing business; how did he survive after they
climbed out of the boat and went off to follow Jesus?
With
maturity has come an understanding that even though they became disciples and
followed Jesus, they continued to raise their kids, support their families, and
probably went back to work on their fishing boats. But something was different:
they had been transformed, changed forever — they had LET GO OF THEIR NETS.
Jesus
calls to each and every one of us in a personal way, just like he called to
those fishermen in Capernaum. He calls us by name and asks that we follow him;
follow him in the context of our lives and the responsibilities, rooted in
love, that are associated with our place in the world.
Jesus
calls us to open our hearts and accept God’s love; to let it transform us; to
let ourselves become channels of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, and
to let that love flow through us to all our brothers and sisters, all God’s
children. He calls us to love and forgive others as God loves and forgives us —
unconditionally.
But
whatever the circumstances of our lives, if we are to follow Jesus, WE NEED TO
DROP OUR NETS. But our nets are not filled with fish, they are filled with
baggage, emotional baggage, collected over a lifetime — anger, hurt,
resentment, self-alienation.
Some
of us carry heavy, painful, unresolved feelings towards others in our nets: the
pain of abandonment as a child by a parent we may have lost through divorce,
death, or a debilitating addiction or illness; the hurt of betrayal as an adult
by someone we loved and trusted very deeply; anger towards God for an illness
or handicap we are traveling through life with, or for taking someone from us
in death. The list goes on and on.
Jesus
calls us to let go, TO DROP THE NET.
Some
of us carry the heavy burden of self-alienation, self-hatred — for not being
perfect, for not being someone, anyone, else.
Jesus
calls us to let go, TO DROP THE NET.
These
feelings are hard to let go of. They usually result from very real hurts we
have experienced. But if we hold on to them, they are like blockages in the
artery of God’s love. They stand in the way of our being able to truly love God
and love each other; they keep us locked in a prison of bitterness and
depression, and make it difficult for God’s love to flow through us into the
world.
So
here we are 2,000 years later, and we really are in that boat with those
fishermen in Capernaum. For whatever the circumstances of our lives, whatever
our individual responsibilities, Jesus calls us to be touched by the magic of
God’s unconditional love. He calls anew as we open our eyes on each brand new
day, each new beginning; to drop our net; to let go of the past, of the hurt;
to be loved and forgiven, and to love and forgive unconditionally — without
strings.
He
calls us to be healed; he calls us to be whole.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Readers
of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on
Amazon.com:
Just
to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life
Synchronicity
as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and
Pastoral Ministry
I found you on LinkedIN and thought I would take a peek
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