We began our liturgy this morning, as we always do, with the Sign of the Cross, it reminds us that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, committed to keeping God at our center. Isaiah heard the Lord’s voice asking, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah eventually answers, “Here I am … send me!”
You and I are called to answer in a similar way, Send me.
St. Paul reminds the Corinthians to “… hold fast to the word I preached that Christ died for our sins, was buried, on the 3rd day rose from the dead and appeared to Peter and the Apostles. In today’s Gospel St. Luke tells us after Jesus taught the crowd and He directed Simon to “put into the deep water and lower your nets….” Simon said we fished all night and caught nothing, but if you say so, we will put down our nets. And they got a great catch of fish.
Today’s miracle is much greater than a large haul of fish; Simon is called to become a disciple of Jesus. “This passage from Luke’s Gospel reveals Jesus’ authority to bring people to the Father.” [Loose-Leaf Lectionary, Rev. Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC]
The famous Hall of Fame catcher for the Yankees, Yogi Berra [who had a unique way with words] said, “If you come to a fork in the road-take it.” Simon, Isaiah and Paul each came to a fork in the road and each one of them chose to follow the Lord whose road leads to spiritual life here and in eternity.
Our Scripture readings point to divine intervention in the lives of: Isaiah, Simon and Paul. Have you experienced divine intervention in your life? The answer is yes, you have and so have I. Each one of us has in the Sacraments, in particular, in Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation; and for some of us: Matrimony, the Sacrament of the Sick and Holy Orders. The Eucharist the divine intervention par excellence, the gift of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His True Presence.
Jesus called Simon and He calls us to choose Him as the center, as the G.P.S. of our lives. The Jesuit priest Anthony de Mello [who died 1987] “… discovered something that turned his life upside down…. a rickshaw puller named Ramchandra. Fr. de Mello was introduced to him in Calcutta. Pulling a rickshaw for a living is an awful existence; it’s backbreaking work & the life span of a driver is only ten to twelve years. Ramchandra had tuberculosis and his family lived in abject poverty. You’d never think to find happiness in this man’s life, and yet there it was.
Nothing seemed to faze him, to upset him, I asked him, “Why aren’t you upset?” “About what?” he said, “Your future, the future of your kids.” He said that he was doing the best he could, and the rest was in the hands of God… as I came know I was in the presence of a mystic, in the presence of life. It was right there, he was alive and by comparison, I was dead. Remember what Jesus said about the birds of the air, the flowers of the field. God takes care of them, so don’t be anxious God will take care of you. Ramchandra’s life embodied those words he understood the loveliness and the beauty of this experience we call human existence. More money would’ve helped, but he didn’t need it, not to live from his heart. [adopted from Fr. Tony de Mello/]
This is what being a disciple of Jesus Christ is all about, giving the life we have to God to bless it and saying thank you God for the life that God walks with us each day. Whether you fish for a living, pull a rickshaw, or something else, do you best and let God handle the rest. Thomas Merton observed that “the root of Christian love is not the will to love but the faith that one is loved by God . . . irrespective of one’s worth. In the true Christian vision of God’s love, the idea of worthiness loses significance.” [Connections, February 6, 2022]
Going out into the deep water is not easy, but Jesus is calling us. For a few minutes, in silence, think about what voice you are following?
Who will the Lord send?
Will we answer, ‘Here I am Lord, send me?
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.
May God Be Praised and your day be Blessed.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020622.cfm
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