'Put out into the deep...'

 

 

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Last Sunday was not only the Thirteenth After Pentecost, but it was also the "First Sunday of Luke." That means that it was the first Sunday on which we read from the Gospel According to St. Luke, following the "Lukan Jump" earlier in the week (always after the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross). We heard of the miraculous catch of fish, together with the first call of the disciples who were destined to become "fishers of men." (Lk. 5:1-11) Standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, Jesus is speaking the "word of God" to the gather people (5:1). We then read/hear the following:

"And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing." But at your word I will let down the nets."

Jesus begins by acting decisively, by simply getting into the boat on his own initiative and then giving Simon an order, to: "Put out into the deep and let down your nets fora catch." (5:4) Simon accepted that order, but thought it necessary to question Jesus by informing him of the frustrating venture earlier "into the deep" in which there were no fish. Simon was convinced, apparently, that Jesus does not understand the business which for him is his "bread and butter." The miraculous catch of fish then follows: 

"And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink." (5:6-7)

This leaves Peter astounded and almost unable to react reasonably. Yet, he does react spontaneously and quite dramatically: "But when Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord"." (5:8) This passage always impressed me as Simon's perception/recognition of the numinouspresence of Christ. A sense of being overwhelmed by the presence of the holy. And in that presence only humble acknowledging it by kneeling before it; in this case before the person of the Lord. This how Simon (Peter) first encounters Christ in the Gospel according to St. Luke. 

Interestingly enough, some scholars raise the possibility that this passage is actually a misplaced resurrection account, because of the obvious similarities with Jn. 21:1-8. Be that as it may, this revelation of the Lord's holy presence reminds me that it could be our own experience - In prayer? In the Liturgy? - when and if we are open to the possibility. Do we need that type of experience to become "fishers of men?"