“Put out into the deep water” (Lk 5:4).
All the readings for this weekend are about God’s call to Isaiah, Paul, Peter and all of us, to . . . ‘put out into deep waters’. These are the stories of people’s vocations and conversions. They are given to us so that we may understand God’s ways. God uses the simple things of this world to motivate ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him.
Today’s stories have a familiar structure:
- Encounter with God, whom we recognize as Holy or indescribable.
- Awareness of one’s own sinfulness and unworthiness in God’s presence.
- Assurance of God’s faithful assistance.
- Acceptance of a God-given mission.
Peter was an experienced fisherman, a leader of a small fishing group. He knew well how to fish and when to fish in the sea of Galilee. When Jesus asked him to ‘put out in the deep waters’, Peter was just polite to Jesus. Of course, Peter knew that Jesus was an extraordinary person; he had seen Jesus curing people of their diseases, but Peter had no knowledge of medicine. Here Jesus had done something extraordinary which he could understand well. Peter understood instinctively that Jesus is divine.
Isaiah’s call for conversion and mission was a vison on two dimensions – physical and beyond physical (time, space, and matter). Even in the vision, Isaiah was aware of his human limitations and sinfulness. When they try to grow in their spiritual life, all saints are constantly aware of their sinfulness. The Psalmist, who was in the temple while experiencing the presence of God, says, “I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me” (Ps 51: 3). Peter exclaimed and said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8).
It is the constant assurance of God’s grace that makes us ready for the mission. Isaiah had no other option than to resign to the will of God. Jeremiah had accused God of seducing him to accept God’s mission for him. Now, Isaiah is ready to embrace the mission “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). In the second reading, Saint Paul attests that, he, a prosecutor of the church, worked harder than any other person for Christ because of continuous and abiding grace.
God calls us for conversion and mission. For some people the call is irresistible, and they accept it whole heartedly. God’s call is always ‘to put out into the deep waters.’ When we try to go beyond our own self-centered life to other-centered living, we understand God’s purpose for our call – it is to be His hands, feet and voice in the world.
– Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD