"Do what, Lord?"

The homilist of today’s liturgy, Father Peter Filipkowski of St. Catherine of Siena’s parish in Mountain Lakes, NJ, asked us to imagine Peter, in today’s Gospel, as a professional fishermen.  He knows exactly where, on any lake, to fish. He also knows the time to go out fish. He knows all of the proper techniques. He’s  been involved in the fishing business for  all of his life.  In today “fishing” story, daylight is approaching—this is not the time of the day to be fishing.  Along comes Jesus and says: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch” (Luke 5: 1-11). “Lord,” Peter says,   “we have been fishing all night and caught nothing…”  Imagine a more lengthy conversion that might go like this: “Master, this is not the time to be fishing.  Look, I know what I am doing. This has been my business all my life. I am a professional fishermen, for heaven’s sake.” Then something changes in Peter’s attitude and he says: Okay, “…at your command I will lower the nets.”  Luke tells us that  “when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing….They…filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.”

Many times what the Lord asks of us seems utterly foolish, as it must have seemed to Peter.  And, yet, like Peter, when we follow the Lord’s suggestions, we are overwhelmed by the results. May I have that kind of faith, Lord.