Building God's Kingdom

In today's Gospel, Matthew 13: 47-53, Jesus likens the Kingdom of heaven  to "a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind."  When Jesus called the apostles from their fishing boats, He told them that He would make them fishers of men.  During His time here on earth in a physical body, Jesus, the Son of God, also went about "fishing" for men and women in need of a physician, persons needing healing of body, mind and spirit.  He ate with sinners, spoke with sinners, raised sinners from the dead, promised Paradise to a thief dying on the cross next to  him when he asked to be remembered by Jesus when He got to His Kingdom.

The Son of God was the transformation of God roaming throughout all of Galilee and the surrounding area. He was the Divine Potter reshaping people into the image and likeness of God in which each was made and about which each was commissioned to bring to fullness during their sojourn here on earth. Jesus showed the way to accomplish his work. He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life of God in our midst then and now!

May you and I realize ever more fully our mission to build God's Kingdom, as Jesus did and does!

"Cast your net on the Right Side of the Boat"

“By what power and by what name have you done this (healed the crippled man)?”  What power is attracting me, pulling me, obsessing me? Is it the power of Jesus?  Am I focused on Jesus? Is that where my energy is being drawn or is it being drained by another force, another attention getter in my life?  This morning, in prayer, I brought an issue to the Lord about which I believe I am obsessing and need help refocusing, letting go, re-channeling my energy and drive to succeed. 

In the Gospel of today, John 21: 1-14, Peter and his friends go fishing and catch nothing.  Jesus is on the shore watching them. He says: “Children, have you caught anything?” To which, they say “no.” “Cast your nets on the right side of the boat.” They do so and bring in 153 large fish.

If I go about my work, my day, without Jesus in the center of my efforts, I will catch nothing.  I will labor in vain and, yes, get sucked into obsessive behaviors that lead to nowhere, that zap my energies, deplete my strength and weaken my ability to stay focused, live a disciplined way of life. “Cast your net on the right side of the boat.” I need to be in right relationships with God, with others and with myself, if I want to experience the power of the Risen Lord at work in my life.

In prayer, Jesus said to me:

Dorothy Ann, just as I was with Peter and the disciples for whom I made breakfast on the shore of Lake Tiberias and guided them in their fishing expedition, so, too, am I with you and your companions.  Trust me. I did not commission you to go forth and bear abundant fruit and then disappear.  No, I am a part of your team.  I am with you “on the shore” watching as you labor. I transform your efforts in a way that brings forth positive results in your personal life, communal life and life of ministry. I am with you always. In every event or challenge I give directions! Pay attention!