After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel takes place immediately after the disciples spend the entire night in a harrowing storm, crossing the Sea of Galilee without Jesus.
Frazzled and relieved, they are now safely ashore. I’m sure all Peter and the others wanted to do was pause and take a nice, long nap.
Before they could blink an eye, however, crowds filled with sick and suffering people are pressing in on them, hoping just to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak.
How do you think these drowsy disciples responded to the sight of the crowds?
Worn out from the last several hours of stumbling in the dark, did they try to whisk Jesus away in order to rest? Or did they ignore their own exhaustion in order to help others?
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The Gospel doesn’t tell us how they responded, only that Jesus healed every person he touched.
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What a difference it would make if we followed the Lord’s example of patience, compassion, and generosity, in spite of how we might be feeling at any given moment.
Imagine the difference it’d make if we were patient with other drivers on the road, even while in a hurry ourselves.
Or the difference it’d make in our hearts if we readily forgave people who offended us.
If we took the time to listen to our neighbor, even while preoccupied with our own thoughts; if we did the chores; made dinner; or responded to other people’s needs without complaint.
Or, in the disciples’ case, the difference it might’ve made if they brought someone to Jesus, in spite of their own exhaustion.
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As Mother Teresa once said, “Christians are called to love until it hurts.”
How might we feel that pinch today?
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Image credits: (1) Church Sermon Series Ideas (2) Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (3) Saint Mother Teresa, X
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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It’s dawn on the shores of Galilee.
Peter is mending his empty, stinking, fishing nets. After having worked all night, he comes up empty-handed. His only reward are sore muscles and a bitter dose of disappointment.
Failure is never fun.
Suddenly, Jesus shows up and steps into Peter’s boat. Looking at an exhausted, unsuspecting Peter, he tells him to row his boat back out to sea – that is, to do the same thing he’s done all night one more time.
To Peter, it was a ridiculous – and perhaps slightly offensive – request. He not Jesus is the professional fisherman.
Besides, the best place to fish is not out in the deep, but along the shoreline, where the fish gather to nibble on underwater plants. After a brief protest, Peter gives in.
“Master, at your command, I will lower the nets.”
Suddenly, his nets are tearing at the seams, providing a good lesson for Peter and us: Jesus can turn failure into abundance.
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While none of us may be professional fishermen, we all know what it’s like to fail, to stand idly, mending our broken hearts after having given our best at something, only to come up empty-handed.
Maybe we’ve poured ourselves into a marriage, into raising children, into ministry, a job, or a dream that’s dried up. Each in our own way, we can stand with Peter disappointed, out of luck, frustrated, mending our nets.
Sometimes, that’s when Christ issues the command: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” That is, do the same old, same old one more time.
With Jesus now at the center, our nets begin tearing at the seams.
Have you ever had that experience of Jesus stepping into your boat – into your heartache, into your failure – only to make things new?
If not, perhaps there’s a word in this for you today. God alone turns darkness into light; failure into abundance; nothing into something; death into life.
But first we must welcome him into our boat.
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Secondly, consider how Jesus fills Peter’s nets with fish.
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First, the Lord lets Peter exhaust himself.
Then, after a fruitless night of fishing on his own, Jesus makes a gentle, seemingly insignificant request – may I borrow your boat?
So, Peter allows Jesus to get in and push off, using his boat as a temporary, make-shift pulpit.
After preaching, the Lord pushes a little further into Peter’s life – first from his boat now into his profession. “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” Jesus says.
Once Peter’s nets begin tearing at the seams, he falls to his knees, and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
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Notice Peter changes how he addresses Jesus from Masterto Lord.
“Master” is a title of respect, a bit like “sir.”
“Lord,” on the other hand, is a title of adoration, devotion, or divinity.
Much like Isaiah in our first reading, Peter now recognizes that he’s in the presence of the Divine and his first reaction is to push God away. “Depart from me, Lord.”
Peter cannot stand being in the presence of God yet, because his focus is still on himself.
As sinful as Peter may be, Jesus sees more of him – an experienced fisherman who understands the value of hard work; someone who isn’t afraid to work all night and come up empty, only to head back out to sea and cast his nets again.
Having revealed his power to Peter, Jesus drops the bomb: “Behold, I will make you a fisher of men.”
Following the Lord will not sever Peter from the work he loves, nor will his skills be underutilized; rather, as his disciple, Jesus will make Peter the greatest version of himself –a fisher of men and, eventually, the rock of the Church.
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Often, the Lord uses the same strategy to hook us.
God’s primary motivation is to capture our hearts. When he has our attention, Jesus begins transforming us from “fishers” into “fishers of men,” from fragile believers into bold disciples.
Like Peter, have I had an encounter with Christ that’s changed my life? Have I become his disciple in heart and soul, a true “fisher of men”?
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May this Eucharist grant us all the grace to be like Peter – allowing the Lord to step into our failures, to pick up our nets and cast them again, to do the same old same old one more time.
Only now at his command.
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Image credits: (1) Scarsellino, Christ and Saint Peter at the Sea of Galilee, Harvard Art Museums (2) Britannica (3) Medium
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The death of John the Baptist is sandwiched in between Christ sending out his Apostles on their first missionary journey and their eventual return.
The Lord sent them out with nothing – no food, no money, not even a second tunic – with the exception of one thing:
He gave them his divine power.
Upon their return, “The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.”
Presumably, they spoke about the sensation of driving out demons; the wonder of healing the sick, lame, and blind; the spellbound eyes of their listeners who drank in Christ’s teachings falling from their lips.
It must’ve been one of the greatest “highs” the Apostles experienced in their time with Christ on earth. They not only witnessed him perform miracles; they did it, too.
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However, Mark sandwiches the death of John the Baptist in between the Apostles’ sending out and their return to offer a harsh reality check.
John, too, was a servant of the Lord. Yet in spite of – or even because of – his divine mission, he’s beheaded by King Herod.
Thus, the Good News which the Apostles have been preaching, and backing up with miraculous healings, is good news, but not for all.
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This is the difficult balance which every Christian must grow accustomed to.
While love for Christ has set our hearts on fire – and, naturally, we want to share this Good News with others in our words and deeds – we must temper our hope with the possibility of rejection. Think no further than John and Herod.
Thus, you may offer forgiveness to those who’ve wronged you as Christ has taught us. That doesn’t mean you’ll receive the same mercy from others.
You may seek to serve Christ in your neighbor. That doesn’t mean they’ll thank you; sometimes people take charity for granted.
You may quote the words of Christ to a friend. It doesn’t mean his Word will fall on fertile ground.
But, as Mother Teresa said, “Do good anyway. In the end, it is between you and your God; it was never between you and them anyway.”
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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Pastor Chris Bass, WordPress (3) Mother Teresa
