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.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What is it with Jesus that He can make ordinary
fishermen to become fishers of men? This is for the reason that all things are
possible with our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.
The encounter of Simon Peter and the other fishermen
with Jesus by the lake of gennesaret is a magical and whirlwind encounter. It
was an encounter that transformed their very lives! An encounter that moved
them out of their own comfort zones so that they could follow Jesus.
We too have our own encounter/s with our Lord. We
encounter Him through the celebration of the Eucharist/ Holy Mass. We encounter
Him when we take time to read His very words in the bible. We encounter Him in
the Sacrament of Confession and we encounter Jesus through the poor that we see
everyday.
All of these encounters with Jesus are specifically
designed to transform us. So that like Simon Peter and his companion of
fishermen we too could be converted and become Jesus’ followers. Our every
encounter with Jesus is always precious and magical. Let us therefore allow these
encounters to purify and transform us.
What if you encounter Jesus today? Will you also leave everything to follow Him? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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