Disciple to Apostle
It is mentioned in the Old Testament over one hundred times in some form and in the New Testament over fifty times. God must have thought it important to caution us against fear.
Jesus’ words from last Sunday’s Gospel reading have been reverberating in my head this week. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10)
My first thought at reading Jesus’ admonition is how the heck could these words be a comfort to Simon Peter and his crew? There they were in a fishing vessel in danger of going down in deep water! I picture a boat filled to the gills (pun intended) with smelly, agitated fish, desperate to return to the water. Simon Peter, James and John were focused on keeping the boat afloat and preserving the amazing catch. What Jesus says after be not afraid must have been not only perplexing but downright scary crazy to hear. WAIT. Did he say we would be catching men??! How big of a boat and what kind of strong nets would they need for that job??
Maybe Jesus’ words weren’t meant to comfort but to challenge. Maybe His message wasn’t meant to be comprehended in that instant? Maybe those fishermen just needed to focus on the Be not afraid part and the catching of men would take care of itself?
And maybe this was part of the process of disciples learning to grow from being followers and students into assuming the role of Apostles, messengers and ambassadors of the Word.
With the help and wisdom of Bible scholars and Church teaching, we can know that Jesus was describing his followers' new vocation -- catchers of men, AKA… and here comes that scary-for-me E-word… evangelizers.
Something that spoke to my heart when I came across it yesterday: May I pray for the insight to work within my own family to create a greater love for God. The way we live our lives, reflecting Christ’s light and love, is the best example and the brightest attractor of others to our God’s amazing grace. And charity truly does begin at home.
Below is a photo of some of my closest “boat people” – my husband, our children with spouses and our eight grandchildren. Other family members and good friends round out the picture even though they could not join us for this occasion.
Maybe this heart month of February is a good time to make a fresh start “catching others”? Think about and pray for your own boat people. Don’t fret that some of them are trying to get out of the boat. Continue to love them. Work on becoming a good disciple, then aim for apostleship. Don’t fear. Remember you have God right there in the boat with you.
