by Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado
Given the deplorable situation of peace efforts in Mindanao today, the peace efforts seemingly having reached an impasse and the trial in connection with the November 23, 2009 massacre grinding ever so slowly, there is widespread feeling of discontent.
What is needed is to listen to a higher dimension of living, the gospel of hope.
In the Gospel story as told by St. Luke, Jesus met with Peter and his fishermen companions after a night of fishing with nothing caught. It was a wonderful story, indeed a miracle story, a story about a deplorable situation, that provided a glimpse of hope (Luke 5: 1-11).
The story is about ordinary fishermen who followed Christ’s invitation. Because the story is set on a lake in Galilee, it can also remind us of the blessings and challenges inherent when we respond to the vision of a call higher than our common experiences.
As a background, Jesus was becoming popular throughout the region. In fact, Luke tells us that “the crowd was pressing in on him” (Luke 5:1). People were everywhere. To speak Jesus had to get into Simon’s boat and taught from there, a few yards from the shore.
It was a subtle move. More than just getting into Simon’s boat, Jesus was also getting into Simon’s life. From that time on, Simon would no longer remain the same. Simon and his companions had been fishing all night, but had not caught anything. Seeing their frustration, Jesus instructed them to cast their nets into the deep water on the other side of the boat. Reluctantly, the fishermen listened to Jesus.
What happened? They caught so many fish that their nets got torn and broken. Then it began to sink. They needed help. Simon Peter cried out, for Jesus to leave him, for he knew he was a sinful man. “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5: 8).
It was a truthful moment; Jesus called Simon into the ministry: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (5:10). At the beginning of Peter’s faith journey, he was given a commission for a lifetime!
In acknowledging his own sinfulness, Peter confessed his own unworthiness. He acknowledged what we all must acknowledge as we take this first step to journey with Christ: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13 NIV).
This is the first step in the journey of salvation. We acknowledge our manifold sins and wickedness, which from time to time we most grievously commit, by thought, word, and deed. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these wrongdoings.
The wonderful mystery of life is the call to a more excellent way, the call into a cause higher than life, that comes whenever we are confronted by our own sinfulness, wickedness, and confusion. It comes when we realize we have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and recognize our need for God’s saving grace (Romans 5:8).
This happens when we realize how empty our lives truly are without God’s redeeming love. The true miracle of the story in Luke was not the amount of fish caught that day; the true miracle were the ears that actually listened to what Jesus said! Preceding the catch, the word fell on the ear of Simon Peter: by listening to what Jesus said, he came to see himself as one of Christ’s own to the end.
Listening to the voice of Christ calling us to a cause higher than life may be the biggest miracle of all! It is a voice calling us all as poor sinners to respond to a call to pursue a cause higher than life – as it did with Isaiah in the temple, as it did with Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, as it did with Saint Francis and Saint Benedict, as it did with Martin Luther and John Wesley, as it did with Mother Teresa.
The voice of the higher ground came to Muhammad, Gautama Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Toyohiko Kagawa, Enrique C. Sobrepena, and a host others who listened. They followed a call to a higher ground and pursued a life of excellence. They followed the path to a meaningful life: fishing for people, witnessing to a Kingdom of faith and love, and practicing the virtues of God’s peace and justice!
We are never the same again once we listen to such spiritual and religious summons! We are never the same once we acknowledge our true condition. We are never the same once we place our lives in God’s hands. Divine truth sustains us in our journeys, and keeps and protects us when we go through rough and tough times.
The widespread feeling of discontent can be addressed by listening to a higher dimension of living, the dimension of hope.
