JESUS' COMMAND:
FISH ON THE 'RIGHT SIDE.
February 7, 2010, Fifth Sunday of the Year
Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5: 1-11
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.
February 7, 2010, Fifth Sunday of the Year
Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5: 1-11
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,[1] great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the Word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them there, and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats - the one belonging to Simon - He asked him to push 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,” Push the boat out further 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.”
They let the nets down and caught such a large number of fish that their nets were about to break. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and 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.” He was awestruck by the great catch of fish. And so were his partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be fishers of men.” They beached their boats, left everything and followed Him.
They let the nets down and caught such a large number of fish that their nets were about to break. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and 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.” He was awestruck by the great catch of fish. And so were his partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be fishers of men.” They beached their boats, left everything and followed Him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
Poor fishing on the Sea of Galilee
Introduction
Poor fishing on the Sea of Galilee
Twice the gospels report poor fishing on the Sea of Galilee. In Luke’s gospel today Simon complains to Jesus that he and the others were fishing all night but didn’t catch a thing. Jesus commands the Apostles to lower their nets. They obey and make such a marvelous catch of fish that it makes Simon Peter fall to his knees and protest his sinfulness. Jesus responds by making the Apostles “fishers of men.” (Lk 5:1-11)
After Jesus’ crucifixion, the apostles went back to fishing on the Sea of Galilee. One day the fishing was poor again for the Apostles. The risen Lord appears and commands them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They obey, and again they make a marvelous catch of fish. In fact, John, the mystical evangelist, tells us the exact number of fish they caught: 153 [2]! (John 21:1-11)
After Jesus’ crucifixion, the apostles went back to fishing on the Sea of Galilee. One day the fishing was poor again for the Apostles. The risen Lord appears and commands them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They obey, and again they make a marvelous catch of fish. In fact, John, the mystical evangelist, tells us the exact number of fish they caught: 153 [2]! (John 21:1-11)
Our critical shortage of fishers of men
Twice the gospel says that the heart of Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowds who were “like sheep without a shepherd.” In Mark, just before feeding five thousand hungry people with five loaves and two fish, Jesus teaches the crowds many things. He is moved with compassion for them, for they are “like sheep without a shepherd.”(Mk 6: 34) In Matthew Jesus travels through towns and villages, teaching in synagogues and healing all kinds of illness and disability. He is moved with compassion, for the crowds are” like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9: 36) With what compassion would Jesus look upon the Catholic faithful today who daily are becoming more and more “like sheep without a shepherd.” The church has a crisis on its hands; it is a critical shortage of fishers of men—a critical shortage of priests.
One winter I was celebrating Mass in a little country parish deep in the heart of Texas. I was taking the place of the pastor whom I had never met. I was told that he was sickly and actually said Sunday Mass sitting on a high chair in front of the altar. And here I was -- a spring chicken of 80 years -- limping in to help the poor man. The next winter I called the Vicar General of the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese to ask whether I could be of some help in a parish. I can still hear the surprise and delight in his voice. “Oh, you’re an answer to our prayers!” he exclaimed.”One of our priests just suddenly died and isn’t even buried yet, and we do, indeed, need help.” Here I was again -- a spring chicken of 80 plus years -- limping in to help.
The crisis is not only in Texas but everywhere. In Milwaukee, for example, the scarcity of priests has forced parishes to cluster together under a strange name like the Church of the Three Holy Women. [3]. And some poor pastor, like a circuit judge of early frontier days, has to pony-back from one parish to another to click off Sunday Masses.
Importing an octogenarian doesn’t fix our crisis. Importing priests from other countries (whose homilies the faithful can’t understand because of their poor English) again doesn’t fix our crisis. Neither does clustering parishes fix our crisis. These are all band-aids, and not much more. We, the church, have a crisis on our hands -- a critical shortage of fishers of men -- a critical shortage of priests. And no band-aid will fix it.
An archbishop trying to fix the crisis
Former Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rembert Weakland, aimed at something more innovative and courageous than a band-aid in trying to fix the priest-shortage crisis. In a pastoral letter to his archdiocese he wrote,
If it became evident that no resident priest would be available for a parish, and that there was no prospect of getting one in the near future, I would be willing to help the community surface a qualified candidate for ordain priesthood – even if a married man - and without raising false expectations or unfounded hope for him or the community, present such a candidate to the Pastor of the Universal Church [the Pope] for light and guidance. (Catholic Herald, January 10, 1991)
Rome’s response to the Archbishop was unambiguous. In his book A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church Weakland writes that when he went to Rome in 1993 for his ad limina [4] visit to the Pope, a letter was hand-delivered to him from Cardinal Bernadine Gantin, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. The letter made it clear to Weakland that,
Among the requirements of Catholic unity there is the need [for you Archbishop Weakland] to accept the tradition of the Church. According to ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops, it is not [italics ours] possible to present married men for ordination to the priesthood.
The letter also made it clear to Weakland that concerning,
The question of the ordination of women, your position is perceived to be in opposition to the teaching of the Church. Moreover, the charge of ‘intransigency’ – a word used by your Excellency – on the part of the Church in this matter, can seriously damage Church authority and Church government.
As a closing shot to the whole affair, the Archbishop writes in his book,
When historians, decades from now, talk about the lack of vocations to the priesthood in the Catholic Church at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century, or when they try to analyze the reasons for the falling off of active church participation, I hope they do not forget to include as a contributing factor this silent group that left the Church – or at least stood by the sidelines – not because of the sexual abuse by 4 percent of its priests, but because of closing the discussion on the inclusion of women at all levels. From generation to generation, women have always been the most significant bearers of the Church’s life and tradition; to lose them was
tantamount to losing the future. (P. 340 in A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church)
Presbyterians fixing the crisis
Margaret Butter was a pioneer CEO, philanthropist and patron of the arts, especially of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. When she died, her daughter-in-law, the Rev. Sarah Sarchet Butter (an ordained Presbyterian minister) and I (a Catholic priest) officiated at Margaret’s funeral which took place in a cemetery chapel. Rev. Sarah did the first reading from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 31, which sings the praises of a woman who is a good mother, wife, and manager of her household. Rev. Sarah read with wonderful expression and feeling. At the final commendation she invited the crowd in the cemetery to draw near to the casket kissed by a setting sun on a day filled with the fine feel of fall. She pulled everyone into a heartfelt final good-bye.
As I observed her and the crowd totally captivated by her heart-felt words and expressions, I found myself quietly exclaiming, “See how innovative and courageous these Presbyterians are! See how they resist the temptation to have recourse to an “ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops” or to “a long unbroken tradition” of ordaining only men! See how they have fixed their critical shortage of fishers of men! Not only do they ordain married men they even ordain women!
As I observed her and the crowd totally captivated by her heart-felt words and expressions, I found myself quietly exclaiming, “See how innovative and courageous these Presbyterians are! See how they resist the temptation to have recourse to an “ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops” or to “a long unbroken tradition” of ordaining only men! See how they have fixed their critical shortage of fishers of men! Not only do they ordain married men they even ordain women!
The solution: obedience to Jesus
The solution to the shortage of fishers of men is obedience to Jesus who commands us to launch off into the deep and cast our net on the `right’ side of the boat, for we are fishing on the wrong side. When looking for vocations to the priesthood, we are fishing on the wrong side of the boat when we spend our energy looking for a male who is a celibate and even a saint. We are fishing on the wrong side of the boat when we look for someone who has great managerial skills. We are fishing on the `right ‘side of the boat when we spend our energy looking for someone who is better at poetry than at prose, who is better at `left-hand’ rather than ‘right-hand’ thinking, and who tells stories rather than speaks with fleshless and abstract words. We are fishing on the `right’ of the boat especially when we look for someone who is good at mystery – at the more-than-meets-the-eye.
Conclusion
Fishing on the `right’ side of the boat
There’s an old oriental wisdom which looks upon crises positively as blessed moments of opportunity. In her priest-shortage crisis we often hear our church pray “for young men who will be generous enough to devote their lives to the priesthood.” Instead of such praying, it would be more profitable for us to lay hold of the opportunity wrapped up in the blessed crisis before us. Instead of such praying, it would be more profitable for us to launch off into the deep and fish on the `right’ side of boat, as the Lord has commanded.
[2] St. Jerome of the fourth century writes that ancient zoologists calculated the number of different kinds of fish in the sea to be 153. The number is symbolic for a mighty large catch.
[3] The parishes of St. Rita, St. Hedwig and Holy Rosary
[4] Limen is a Latin word meaning `threshold.’ Every five years the bishops of the world must go to Rome, to the threshold of St. Peter’s, and have a conference with the pope.
