In our Gospel this Sunday, we have Jesus in full preacher mode, and we also have his first encounter with Peter, James, and John. He uses Peter’s boat as a pulpit to teach from, and when he’s finished, he works a miracle for Peter, James, and John, showing them exactly where to cast the net, and they receive an abundance of fish. His point is well taken. Rather than cashing in on this windfall, though, the three leave everything and follow Jesus. Jesus promises them that from now on, they will be catching people.

There are a couple things in this story that catch my attention, so to speak. (And by the way, sorry, not sorry for so many fishing puns in here. You might as well strap on your lifejacket and get ready to sail through them.)

First, it could have been the miraculous haul that catches Peter’s attention, but I wonder if he’s really captivated by the words Jesus is preaching from inside his boat, and maybe Jesus does that on purpose. Crafty Jesus. He can get Peter’s attention with a catch of fish, but maybe his preaching to the crowd is really bait meant to inspire Peter. Maybe for the mission Jesus has in mind, it’s helpful to have a few fishermen on board. They’re patient. They persevere, even when they’re not seeing success, and so they don’t need instant gratification. They can go with the flow and trust that God will provide, eventually. Honestly, I could use the influence of a few fishers in my life.

And the other thing I’m wondering about from the story is – what does it mean to fish for people? I mean, it’s not really about catching them, is it? Maybe proselytizing went over in a more positive way during Jesus‘s time, but I doubt it. Proselytizing seems pretty annoying throughout all time. And, if you notice, Jesus never proselytizes. He invites. He welcomes. He heals, teaches, forgives, and challenges. However, he never takes his message of God’s inclusive love and beats people over the head with it. Not only would that means of communication contradict his own message, but Jesus is a minister, not a sales person. He’s a fisher, not a fighter. He loves people, and because they recognize God’s love through Jesus, many of them come along with him. It’s his charisma, his spirit, that draws people, not his persuasion. In fact, we see how he attracts Peter, James, and John in this story. He simply casts his line, and they bite.

Like so many things about Jesus, we’re called to imitate his fishers’ strategy in this. It’s not really about the bait, is it? It’s not really about where you cast your net either, because unless you’re Jesus who has some secret knowledge about where the fish are, or you have a modern sonar device, it’s kind of a guess where to toss that thing into the water. I think good fishers show up day after day, casting their nets or their lines consistently, waiting and being present to what happens. Now, admittedly, I don’t know any professional fishers, but people I know who like to fish for hobby do it because they like the practice of fishing. They like the water and the scenery, the peace of sitting and waiting. They probably also like it when they catch a fish, but they enjoy the process, the activity itself.

Personally, I don’t like real fishing because I don’t like to touch worms or fish. However, I want to like metaphorical, spiritual fishing because when it comes to connecting with others in the spiritual life, I think it’s the same. We too must enjoy the process. We must enjoy the people. And we must enjoy being present.

Because what are we trying to do when we “catch” people? I mean, we’re not really trying to catch them, are we? In any kind of evangelization or service or ministry, aren’t we just trying to love people where they are as they are – as we ourselves are loved where we are as we are? In any of the ministries I’ve done – teaching, campus ministry, spiritual direction, vocation ministry, whatever I’m doing at God Space — maybe what I’m trying to do is to simply be present to people and love them. The thing is, I really don’t have any answers. And it would be great to have raging success in ministry, whatever that looks like — kids who learn easily and go on to resolve the problems of the world, college students who commit to their faith and also solve the problems of the world, so many vocations to my community that we don’t even know what to do, or so many people at God Space that we don’t have room in the house (which does sometimes happen because we do have great people and also a small house.) But it’s just not about throngs of people.

When Peter threw out the net at Jesus’s invitation, he caught an abundance of fish. That was the miracle that caught him and set him on the course of discipleship, but the rest of the time it just wasn’t that easy. Yes, they captivated the attention of a lot of people, and some of them followed along. A lot of them also jumped ship when it got hard. I’m sure Peter had to wrestle with himself to see if he wanted to stay when things got hard. He did stay, but we also remember that, right before the crucifixion, he denied Jesus and tried to bail on the whole thing. The small community that remained after the death and resurrection of Jesus grew into a movement that eventually caught throughout the world, but I’m not sure having more members has been good for this movement. Who knows? Maybe the most authentic discipleship still comes about like a day in a boat with a fishing pole – waiting, catching one, and waiting some more.

In fact, maybe the long, slow work of discipleship happens within each of us disciples in the same way. Admittedly, it does for me. I grow little by very little in the spiritual life, not by leaps and bounds. I’m attentive to the slow process of growth in God. It happens prayer by prayer and encounter by encounter and all the little ways that I open myself to finding God in my daily life. It is not dramatic or glamorous. Sometimes it does feel abundant, but that’s because of God, not because of me or great spiritual riches.

There’s an element of uncertainty to fishing. It calls for perseverance and patience and deep trust in God. And whether I’m patient or not (and I’m usually not), it is what it is. Our mission as disciples is not about numbers. It’s about following Christ. It would be lovely if the Kingdom of God were teeming with members, but that’s up to God. So, we connect person-to-person, trusting the slow work of God. On the other hand, discipleship promises unexpected abundance too, a life of communion with God and other people, and witnessing God’s slow but sure reconciling of all things. If we’re open, we can hear Jesus say to us, too: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

For reflection:

• When you think about your own faith journey, who’s the one who caught you? Or, who helped you to be caught by God and invited you to come along on the journey of faith?

• Who needs you to catch them and help them into the boat? Who needs a word of hope for you, a truth told, a little support?

• If you could envision a community of abundance and hope, what would it look like? What would it take to bring this about?

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She enjoys music, dancing, and spicy food.

God Space is a ministry of the Sisters of Divine Providence of Kentucky. Do you want to learn more about the Sisters of Divine Providence? Check out our website here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.CDPKentucky.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.