From the Deacon’s Desk for February 6, 2022

Dear Friends:

Today we hear from Luke’s Gospel 5: 1 – 11. This is Luke’s rendition of how the first Apostles were called to their ministry. Jesus is standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He sees two fishing boats and notices that the men are washing their nets. They have been fishing all night. Washing the nets is the last job before they go home. They are exhausted but Jesus tells them to go out onto the lake into deeper water and lower the nets for a catch. Simon (who will be named Peter) says to Jesus “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command, I will lower the nets.” As soon as the nets were in the water they caught a tremendous amount of fish. There were enough fish to fill both boats to the brim. Simon Peter is so stunned that he falls on his knees in front of Jesus and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” All the others, including James and John, fell on their knees also. Jesus tells them soon they will become fishers of men. When they got to shore they left everything and followed Jesus.

What a beautiful story of how abundantly fruitful a life with Jesus can be. All of us struggle at times with financial issues or other issues life hands us. Life is difficult, we all know that. The important thing to remember is, when we invite Jesus to be an integral part of our lives, things seem to work out for the best. It still may not be easy, and we might have some work to do to improve our relationship with him. If we are willing to make the effort, we will find that our boats will always be filled.

May our benevolent Lord guide us to where we need to go and show us how to get there!

Peace and All Good!

Deacon Jim