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The Net of Love
The Net of Love

The Net of Love

Fifth Sunday of the Year. Fr Dermot Morrin preaches on the call of St Peter.

This is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Gospels. The fishing boats have returned to land after a night on the lake, so the call of Simon Peter must have taken place in the light of dawn or early morning. The arrival of the boats after a night’s fishing would have brought people down to the shore where the fishermen were washing their nets and would sell their catch. But on this morning, they have no fish to sell.

In St Luke’s account, Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law already after which at sunset people brought their sick to the door of the house hoping that Jesus would cure them. Luke says that Jesus healed every one of them, and that then he went around the region teaching in their synagogues. Now on this morning, he is teaching them in the light of dawn from a boat by the shore of the sea. At this point, St Mark tell us that Jesus taught them the parable of the sower but in Luke’s account the focus isn’t on what he taught but on his call to Simon and his companions to become catchers of men.

These nets were made for fishing at night because fish could not see them in the dark. But fish could see the nets in the day, yet Jesus commands them to put out these nets for a catch in broad daylight. But Simon addresses Jesus as if he were the captain of the boat. He says, ‘But at your word I will let down the nets.’ The significance of the great haul of fish and the healing of his mother-in-law and so many others leaves Simon overwhelmed. In sensing the hand of God at work, Simon, who is overwhelmed by the sense of his own sinfulness, does not yet believe what God can do in him. Like a fish in the dark, he does not see the net of God’s creative love which is closing around him.

Often in the Luke’s Gospel, there is a command from God to do the seemingly impossible. Mary says to the angel Gabriel, ‘How can this be since I have no husband?’ Elizabeth has conceived in old age and the angel says, ‘Nothing is impossible for God.’ Think of how Jesus spoke of the camel passing through the eye of the needle. Think of how he underwent such suffering and death and yet on the third day was raised from the dead.

Simon fell at the feet of Jesus saying, ‘Depart from me for I am a sinful man.’ Peter was not a notorious sinner. In this plea, he echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah when he has a vision of the holiness of God, ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; and I am a man of unclean lips and live in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!’ But at the same time, Simon’s sense of his own sinfulness links him to the many sinners who will be welcomed by Jesus, and who will come to faith in him. When the Pharisees murmur and ask why Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, Simon Peter can answer from his own experience. Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners, which is to say that before the holiness of God only those who have a real sense of their own unworthiness may truly respond to his call. In doing so, we must embrace Jesus’ words of liberation, ‘Do not be afraid.’ These words echo through the gospel.

Jesus says, ‘Henceforth you will be catching men’. The word used here is different from the one used earlier when Simon Peter says that they had not caught any fish. This word used here by Jesus for catching men was used in hunting and in war. It meant taking someone alive. The one captured is rather captivated, caught up in the holy nets of the Lord and therein truly gains his or her life.

You couldn’t fish with those nets on your own. It took a few people to handle those nets, so in a very real sense, it was the nets and using them which had brought these four apostles together. But on that beautiful morning it was Jesus alone who was cast his net. These four are caught by faith in Jesus. Jesus captures them. Their ties of family, friendship and business are transformed into a single bond which is far deeper and far wider. It is the bond of faith in Jesus.

The word used to describe the crowd on the beach people just meant a crowd. As people gather around Jesus in faith, St Luke will use a different word, which has the sense of a people, not a random crowd.

The true beauty of that early morning was that a new net is cast, so that a crowd becomes a people. Simon would become Peter, and along with his companions, would cast into the daylight a net that liberates and bestows new life in Christ.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8 | 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 | Luke 5:1-11

Image: detail from a mosaic at Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, 5th century, photographed by Fr Lawrence Lew OP

fr. Dermot Morrin is Superior in the house of St Albert the Great in Edinburgh.
dermot.morrin@english.op.org

Comments (3)

  • Thomas Kawas

    Thank you Father

    reply
  • Alejandro

    The beauty of the “new net” captivated me! I was struck by F. Desmond’s interpretation of this passage. The new net as the true “logos”, previously unseen by us, now suddenly revealed. This interpretation resonates with many experiences in our lives. It parallels the excitement of scientific discovery, the wonder toddlers feel when introduced to something new, or the tranquility that comes with understanding the deeper meaning of a metaphor. I believe this captures the essence of faith: understanding through metaphors. We might be inclined to say “metaphors given to us by God”, but ultimately, everything is the work of God, isn’t it?

    reply
    • Rachael

      Captivating. Thank you, Father.

      reply

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