He will take care of you.

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

"Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Today’s gospel reading (Luke 5:1-11) tells the story of the first apostles, Simon, James and John. After preaching to the people along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus commands Simon to put his nets out into deep water. Peter’s first response was denial and doubt, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” But reluctantly he obeys Jesus. The net is lowered and is so full that the net is breaking at the seams. The nets were so full that Simon needed help to bring the catch in. Finally, when the catch is brought into the boats, the boats are so full that they began to sink. In his amazement, Simon falls to his knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” And Jesus’ replied “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” If I had to guess, this story probably resembles our own Christian lives. When we encounter Christ in our lives and He asks us to be His servant, our first response is to reject his request either out of fear, insecurity or doubt. But once we abandon our fear and follow His commands, we find that our reward is probably more then we thought. Our nets are full and we need help bringing in our catch. At that point, we are so excited about the catch that we do not realize that our boat is on the verge of sinking because we do not know how to handle this new fragile faith. We do not know how to handle this new found fulfillment. Our faith is fragile. It is easy to get discouraged either because you have been overloaded or because you do not know how to handle the cross you have been given. But if you follow Christ, He will take care of you. He will make sure that your boat stays afloat even in troubled waters. The more we grow in faith; it is easier to follow Christ. But not only must we follow Christ, we are asked to lead others to his way. We are call to be “fishers of men.”

A Simple Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, fill my heart with your compassion and love. May I learn to use this love and compassion to lead others to you.

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon