It’s all so ordinary, isn’t it?
Fishermen are plying their trade. Fathers and sons are just trying to eke out a living. Nets are being cast into the sea.
But we are in Galilee, and what would otherwise be ordinary becomes extraordinary when Jesus enters the picture. One phrase always leaps out to me from this brief passage about Christ calling his apostles: “They were mending their nets.”
It almost seems like a throwaway line, an unimportant detail. But that’s deceptive, really. There’s more to it than that. This line reminds us of the distractions of everyday life that preoccupy us; it hints at how the mundane can keep uus from the miraculous. It also underscores how Christianity is rooted, really, in the everyday — in a history comprised of shepherds and fishermen.
But it’s worth asking ourselves if the comforting familiarity of the ordinary holds us back. Are there nets in our lives that keep us from getting up and walking with Jesus? Do they keep us from hearing his call? So often, we would rather do what is easy, what is simple, what is undemanding, what doesn’t make us break a sweat.
This Gospel says: break a sweat! Put down your nets, walk away form what you know, risk.
As Scripture tells us again and again, wonders await those who make that choice — graces beyond measure.
We can become too busy mending nets — and miss the ultimate net gain of a life following Christ.
— Give Us This Day reflection for November 30, 2020
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