Luke 5:1-11
When I was a university student, a friend of mine invited me to a meeting to learn about a study abroad program to live in Mexico. I was young and nervous, but excited and willing to take the journey. I didn’t really see it as scary or a risk, at the time. I just thought it would be a fun adventure. Little did I know of the impact it would have on my entire life.
The decision to participate in that program took me on a lifelong journey of discovery and work, which challenged my understanding of myself and the world. It led me to become an advocate for immigrant students. It led me to begin to confront my white privilege and support the work of dismantling racism in our society.
How much more difficult it has become, 30 years later, to take such a risk. It feels like there is more to lose by doing so. It doesn’t sound like a “fun adventure” anymore. I have a comfortable life. I have responsibilities. I have “other” things to do.
Brené Brown says, "We can have courage or we can have comfort, but we cannot have both."*
I think that must have been the struggle for Simon Peter when Jesus asked him to “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” They had already finished a disappointing night of fruitless fishing. They were cleaning the nets and getting ready to go home.
I can hear the exhaustion and grumbling nature of Simon Peter’s response. “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” He may simply have thought that Jesus was tired, maybe needed a break from the crowds. I imagine that he risks doing as Jesus asks, not because he anticipates a great and bountiful catch, but simply because he felt some compassion for him.
What a surprise then, when the nets were so full they were splitting and he had to call his friends over to bring in the colossal catch. So amazed and filled with faith, in fact, that he, and his fellow fishermen, dropped everything that was comfortable and familiar in their lives, to follow this man onto an unknown and unfamiliar path to become “fishermen of people.”
Why is it then, that I turn away from a nudge from God? An inspiration to look the homeless woman in the eye and say “I see you.” The revelation to listen to the angry neighbor with compassion and empathy instead of defensive words. How do I say yes despite not knowing where the journey will take me? I fear that I won’t have enough time, or that I might be ridiculed for risking being vulnerable and authentic. Or, worse yet, it might make me feel uncomfortable.
I hope I can grow to be like Simon Peter, following the example of Jesus as the changemaker. Open to the empowerment to trust that I will be given what I need along the journey if I follow that nudge to “risk something big for something good.”
(*Brené Brown. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from AZQuotes.com Web site: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1358716).
PRAYER: "God of deep waters and infinite riches, challenge me to go where I fear, to do what is difficult and what I thought could never be done. Push me to go to the deep waters of life and cast my net wide, for I put all my hope, trust and faith in you." ~ Matthew Kelly (2017 “Rediscover Lent”, p.44, BookBaby)
PROMPT: What is a time that you risked something big and experienced something amazing or life changing as a result? What are you being nudged to risk now? What do you need to do to take that risk?