One more time

          This week’s Gospel reading is from Luke.  It’s the story of Jesus telling the fisherman Simon Peter to “put out into deep water” and once again cast his nets for fish.  This was even though Simon Peter and his crew had experienced a really bad day fishing and the men were already washing their nets and putting them away.  Of course, when Simon Peter listens to Jesus and heads out a little deeper to throw out his nets one more time, the nets become so full of fish that the boat nearly sinks.  Simon becomes ashamed of having doubted Jesus’ instructions, so much so that he asks Jesus to leave him.  But Jesus tells Simon not to worry, and that from that point forward Simon and his friends will be catching men.  Bigger and better game than they had originally hoped for, in other words.

          I love this story, because I feel like I have gone through this.  There have been times in my life when I’ve been packing it in, so to speak, “washing my nets” and telling myself that there is no hope.  And sometimes when I have gotten to that point, I’ve received what I feel is divine encouragement to keep on going and see what can be made out of what has gone wrong.

          I think that the worst thing that can happen to us is to give up hope.  That’s a lack of faith that I’ve been guilty of many, many times.  But when I take a step back, I can see that God is always there.  This doesn’t mean that bad things haven’t happened in my life, or even that I have felt that things “worked out in the end”.  That’s not the case.  Some things are just bad results.  Sometimes people die too young.  Sometimes relationships break and are never mended.  Sometimes people lose their job and don’t get a better one.  Life is rarely if ever a Hallmark movie.  But I do believe, and it is my experience, that God works all things for good, even bad things.  Most often, seeing that that is true is difficult.  And it requires a lot of perspective, and very often a lot of time. 

          But if you’re putting your nets away, thinking the day is done, the game is lost, and no fish can be caught, please stop for a moment.  Please consider listening to God’s encouragement to take one more step and see if a good thing can come from a bad one.  Please consider throwing out your net again.  God will be on your side, I promise.