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Between Capernaum and the German retreat house that I stayed at in Galilee is a little bay called the "Bay of the Parables." Ancient devout tradition holds tihs is where Jesus taught the crowds from a boat, as we read in todays Gospel. The shore rises up around the bay to create a little natural amphitheatre, allowing the whole crowd to hear the parables.At the bottom of this entry I have included a link to today's readings from Mass and a good homily from my former teacher at Mundelein, Fr. Bob Barron. I have been juggling the best way to share the Holy Land experience with you, my friends and family. I think the best way is to bring in the pictures and my personal experiences as we move through the "year of grace" - the liturgical year, since through the flow of the liturgical year we together enter into the mystery of Christ's life here on earth.
We even tested out the theory at the bay of parables - here are some of my friends from the North American College reading the parables. The level of the sea has dropped since Christ's days, it used to be above the dried reeds in the picture.I spent Christmas day this past year walking along the shores of Lake Gennesaret (a.k.a. Sea of Galilee), where the story from today's Gospel takes place. At first it seems like two days Gospel is an odd link between the unrelated episodes of Jesus teaching the crowds, and the call of Peter. Why does the Church put these two episodes together in today's lectionary? The first part does not even tell us what Jesus taught the crowds, "The he sat down and taught he crowds from the boat." If we want to find out what Jesus taught we actually need to go to the Gospel of Mark (4:1-41). What the Church wants to emphasize here is not so much the what of Jesus's teachings, but rather who the teacher is.
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Is Jesus just like "every other wise man and great teacher" or in him do we find some one unique and amazing? This is a very important question - if Jesus is simply one of many "wise men and great teachers," we can simply disregard his teachings when the become too difficult, or unfashionable. This is what many actually are trying to do: Jesus say he who divorces his wife causes her to commit adultery, and if you wish to be called my disciple take up your cross and come and follow me. These teachings, among others are hard - the world wants to live in all sorts of adultery; the world does not want to pick up the cross. The world wants to ignore these teachings precisely because they are hard and unfashionable. Jesus however is not just "a wise man and a great teacher."
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Look again at the readings. In Mark the teaching of the parables is immediately followed by Jesus calming the storm at sea. In today's reading from Luke immediately after Jesus taught the crowd he directs Peter to a miraculous catch of fish (Peter here represents the world, who resists the direction that Christ gives), forgives his sins, and calls him to now be catching men. Are these not all things that only God can do? The first two are genuine miracles that show the Jesus is Lord even over the weather and the animals (the heavens and the deep), and the forgiveness of sins and the calling of men is reserved to the power of God. By connecting the two we are supposed to see that we should strive to follow the teachings of Christ and his Church, because there in Christ we find something more than "a wise man and a great teacher," but rather we find God himself teaching us - so we follow the teaching not because it is easy or fashionable, but rather because they are the words of a Father who dearly loves us as his sons and daughters, and wants what is best for us.
So what did Jesus teach the crowds from the boat? We are those crowds that he teaches, and he teaches us the love of God the Father for us, but also he teachs us what we do not want to follow. Just as Peter did not want to listen to the direction that Christ wanted to give him, but when he did listen and responded to the word, he was richly provided, in fact he received more fish than he could even receive - so too with us - when we listen to the teaching of Christ, we too will receive abundant blessings and rich rewards.
So what did Jesus teach the crowds from the boat? We are those crowds that he teaches, and he teaches us the love of God the Father for us, but also he teachs us what we do not want to follow. Just as Peter did not want to listen to the direction that Christ wanted to give him, but when he did listen and responded to the word, he was richly provided, in fact he received more fish than he could even receive - so too with us - when we listen to the teaching of Christ, we too will receive abundant blessings and rich rewards.
The man in this picture is my friend Matt Libra from Portland in Oregon. This is the only waterfall on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Fishermen come here to wash out their nets, just like in the days of Christ. I even saw a fishman come in to wash his nets while praying here one day. There is a good chance that this is where Jesus found his first four disciples, Peter and Andrew, James and John, since they would have come ashore here to wash their nets.Now the last part of the story is really quite a mystery. Why does Peter follow Jesus? Why did Jesus decide to call Peter? In these two questions I see my own vocational call. Why do I follow Jesus? Why did Jesus decide to call me to be a priest? Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, even ponders over this own call to the priesthood in the book Gift and Mystery. Peter would find it to be a great gift that God has called him to be his disciple, and I am finding it to be a great gift to be called by God to be one of his priests - configured to his bleeding heart. I eagerly look forward to October when I will be ordained a deacon in Rome, and to next year when I will be ordained a priest back home.
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Yet - I do not know why Christ has called me. Yes - with Peter there was the amazing catch of fish, but is that enough for Peter to give up his income, his family, all that he knows - in order to follow this mysterious man Jesus? Could it be that while Jesus was speaking, "...now you will be catching men," Peter's heart was tuned to the heart of Christ that was speaking literally "heart to heart" in a deep mystery of prayer and contemplation? God has arranged it so that I would met the right people to help me hear the call, learn to pray, grow more solid in my faith - yet was this enough for me to hear the call? What can I point at in myself to say, "God called me for this reason?" I do not know, but deep from within my heart, during times of prayer, I have not so much heard, as felt a pull towards the priesthood - and this was the heart of Christ breaking though my hard heart and pulling me towards him.
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