Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
All Parishioners of the Epiphany of the Lord
The Gospel of Luke 5:1-11
Duc in Altum!: Put Out Into the Deep!
This Sunday’s Gospel (09 February) tells us – in St Luke’s narrative – of the call of Jesus’ first disciples (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus gets into one of the boats, that of Simon, called Peter, whom he asks: put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch. Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is reassuring and decisive: Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men (Luke 5:10). Once again the fisherman of Galilee, placing his trust in this word, leaves everything and follows the one who has become his Lord and Master. Simon’s workmates, James and John, do the same. This is the logic that guides Jesus’ mission and the mission of the Church: go in search, fish for men and women, not to proselytize, but to restore full dignity and freedom to all, through the forgiveness of sins.
This is the essential point of Christianity: to spread the free and regenerative love of God, with a welcoming and merciful attitude toward everyone, so that each person can encounter God’s tenderness and have the fullness of life. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 2016.)
Dear parishioners, Duc in Altum! Duc in altum! These three Latin words would mean: Put out into the deep. These words have come to mean Go deeper into your inner spiritual life, or take the risk and plunge into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or Trust the Word of God as a guide for your daily life.
Duc in Altum was a favorite expression of St. John Paul II. He used it often, especially in his Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte (At the beginning of the New Millennium) in which the Roman Pontiff outlined priorities for the Catholic Church for the third millennium. The Holy Father says: Duc in altum! Let us put out into the deep! These words ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence: because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Dear friends, these words Duc in Altum, come from this morning’s reading from the Gospel of Luke. Early one morning, Simon and James and John had been fishing all night without catching any fish. They were finished for the day, cleaning their nets and ready to go home. Jesus tells them: Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch. These fishermen know the young rabbi from Nazareth-after all, he borrowed Simon’s boat-but they are not yet His disciples.
You can imagine these exhausted men, who have just finished a fruitless, night-long fishing trip, asking: What? After a long, hard night without catching a single fish? Why is Jesus telling us to get back into our boats and back to work, under the hot sun of daylight, when we have already cleaned our nets? They might be thinking the young teacher clearly knows nothing about fishing? After all, every fisherman knows that the best time to fish is at night and the best place is close to the shoreline, where the water is shallow and the plant life, which the fish feed on, is plentiful. So, Simon says: Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing!
Still, Simon listening to Jesus’ words and Duc in altum, says: but if you say so, I will lower the nets. Suddenly, they caught a great number of fish. Shocked by this, Simon fell at the feet of Jesus saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” The concluding sentence reveals the whole point of this unusual story: Do not be afraid, Simon, from now on you, James and John will be fishers of men, then you will be catching people! The men left everything and followed Jesus!
Dear Epiphany, Simon’s actions tell us he was willing to listen to Jesus and try something that he was sure would fail. Jesus’ speaking of “the deep” suggests to Simon that there may be possibilities beyond his knowledge of the Lake of Gennesaret, unexplored realities that he cannot fully understand. Put out into the deep and find out. Because of his willingness to take a risk with Jesus, he experiences the unexplainable, the unbelievable, a catch of fish that is more than two boats can hold. Simon and his friends have hauled in so much food that is not only sufficient for them and their families, but also enough to feed other families whose fishermen husbands had caught nothing the night before. Simon cannot help but feel there must be a connection between Jesus and this amazing gift for him, James, John, their neighbors and the entire community. But with this abundance comes a new risk and danger, the boats were overloaded and almost sinking.
Simon, overwhelmed with awe in the presence of some otherworldly wonder, professes faith saying: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. This is not unlike the experience of Moses before the bush that burned yet was not consumed. A voice tells Moses: Put off your shoes from on your feet for the ground whereon you stand is Holy. But Simon is not given the time he needs to contemplate his encounter with Holy Mystery in Jesus. He is told immediately, from now on you will be fishers of men! The life of Simon, who would become Peter, the Rock, is changed forever.
Dear friends, each one of us must be willing to hear Jesus saying to us, Duc in Altum! Put out into the deep waters of life. Place your trust in Me. We are called today to look at our lives and search for the crossroad where we feel frustrated, confused, even paralyzed. Like Simon and his friends, we may be exhausted. We may not know what to do. We feel uncertain about trusting that Jesus is with us. Perhaps we are plagued by doubts, our faith has been shaken by painful life experiences: We have lost our job during the pandemic! Our marriage is in crisis! Someone whom we love dearly is at the point of death! One of our children can no longer embrace the Christian faith! We know something about our personal lives that we are ashamed to tell anyone! We fear growing older, we are terrified at the thought of suffering and death! We are no longer sure we believe in the life of the world to come! Perhaps when we die, we cease to exist!
Whatever the issue is that has caused us to pull our fishing boats out of the sea of life, go home and pull the covers over our heads or drink too much, this may be the very day when Jesus is calling out:
Duc in Altum: Put out into the deep. Open your heart to Me. Take Me seriously! Return to Me in Prayer, in reading the scripture, in receiving Holy Communion worthily, in going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in forgiving those who trespass against us. Perhaps when we begin to live an if you say so Lord type of life, of trusting in Jesus Christ, we will feel like Simon in the presence of the Holiness of God, saying, depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, I am a sinful woman. But we can be confident that Christ will tell us: Do not be Afraid. From now own you will be fishers of men. If you stay close to Me, you will inevitably attract those around you to the community of My beloved disciples.
Dear parishioners, God calls imperfect people to do God’s work, people who are aware of their unworthiness and are often doubting and resistant to God’s call. God doesn’t wait for them to shape up. God calls them as they are and then works on shaping them into faithful servants. God is calling us to a deeper life than what is physically right in front of us. He wants us to experience the fullness of what He designed for us, but we have to be open to His direction.
Dear Epiphany, we all are called daily to reorient our priorities to align with God’s priorities, to use the gifts God has given us in service to others, to share the good news of Christ in word and deed.
We have to be ready and willing to put out into the deep!
Fraternally,
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC
Pastor
Epiphany of the Lord