Put the teachings of Jesus into action
Sitting at the feet of Jesus is not enough, we must join him in his journey
February 4, 2007 -- Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
Back when I was attending high school, one of our teachers, when she would give a lecture, used to perch up on top of a high bar stool which displayed her attractive, long legs to great advantage. The boys in the class were very attentive when she taught.
Over the centuries, the classic position of a teacher surrounded by students has remained the same. The teacher sits or stands in front of them, with the students seated at his or her feet. It is a sedentary image.
That is the image which begins Sunday's gospel, Luke 5:1-11. Jesus is teaching the crowds who have gathered around him. At first, he stands on the shore of the Lake of Genneseret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. Then, because the sizable crowd is pressing upon him, he switches location. He gets into a boat and teaches while seated there. But either way, whether Jesus is standing on the shore or seated in the boat, the image is sedentary. Nothing is moving.
In contrast, the second half of the gospel passage shows us considerable activity. Jesus asks Simon and his partners to cast their nets. Skeptical because of their previous failure, they nonetheless comply with his request.
Miraculously, they pull in a huge catch of fish. Jesus informs them that from now on, they will be catching men. They abandon their nets and begin to follow Jesus.
It is not sufficient simply to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to him talk. It is necessary to take the next step. Discipleship requires translating the teachings of Jesus into activity. Simon obeys Jesus' command by the activity of casting his nets for a catch of fish. Simon follows that by the activity of abandoning his boat and joining in Jesus' journey.
When Jesus calls Simon to follow him, we should not suppose that this is the first time that Simon has seen Jesus. That is the way that Mark's and Matthew's gospels present Simon's
call. (Mark 1:16-20, Matthew 4:18-22) It is as though Jesus calls Simon from out of the blue and magically attracts Simon to follow him by the force of his personality or by the workings of divine grace.
In contrast, Luke's gospel presents Simon as already being acquainted with Jesus. In Luke 4:38-39, Jesus visits Simon's house and heals his mother-in-law. When Jesus requests Simon to put out into deep water and lower his nets for a catch, they are not strangers to each other. In fact the word that Simon uses to address Jesus, "Master," reflects the relationship of a student to his teacher.
But Jesus wishes to take the relationship one step further. He wishes to move Simon from the passive state of listening, to that of taking action. He wants Simon to follow him, to join with him in his journey of faith.
The same holds true for us. It is not sufficient for us simply to passively sit at the feet of Christ the Teacher, in rapt attention. He invites us also to follow him, to join in his journey. And that means action.
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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