Shark Attack

Shark Week on Discovery Channel has come and gone, and it continued to attract our attention.  It certainly attracted mine because I work for the Commonwealth’s Division of Marine Fisheries.  Dr. Greg Skomal – whose work with collaborators was profiled during Shark Week – is a friend and a scientist/colleague working for DMF. 

I was reminded of Greg’s research by a Thursday Cape Cod Times article, “WHOI exhibit features battered SharkCam.”  I had seen that 1-hour show filmed off Guadalupe Island in Mexico last fall, and I was struck by the great white shark attacks on the SharkCam that Greg witnessed with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers.  This fascinating footage in crystal-clear waters off a seal beach has become an Internet sensation, according to the Times’ writer Sean Driscoll.

Diving up to 100 meters and equipped with video cameras, the SharkCam (modified REMUS or Remote Environmental Monitoring Units) found and followed sharks harpooned-tagged by Greg.  It was quite an adventure and success.

Seeing close-ups of great whites striking and holding the SharkCam with their large triangular teeth gripping, scraping and piercing the Cam’s metal body, I was reminded that for some of us the Holy Spirit strikes in the same way.   Unexpectedly and from out of the blue, we’re “seized” by a person, event, or circumstance making us realize that God is present and with us.  We’re penetrated not by teeth but by a sudden and pronounced feeling of comfort, peace, and love provided by the Holy Spirit coming to our aid, especially through our prayers.  

The Holy Spirit “strike” may hit us like a great white torpedoing from the ocean depth to the surface.  Or, more likely, it may be like a bump and swim-by reminding us that, “I’m around.  You might want to pray.   I’ll come fast and furious, not to bite, but to console, encourage, and lift you up out of shark-infested waters where you find yourself more often than not.” 

“I’m your constant companion sometimes in the shadows, but always trying to keep you safe and reminding you of the presence of God’s love serving as a boat to keep you afloat.   You’ll never need a bigger boat.”

Deacon David  Pierce