Nets In Deep Water

This evening I will lead a Communion Service for the Diocese of Fall River candidates for the Permanent Diaconate.  This is part of their continuing formation with all deacons offering examples of styles of presiding and homilies.   I share my homily with you in hopes that some men might seriously consider discernment for the diaconate that soon will begin for the next class.      

We pray for you.  Deacons, priests, your family and friends, even those you don’t know.  We all pray you will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  That’s what Paul says in the first reading. What is the meaning of “to be worthy of the Lord?”

The answer is provided in the synagogue – in the place where the Jewish Jesus worshiped and prayed.  Before all the other Jews, Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

In a slightly different way, Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. A stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; ill and you cared for me; in prison and you visited me.”

For you, for all of us, to have spiritual wisdom, we must focus on what Jesus told us and not simply consider the diaconate as a way towards greater prestige. That is, to feed our egos and puff ourselves up.  Some of us are like that.  To be a deacon, we must love God, not ourselves.

Further supporting this needed focus on Jesus’ words is the Gospel from last Sunday: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

We deacons must lose our lives to follow Jesus and in doing so, we find our lives – the ones we are supposed to live for the love of God and our neighbor.

Being in New Bedford, the #1 city in the nation in terms of value of seafood landed with many boats lowering their nets into deep water, we’re reminded of today’s Gospel reading: “Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. 

Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch...They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.”

You will become deacons going into deep water – not the shallows near shore where living and ministering is easy. You are to set your sights on deep water where you will minister by bringing the Word and love of God to those in need of compassion and support our Church can provide.

Deep water is found in hospitals, in assisted living facilities, in prisons, on the streets with the homeless, the poor and the suffering. Here you will find many fish that will tear your nets and your hearts.

When you fish these deep waters be buoyed by the Jesus fish – the early symbol for Christianity. The fish gave Christians a simple means to identify themselves as believers in a time of persecution. It is a well-recognized symbol of two curved lines that resemble a fish.

The symbol is also known as an Ichthys the ancient Greek word for fish that is I (Iota) X(Chi) И(Theta) Y(Upsilon) and У (Sigma). Ichthys comes from the first letter of words that mean “Jesus Christ God’s Son is Savior.”

So, fishermen, get ready to catch some fish for our Savior’s table. Fish are not meant just for Friday.  They are meant for every day.  Once you become deacons, you will have joined the diaconate fishing fleet.

Let’s hope those nets of yours begin to tear.  The work is hard but the reward is great. You will never be assured of a large catch, or any catch.  That’s a fisherman’s fate.  The secret is to just keep trying and casting those nets.

Deacon David Pierce