From Now on You Will be Catching People
I have such a passion for work. I am fascinated by how pervasive the concept is in our culture. In my study of and reflection on work, I find that most people have a negative association with it. Our consciousness seems heavily influenced by synonyms such as toil, labor, drudgery, job, discipline, even pain. Work out, work on, work with me, work it out … are just some phrases that roll off our tongues on a regular basis. So often life takes work, and that often connotes something negative.
Thankfully, not all references to work are negative. Consider career, livelihood, employment, handiwork and passion as other words and concepts that we associate with work.
I situate work in God. I like to begin with the very first image of God in Scripture. The first two chapters of the first book of scripture – Genesis – paint a picture of God as a worker. In the first chapter God’s work is creative and he begins with crafting the heavens and the earth. For five days God follows a pattern. He creates, steps back reflecting on His work, and thus sees its goodness. On the sixth day, He creates human life, and then proclaims that it is very good. Then God rests on the seventh day. The pattern is work – reflect – see goodness – repeat, with a caveat of seeing the very good nature of human life.
The second chapter of Genesis tells us a slightly different story of God’s work. In this version, rolling up His sleeves so to speak, God gets into the mud and breathes life into what He has created. God then works further to create a partner for him. The pattern is work – search – find that which complements.
Both of these stories paint a picture of an industrious God who, through His work, gives life to the world. Then God rests on the seventh day.
I like to situate work in these stories. I believe human work can perpetuate God’s creative work. I believe that we are all created by God’s work, and thus our work has the potential to extend the good work of God. Because God has breathed life into each of us, we can do God’s work in the world. Unfortunately, because we are human, our work can also perpetuate bad and harmful things. Ignatius of Loyola reminds us then that we need to constantly discern good from evil and recognize the difference. That is where that reflective piece that God models for us in the first story of creation comes in. We must reflect on our work and retrieve what is good about it. That takes thought, prayer and evaluation fostering a distinction between not only good from bad but meaningful from menial work. I also believe that God created each of us to do the most meaningful work we can to make our world a better place.
We often make transitions in our work lives. We can evolve, mature and grow in our work. This weekend’s Gospel gives one of the most significant transitions about work. Jesus the itinerant preacher tells the hardworking fishermen where to fish. They explain that they have been hard at work all night and caught nothing. Following Jesus’ instructions, they catch so many fish that their boat is weighed down and in jeopardy of sinking. This causes them to ask other fishermen, including future disciples James and John, for help. They are astonished and this situation seems particularly hard for Peter to accept. He is humiliated because he has been out-fished by the preacher. Perhaps with a sense of ignorance about the true identity of Jesus, yet amazed at the fact that he has brought so much abundance to their fishing endeavor, Peter simply doesn’t want to have anything to do with Jesus. He even connects this surprising turn of events with his own inadequacy and shortcomings. “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man,” he says.
Jesus reassures him though with a statement we hear often in Scripture, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus then redirects Peter with some of the most brilliant words in all of scripture. They are words that are rooted in work. He tells Peter loud enough for the other fishermen hear, “From now on you will be catching people.” He uses a term that is an essential part of their livelihood. He gives completely new life into a concept that they are familiar with – catching. He elevates the mode of their work by inviting them to use it in a different way for a more meaningful purpose and this tactic is successful. The hardworking fishermen leave everything and follow Jesus.
Can you apply this experience to your life? Can you take something about your work and use it in a new way? God might not be calling you to leave everything, but He may be calling you to look at your work in a new, more meaningful way.