Of Many Boats
I recently did my annual eight-day Silent Directed Retreat and many things about boats surfaced for me. First of all, there have been many references to boats in both weekday and weekend readings recently. My prayer and the guidance of my director led me to Luke 5:1-11. In this passage, a pressing crowd forces Jesus to get into a boat owned by Peter. He and his mates are washing their nets. They have finished fishing and have caught nothing. Jesus asks them to go out a short distance from the shore so he can sit down in the boat and preach to people who want to hear his message.
He then asks Peter to go out into deeper water and lower the nets for a catch. Peter replies that they have done that already and caught nothing. However, he acquiesces to the preacher and goes out into deep water because Jesus has commanded him to do so. The result is they catch so many fish they need help from another boat to haul in the fish. The boat enables them to go into deep water. The boat contains fishing mates and Jesus Christ.
My director asked me to picture myself in the boat with Jesus and have a conversation with Him. She asked me to come in touch with the deeper water we are above and the meaning, mystery and life that we were hovering above. She asked me to listen to what the Lord was saying to me.
I am also reading the book, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown that became a movie last year directed by George Clooney. It is a story of the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that represented the United States in the Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. In this story, the boat is a vehicle for a group of young men to compete, work together and overcome tremendous odds. It takes place during the depression and the rise of Hitler’s power.
In this week’s Gospel passage from Mark, the twelve Apostles return after last week’s scene when Jesus sent them out to cure, preach, and confront evil – all with very limited resources. They now return and report (share) all they had done and taught. This causes people to clamor for them to the point where they could not even eat. Jesus tells them to get into the boat and come away by themselves to a deserted place. People heard about it and hastened there ahead of them and arrived waiting for them. When Jesus got off of the boat, the story then tells us, his heart was moved with pity for the people, for they were like a sheep without a shepherd.
In this scene, the boat is a vehicle to get away and to rest, but it enables the disciples and Jesus to do so together.
So, we see that a boat can symbolize many things such as community, a vehicle to preach from, a vehicle to help one escape or get away, a vehicle to get out to the deep water of life where the significant and even mysterious lies. It can symbolize the point where a team comes together to accomplish a goal.
The common thing in all of the above is unity. There is a saying, “We’re in the same boat.” This refers to a bond or experience of unity in any number of venues or circumstances.
I would like to suggest that the Eucharist is like a boat. It is something that gathers us and unifies us. We step INTO the Eucharist and it can be a vehicle for any number of spiritual voyages. It can take us out into the deep water. It can urge us to row together to accomplish a common goal or mission.
It can also protect us from stormy seas and allow us to float above both calm and angry seas. If we truly invite Jesus into the boat of the Eucharist, it can provide us an opportunity to talk with Him and listen to Him – personally and as a group
The boat of the Eucharist can allow us to catch, not fish, but what lies in the depth of life beneath us, and to work together to bring what is deep and mysterious in life to the surface, into our grasp. We then we can feed on what we find in the depth of life. We can receive and be fed by what is really deep and important in life.
May Eileen Mahoney Rest in Peace
Eileen has been a long-time parishioner of Holy Family and she passed away this past Tuesday. She truly loved Holy Family and told me so as I celebrated the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick with her hours before she died. Eileen and her husband Bill donated the beautiful fountain in our courtyard. When you appreciate its beauty, say a prayer of gratitude for Eileen.