Today’s
Sermon in a Nutshell
At one time
or another, most of us have probably had an encounter with someone famous; a
so-called, “brush with fame.” Personally, I’ve had a number of such events.
When I was younger, I used to see the musician Prince quite frequently in clubs
in Minneapolis prior to his catapult to stardom with the movie Purple Rain. I
literally bumped into Vice Presidential hopeful, Geraldine Ferraro, in
LaGuardia Airport during her campaign run with Walter Mondale, before the
Secret Service pushed me aside. I saw Billy Idol and Lee Ving at a club in New
York City, and I met Steve Perry, lead singer for Journey, as he was walking
around Minneapolis prior to a concert. I even had John Kennedy, Jr. hold the
door open for me as I entered a restaurant in Wisconsin!
One time,
Travis Fryman of the Cleveland Indians, attended our Holy Friday evening
service and I was introduced to him afterwards. As I was answering some of his
questions about that service, I suddenly stopped and said, “You know, I think
there is a baseball player that has your same name,” not realizing that was him
I was talking to!
I’ve met
numerous famous religious leaders (Patriarchs, Metropolitans, Bishops, and
theologians), Politicians, Russian aristocracy, News Castors, Television
personalities. Yet my most memorable chance encounter occurred during High
School, while walking the halls between classes, when I saw my cousin sitting
by her locker with her best friend next to her. When I stopped to talk, she
introduced me to the girl who would become my wife!
In today’s
gospel we read of chance encounter between a fisherman and The Fisher of Men;
an encounter that was not only divine, but ended up being a life-changing event
as well.
As the crowds
gathered and pressed upon Christ, He was being backed against the shore of the
Sea of Galilee. Seeing the fishermen tending their nets, Jesus asks Peter if He
can burrow his boat to use as a pulpit and Peter obliges… putting out just
offshore. Then, after our Lord finished His teaching, Jesus offers Peter a
reward. Having spent the whole night without catching any fish, Jesus tells
them to let down their nets and causes Peter and his crew to have such a catch
of fish that their nets started to break!
The point is
clear: we encounter Christ each day in myriad of ways. He is in the scriptures
we read; the prayers we say as a family or in private; the hymns we chant at
home or in church. He is there in the people we love; the people we hate; the
people we help; or the people we ignore; those who are our friends; those who
are our enemies. Yet if we remain aware of His presence and do all we can to
invite Him into our “boat,” we will not only reap the benefits of His
teachings, but receive an abundance of grace as well; the graces needed to
maintain our faith, bear our cross, and stay the course towards our salvation!
Fr. John
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