Leave Me, Lord

The Gospel reading for September 4 was from Luke 5:1-11.  This is the account of Peter, James, and John, who have fished all night and caught nothing.  Then Jesus enters the scene, and instructs them to try once more.  The weary fishermen, knowing that fish are harder to catch during the day, protest a little.  In the end, though, they acquiesce.  The result is astonishing:  so many fish, their nets are about to break.  The catch of fish almost sinks their boat!

Peter's response is a bit startling:  “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Trust Peter to never do anything half-way!  At the sight of Jesus' miracle, Peter came to the realization that he was not in the presence of an ordinary man.  Only a holy Man could have performed such an amazing feat!

In our own lives, we have the blessing of the Eucharist.  At every Mass, Christ performs an even more fantastic work.  He transforms mere bread and wine into His own Body and Blood.  What is our response?  Do we merely go through the motions, receive, and go on with our day or week?  Or, as Peter, do we stand in amazement at the miracle we have just witnessed?

That the God of the universe condescends to make Himself so available to us should cause us to at least pause, and allow the wonder of it all to penetrate our very souls.

Maybe, just maybe, our reaction should be not, "Leave me, Lord," but instead, "Lead me, Lord."  For the One who has come onto that altar, and been received into our bodies. is the only One worth following.  Let us drop our "nets," and as the disciples did, leave everything else behind and follow Him.

"When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him."