At your command I will lower the nets

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta heard of God’s call to start a new religious order to serve the poorest of the poor, she was already a full professed member of the Sisters of Loreto. She brought the proposal to her religious superiors, who thought it sounded outlandish. They asked her to wait, to write the merits of her plan, and to weight its chances of success. Mother Teresa faithfully did all these things, but as far as she was concerned, the “wisdom” of her plan was simply that God had told her to do it.

On a more mundane level, the fishing advice of Jesus, a carpenter, must have sounded foolish to Simon, a seasoned fisherman. the conditions were far from ideal, and the men were tired. But Simon, like Mother Teresa, listened – and the rest is history. His incredible catch of fish did not happen because of good bait. It wasn’t the temperature of the water or the skill of the fishermen. His success depended simply on doing what Jesus said.

What about you? Neighbors may wonder why you get up early Sunday morning to go to Mass instead of sleeping in. Co-workers may be perplexed at how you hold your tongue instead of gossiping about someone who has wronged you. But you are doing these things because you know it is what Jesus would want.

You may not be called to start a new religious order like Mother Teresa, but every day you make choices. Each one is an opportunity to trust in God, to ask him what he thinks. Each yes you say to the Lord opens a door for him to work in your life and the lives of those around you.

That is the best thing about following Jesus. We offer him our yes, a small though it may be, and he responds with a far greater yes to us. He fills us with his love. He empowers us to make a difference in our homes and with our friends.

May we all trust him enough to “lower our nets.”

-The Word Among Us