Believe, See and Attempt (Thursday, Week 21, Year 2, St Gregory the Great)

According to Luke’s gospel account, this passage (cf. Luke 5:1-11) talks about the call of Peter. As evident in the account of Luke, this occasion may be Jesus’ first encounter with Peter and James and John. Before the call of Peter, there was a miracle of a huge catch of fish; and before that miracle, there was a little but powerful encounter between Peter and Jesus which paved way for that miracle and the eventual calling of Peter into discipleship. And in that encounter, we see that there are three conditions for or steps to miracles. They are: BELIEVE, SEE and ATTEMPT. 

First, I am sure that Peter must have heard of this man who had continued to teach with wisdom, power and authority; who had healed and delivered many from the shackles of demons; and so on. Remember that even yesterday’s gospel reading hinted that Jesus went to Peter’s mother-in-law’s house and healed her and so many other people who were sick and possessed by the evil spirit. All that Peter had heard about Jesus might have prepared his heart to believe and take him at his word. The first step to a miraculous encounter is to believe: believe that Jesus can make it happen. The second step to a miraculous encounter is to sharpen our eyes of faith: the earth is full of miracles for the eye that sees. Before the miracle, Peter DID NOT SEE a lake full of fish; as an expert who had toiled all night, he might have thought and believed that there was no fish in the lake. But Jesus SAW a lake with so many fishes. It is said that people were seeing steam raise the lid of a kettle but it was only James Watt who saw that a steam engine can be invented out of this phenomenon. And that is how the miracle of the invention of steam engine happened. James Watt saw beyond what other people saw. Again, many people saw an apple fall; but it was only Isaac Newton who saw beyond this and went on to think about the law of gravity.

Having BELIEVED and SEEN, the third step is to ATTEMPT; even though the situation may seem to be hopeless. In the case of Peter, from his knowledge of fishing, the night is the most favorable time for a huge and successful catch. It is almost impossible and hopeless to waste time trying to catch fish in the morning after so many attempts at night. Circumstances were not favorable at all; but Peter might have said aloud, “Let circumstances be what they may, but if Jesus has said so, we will try again”. If we want a miracle, we must take Jesus at his word when he bids us to attempt the impossible.

All of the above steps might sound foolish to the worldly minded, to those operating at the level of human wisdom. But as St Paul has been hammering in his first letter to the Corinthians: “If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is a folly with God” (1 Cor. 3:18b-19a). Peter and his colleagues may have behaved or followed Jesus’ words foolishly but at the end their foolishness proved that they were really wise. Out of this sheer expression of faith, Peter, James and John were called into a higher position of catching men, no longer fish. With faith, they moved from the position of ordinary fishermen to the position of extraordinary “fishers” of men. Our faith in Jesus should place us at a higher level of operation. Look at the saints; it was their faith in God that led them to the position of sainthood which they currently occupy. It was Gregory’s faith in God that pushed him from the position of ordinary prefect of the city of Rome through the position of a monk to the extraordinary position of a Pope.