His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Diocese of Belleville
Sermon:
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time,
February 6, 2021,
St. Luke Parish, Belleville
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.)
"Duc in Altum! Put Out Into the Deep!"
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Duc in Altum! Duc in altum! These three Latin words mean, “Put out into the deep.” They have come to mean “Go deeper into your inner spiritual life,” or “Take the risk and plunge into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” or “Trust the Word of God as a guide for your daily life.” Duc in Altum was a favorite expression of St. John Paul II. He used it often, especially in his Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte (At the beginning of the new millennium) in which the pontiff outlined priorities for the Catholic Church for the third millennium. He said, “Duc in altum! Let us put out into the deep! These words ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence: because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
These words, Duc in Altum, come from this morning’s reading from the gospel of Luke. Early one morning, Simon (whose name had not yet been changed to Peter) and James and John had been fishing all night without catching any fish. They were finished for the day, cleaning their nets and ready to go home. Jesus tells them, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” These fishermen know the young rabbi from Nazareth—after all, he borrowed Simon’s boat—but they are not yet His disciples.
You can imagine these exhausted men, who have just finished a fruitless, night-long fishing trip, asking, “What? After a long, hard night without catching a single fish? Why is Jesus telling us to get back into our boats and back to work, under the hot sun of daylight, when we have already cleaned our nets?” They might be thinking the young teacher clearly knows nothing about fishing? After all, every fisherman knows that the best time to fish is at night and the best place is close to the shoreline, where the water is shallow and the plant life, which the fish feed on, is plentiful. So, Simon says, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing!”
Still, Simon listening to Jesus’ words and Duc in altum, says, “but if you say so, I will lower the nets.” Perhaps he was influenced by the fact that Jesus had recently cured his mother-in-law at her nearby home in Capernaum (Lk 4:38-39). Suddenly, they caught a great number of fish. Shocked by this, Simon fell at the feet of Jesus saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” The concluding sentence reveals the whole point of this unusual story. “Do not be afraid, Simon, from now on you, James and John will be fishers of men, then you will be catching people!” The men left everything and followed Jesus!
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Simon’s actions tell us he was willing to listen to Jesus and try something that he was sure would fail. Jesus’ speaking of “the deep” suggests to Simon that there may be possibilities beyond his knowledge of the Lake of Gennesaret, unexplored realities that he cannot fully understand. Put out into the deep and find out. Because of his willingness to take a risk with Jesus, he experiences the unexplainable, the unbelievable, a catch of fish that is more than two boats can hold. Simon and his friends have hauled in so much food that is not only sufficient for them and their families, but also enough to feed other families whose fishermen husbands had caught nothing the night before. Simon cannot help but feel there must be a connection between Jesus and this amazing gift for him, James, John, their neighbors and the entire community. But with this abundance comes a new risk and danger, the boats were overloaded and almost sinking. Simon, overwhelmed with awe in the presence of some otherworldly wonder, professes faith saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” This is not unlike the experience of Moses before the bush that burn yet is not consumed. A voice tells Moses, “Put off your shoes from on your feet for the ground whereon you stand is Holy.” But Simon is not given the time he needs to contemplate his encounter with Holy Mystery in Jesus. He is told immediately, “from now on you will be fishers of men!” The life of Simon, who would become Peter, the Rock, is changed forever.
Some scholars argue that this amazing gospel story may not be literally true. It may be a kind of parable created by Luke to teach us a central Christian belief. Each one of us must be willing to hear Jesus saying to us, Duc in Altum! Put out into the deep waters of life. Place your trust in Me. We are called today to look at our lives and search for the crossroad where we feel frustrated, confused, even paralyzed. Like Simon and his friends, we may be exhausted. We may not know what to do. We feel uncertain about trusting that Jesus is with us. Perhaps we are plagued by doubts, our faith has been shaken by painful life experiences: We have lost our job during the pandemic! Our marriage is in crisis! Someone whom we love dearly is at the point of death! One of our children can no longer embrace the Christian faith! We know something about our personal lives that we are ashamed to tell anyone! We fear growing older, we are terrified at the thought of suffering and death! We are no longer sure we believe in the life of the world to come! Perhaps when we die, we cease to exist! Whatever the issue is that has caused us to pull our fishing boats out of the sea of life, go home and pull the covers over our heads or drink too much, this may be the very day when Jesus is calling out, “Duc in Altum” Put out into the deep. Open your heart to Me. Take Me seriously! Return to Me in Prayer, in reading the scripture, in receiving Holy Communion worthily, in going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in forgiving those who trespass against us. Perhaps when we begin to live an “if you say so Lord” type of life, of trusting in Jesus Christ, we will feel like Simon in the presence of the Holiness of God, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, I am a sinful woman.” But, we can be confident that Christ will tell us, DO NOT BE AFRAID. From now own you will be fishers of men. If you stay close to Me, you will inevitably attract those around you to the community of My beloved disciples.
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Dear Sisters and Brothers,
From the earliest centuries of the Church, Christians have been preoccupied with the symbolism of fish. There are stories about fish in the gospels. Jesus multiplying the loaves and fish as a sign of the Eucharist. There is the odd story of Jesus instructing someone to catch a fish and pull out the coin from the fish’s mouth. There are fish in our Christian art. And we have an ancient tradition of no meat, but fish on Fridays. There is a reason for this. The ancient Greek word for fish is (ICHTHUS). During times of persecution, the fish symbol was used by Christians to identify themselves to each other as they escaped their persecutors. When two Christians met, one would draw the top of a fish in the sand. The other would complete the picture drawing the bottom below, creating the image of a fish, indicating both were Christians. Why is this? ICHTHUS, the Greek word for FISH is formed from the first letters of five Greek words:
Iēsous meaning JESUS, Christos meaning CHRIST, Theou meaning GOD’s, Uios meaning SON, and Sōtēr meaning SAVIOR.
The words proclaim the Christian Message, announcing the triumph of God’s love over human fear. We must put out into the deep waters of life.
Visitors to my residence often wonder why I have an aquarium full of tropical fish. Children are especially curious about the fish. Most do not see the sign on the aquarium – ICHTHUS – “Jesus Christ, the son of God, is our savior.”
As we ride our boats on the stormy sea of life, not sure of where we are going or how to get there, we may feel anxious to bring our boats to the shore, clean our nets, and return to the comforts of home. But just then, Jesus says, Duc in Altum! Put out into the deep! Are we, like Simon Peter, willing to profess our faith, declaring if You “say so, Lord, I will do so.”
ICHTHUS!
Praise be Jesus Christ! Both now and forever! AMEN!