What does He say
that draws people to Him?
What words does He use
that makes Him worth listening to?
What is it about Him
that makes crowds of people
gather around Him
to the extent
that He can only teach
by launching Himself
out onto the Sea of Gennesareth
and using the natural acoustics
to magnify His words?
Our Lord is clearly
a phenomenal teacher.
But then,
we must admit,
He does back up
His extraordinary claims
with miracles.
If Our Lord is
the great Fisher of Men
what is He using as bait?
[PAUSE]
It is interesting that
St Peter probably does not use bait
to catch the fish.
This is why he fishes at night.
The idea is that the fish
don't see the net as well
and swim into it unawares.
If this is the case
then we see why St Peter
thinks Our Lord's words
to cast the net in broad daylight
as odd and perhaps
even a bit exasperating.
The result: two ships full of fish!
Clearly something
has drawn them to this place
where they can be caught.
Just like the crowd.
Something has drawn them
to this place
where they can be caught
by God
in broad daylight.
Why broad daylight?
If you can see the net
then you can choose
to swim into it
or not.
Ironically,
it is those who swim
into Our Lord's net
who are saved.
Unlike St Peter,
Our Lord uses bait.
He knows that there is something
for which each of us
is truly longing.
It may not be something
that we realise we long for.
It may be a longing
which we mistake for another longing
or one which we try to cover up
with something
more accessible
and immediately gratifying.
Our Lord knows
what we truly long for
and He can supply it.
And this is something
that we crave because
we are created
and we look to our Creator
to make us whole again
from the wounds
Caused by the battering
that sin, the World and the Devil
inflict upon us.
Our Lord Himself is the bait.
He says,
"no man can come to Me,
except the Father
which hath sent Me draw him:
and I will raise him up
at the last day."
It is the Father
that draws us,
and if we see Jesus
then we see the Father.
And it is Jesus
who will raise us
from the depths of Death.
How?
Because in consuming His flesh
and drinking His blood
we become one
with Christ's humanity.
But it is the Divine nature of Christ
that draws Him up from Death
into Heaven
to stand before the Father.
If we are one with Christ
then we are drawn up into Heaven
to stand before the Father.
We have been caught
and landed
like a prize carp
on the end of a line.
While the carp may be cooked
and eaten
we have been drawn to life
and joy.
This is what Salvation is.
And we need to fall for it,
hook, line and sinker.
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