Today I return to the hymn I
posted a few days ago (which is repeated at the end of this reflection). Today
we look at the second verse:
We cannot fish the ocean’s depth with nets
shrunk by fear.
We need the gift of greater faith when we
your summons hear.
And, if we plead unworthiness for what your
call demands,
Then may we trust you’ll cleanse and calm
our soiled, unsteady hands.
Just the other day we read about
Peter falling at Jesus’ feet and saying “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a
sinful man.” Jesus didn’t even listen to his excuse—or rather, I should say, he
looked beyond Peter’s excuse and could see just what sort of man Peter
would become as a result of his discipleship and God’s grace.
Sometimes, I think, he looks
beyond our excuses as well. When I first read this verse I couldn’t help
thinking of Isaiah 6:1-8 which was the first reading the same day we read about
Peter. Like Peter was fearful after hearing the Lord teach; Isaiah was given a
vision of the glory of God, a vision that we recount when we sing the Sanctus
at every Mass. His reaction was similar to Peter’s: “I am doomed! I am a man of
unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips.” The Lord sent an angel to
him with an ember from the altar and put it to his lips and declared that
Isaiah was not cleansed and purged. Then the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send,”
and Isaiah readily replied, “Send me.”
What is the basis or your
unworthiness, your impurity, your sinfulness? Remember that God looks beyond
all of that when He issues a summons to us, a summons that most often comes
through the ordinary things in our lives, or a request for help from someone,
or a need that we come to recognize as we grow in faith. Don’t let your
excuses, or your Critic (see the reflections for 1/22 and 1/23) hold you back.
Don’t let any of that “shrink your nets,” as the hymn so poetically says.
Answer the call. God will make
you worthy. He will cleanse you. He will strengthen you. He will empower you.
And in this, I speak from personal experience, from experiences that have
happened over and over again in my life, in ways big and small.
God bless you.
The hymn:
From shallow waters call us, Lord,
from safety near the shore,
And bid us launch upon the depths
where faith is tested more.
Let not past failures hope destroy nor
caution paralyze,
But help us follow where you lead and
wait for Love’s surprise.
We cannot fish the ocean’s depths with
nets shrunk small by fear.
We need the gift of greater faith when
we your summons hear.
And, if we plead unworthiness from
what your call demands,
Then may we trust you’ll cleanse and
calm our soiled, unsteady hands.
We dare to launch on unknown seas and
cast our nets abroad,
For you have bid us grasp by faith the
promises of God.
O Christ, you crossed the same wide
seas you send us now to sail;
Be present when we reach the depths
with strength that does not fail!
For neither fear nor scorn nor death
could turn you back to land.
You knew no storms could carry you
beyond your Father’s hand.
Your cross seemed but a fragile craft
upon an angry sea,
Till Easter dawn brought light and
peace through Love that sets us free!
Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. 1973-2007. © 2006, GIA Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
For permission for congregational copies or digital projection,
call onelicense.net at 1-800-663-1501
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