Depart from me!

"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.'"

Luke 5:8

 

I have really enjoyed re-reading the parts of "Jesus: A Pilgrimage" as the Gospel stories come up in the daily readings.  Today, I re-read the chapter on Gennesaret and I loved Fr. James Martin's take on why Peter told Jesus to depart and then, almost immediately, dropped everything to follow Jesus.  According to Fr. Martin, Peter felt unworthy and fearful (fearful in general, fearful of change and also fearful of intimacy).  We all, too, may experience these feelings and thus, not be eager to step out of the boat and follow Jesus.  One line, though, strikes me:  Fr. Martin says, "Jesus knows Peter's weaknesses and call him anyway.  Jesus calls us anyway, too, in spite of our weaknesses." Peter knows he is just a guy--a fisherman.  His humanness shows up time and time again, through his impulsive behavior.  He gets it wrong as often as he gets it right...and yet, he is the man for Jesus.  As Fr. Martin points out, "It took time, after all, for Simon to become Peter."  That is such a wonderful comfort for us, too, Friends.  It takes time for us to become the people Jesus knows we are.  Jesus will never give up on us, and we must never give into the fear and unworthiness we may experience when Jesus calls us!  Love, heidi