Posted by The WORD in other words by Fr Xene Sanchez SVD – Kinshasa, Congo
Thursday 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
At the close of the Great Jubilee celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ birth, Saint Pope John Paul wrote an apostolic letter at the beginning of the new millennium. He entitled it “Duc in altum,” taken from the words of Jesus himself as we read in the Gospel of today. He said to Peter: “Put out into the deep.” It was in doing so that Peter and companion after a whole night of fruitless toil had caught so much fish never seen before in their lifetime.
What strikes me immediately was the invitation to “go into the deep.” It reminds me of the expression “skin-deep Christianity.” If we only scratch the surface of our faith, if we live as Christians in a superficial way, we lose more members of the community. Therefore, the Church must go deeper in its relationship with Christ to face the challenges of the new generation. Otherwise, how can we face the situation nowadays where the virtual is confounded with the real, where the social media is disseminating without discretion true or false information, and where video conferences are taking over personal encounters.
When Pope Benedict assumed the Chair of Peter, he went back again to the Gospel of today. In his homily, he repeated the answer of the first Pope who said: “Master at your words, I will let down the nets.” To go into the deep is to listen to the words of Jesus and to obey him above all doubts. Our story began at the Lake of Gennesaret where a big crowd was pressing around Jesus. Why? To listen to the Word of God. Many people came not to see wonders, not to obtain material things, nor to get healed. They sought for the Words of Life.
Despite the seemingly distracted society of today, bombarded by countless messages, videos, movies, entertainment, gimmicks, and the like, there is an inner call deep within us to keep SILENCE, to LISTEN, to DEEPEN our relationship with God, which consequently strengthens our relationships with one another.
