Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Gil Alejandria SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
Thursday 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Once, a priest was into various livelihood and income-generating projects. One of them was planting garlic, which was a common crop in the area, and a proven money earner. The priest had certain ideas how it should be planted and cared for which the sacristan found to be different from what he was used to. The methods espoused by the priest was so “labor-intensive” and time consuming.
The sacristan hated every minute of it, but since he was just the sacristan and he had no choice but to obey. He is not much different from Simon in the Gospel today who had to obey the order of Jesus to throw down the net, even though he was privately thinking it was a crazy idea.
But seemingly crazy ideas often lead to unexpected results. When Simon followed the command of Jesus, he was rewarded with a great catch. The sacristan though said that the result of their planting endeavor was not as expected. It was not financially successful.
In our life we encounter instances where we are made to do things against our instincts or common sense. We would rather stick to doing things we are accustomed to. We are afraid to experiment with new and radical ideas. The “fear of the unknown” hinders us from venturing out into new ideas.
But when we come to think about it, a lot of inventions and discoveries came about because some people were not afraid to experiment with new ideas or to deal with the “unknown.”
Our faith challenges us to rise above the ordinary and conventional. The common situation of sinfulness can only be eradicated if one would dare “go against the system” and venture out into the new life of God’s grace.
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