MOTHER TERESA

Colossians 1:9-14; Ps 98 The Lord has made known his salvation Luke 5:1-11

Jesus: "put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch."
Simon: "we have worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."

When they had done this they had caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.  They came and filled both boats so that boats were in danger of sinking.

Simon: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."  For astonishment at the catch had seized him.

Jesus: "do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

I just love the dialogue of this particular passage of scripture.  It takes place early on and is one of Simon Peter's first encounters with Jesus.  This rough and tough fisherman really doesn't have a chance.

As you read you can sense the resistance in Peter's voice as he reluctantly lowers the nets.  The master fisherman though he knew enough about the profession to second guess the master himself.

Peter was probably right.  He was probably right in not wanting to lower the nets and waste more time and energy.  But sometimes being right in our judgment doesn't mean we are correct in our stance.

Sometimes we have to defer to another's call.

Many times we miss out on the astonishment of the catch God has in store because we stop at our judgment rather than defer to his call.

Sometimes we settle for the right judgment rather that the call of Jesus.

Which brings me to Mother Teresa.  Everyone or at least most know about Mother Teresa.
She was small in stature but a rock in faith, a giant really in putting into practice the words of Jesus: put out into the deep.

Upon being a Sister of Loreto and working and living that life for almost 20 years as a school teacher and principle, She encounter another call.

She heard Jesus say "come be my light"  for "I can not go alone."

It was in that encounter her life took a drastic turn to the slums where she encountered the broken, the poor, the out cast, the dying, the starving, the neglected, the rejects, the unwanted, th eunloved, the uncared for of society.

She remained steadfast in biring that light of Christ to the darkest of places, the places of rotten flesh and stench.

As She would often say, "God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be his love and his compassion tot he poor."

"Put out into the deep", the words spoken to Peter were not unlike the words spoken to Mother Teresa "come be my light, I can't go alone."

Here is one of Mother's aphorisms

The fruit of silence is prayer
The fruit of prayer is faith
The fruit of faith is love
The fruit of love is service
The fruit of service is peace

Once asked to sum up what love really is, she responded "love is giving...true love is giving and giving until it hurts."