I was reminded by this exercise that God, as fisherman, casts his nets far and wide. It is my job as a net to enclose the fish. The fish are, naturally, those I meet and interact with. If my net is in good repair, strong and tight, I am able to engage the fish and bring them to the Fisherman. When I am ragged or torn, the fish can slip through the net and be lost.
My new favorite verse is 2 Cor. 4:5 “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” It’s a good reminder that in all we do, we are ambassadors (servants/slaves) of our Lord and King. Just as the net is an extension of the reach of the fisherman, so we are an extension of God in the world.
“Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,” says the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila. Because God entrusts each of us with the duty and honor of being the hands, feet, eyes and words of Christ, we need to keep our net in good repair.
It’s our responsibility to be the net that brings the fish to the feet of the Fisherman. It’s not our concern how the Fisherman deals with the fish once they are there. Our Matthew citation says that the good are kept and the bad thrown away, but thankfully, it’s up to God to determine which is which.
What condition is your net in?
“Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,” says the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila. Because God entrusts each of us with the duty and honor of being the hands, feet, eyes and words of Christ, we need to keep our net in good repair.
It’s our responsibility to be the net that brings the fish to the feet of the Fisherman. It’s not our concern how the Fisherman deals with the fish once they are there. Our Matthew citation says that the good are kept and the bad thrown away, but thankfully, it’s up to God to determine which is which.
What condition is your net in?
Check back next week for the last parable in the series.
