Father Thomas Welbers' Homily

We just heard Jesus call his leadership team -- Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother, John, the sons of Zebedee – the four who would always be named first among the Apostles, the four who would sometimes be drawn apart from the rest for some special teaching or experience. While Jesus called many people from many walks of life and classes of society to follow him, these four who made up his leadership team shared a common occupation: they were fishermen, plying their trade as members of a family business on the Lake of Galilee.

With so many people and occupations to choose from, why did Jesus call four fishermen to be his closest and most trusted friends and disciples? I suspect there’s more to it than just a cute play on words: “You were fishermen, I will make you fishers of men.” I don’t fish myself, so I don’t know very much about the occupation, but I’d still like to venture a few a observations based upon what I know about Jesus and the kingdom he proclaimed, as well as what little I know about fishing.

One time, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a dragnet that fishermen drag through the water to catch fish. It catches a large variety of fish. They haul it ashore and then they sort the fish. Certainly, the kingdom of God is inclusive. It takes all kinds of people, loving and paying attention to one another, to make up the church. We know that; and most of us are alert for opportunities to live according to that command of mutual love, looking for ways to help and serve one another.

The thing about a large fishing net, though, is that one person can’t do it alone. Some kinds of nets have to be strung between several boats, requiring a high degree of skill and collaboration. The kingdom of God is never brought about through the efforts of individuals in isolation; it is always the result of the teamwork and collaboration of many sharing the same goals and ideals. It’s interesting that Jesus called four fishermen who were already accustomed to working together – their livelihood and even their lives depended on it. Undoubtedly, Jesus expected that they would bring this skill of collaboration into their service of God’s kingdom.

Fishing also depends a lot on factors that are not within the control of even the most skillful fisherman. You have no control over the wind and waves and other elements of weather, nor even can you predict with any certainty just where the fish are. The fisherman’s skill consists in being prepared to take advantage of opportunities over which he has no ultimate control; his work, and it’s hard work, consists in a lot of waiting and being ready to go into action at the right moment. Anyone who seeks to live according to God’s way knows the same lesson as well – doing God’s work usually means patiently discovering where God is already at work, and then finding ways to join in.

This past week, many of you received the letter from Cardinal Roger Mahony announcing the beginning of the annual Together in Mission Campaign. I actually got two of them, both addressed to “Mr. Thomas Welbers” because I contribute not as a pastor but as a parishioner – after all, I am first and foremost a member of this parish along with you. Furthermore, being kind of anonymous like that, enables me to get the same mailings you do, in addition to the pastor’s mailings – and there are quite a few of those too! – so I can experience first-hand how the Archdiocese is treating you! In today’s bulletin is an insert from the Archdiocese that tells about Together in Mission in more detail, particularly how our parish goals are determined and just how the money is distributed among the parishes and Catholic schools that need this subsidy to stay open. Next week we will have a guest speaker who will give us a first-hand account of the wonderful work your Together in Mission contributions are doing in one of the inner city parish schools that receives this subsidy. I have more information about our speaker in my Pastor’s Desk column in the bulletin.

I’m not going to go into any great detail now on these needs; and I also want to recognize the great love and generosity that you have shown to the appeals that have made in the recent past for worldwide needs and disasters that have poured upon us, one after another – the victims of hurricane devastation in Haiti, Fr. John Bosco’s mission parish in Rwanda, and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Together in Mission, of course, serves very real needs much closer to home, and I think this is a prime example of what I reflected on earlier as major elements of the fisherman’s job: to work together to accomplish what cannot be done alone, and to discover where God is already working and join in.

If you have already received your pledge card, I ask you to prayerfully consider how much you can pledge over the next six months or so, in monthly installments, to support the work of Together in Mission, and please bring that card and put it in the collection next Sunday. If you have not received your pledge card, please read the materials you find in the bulletin, and come next week prepared to join your sisters and brothers doing the Lord’s work among those hungry for the opportunity a Catholic education and a Catholic parish life can provide. Together in Mission provides for us one answer to the question: how can I discover where God is working, and join him in serving his people?

© 2005 Thomas Welbers