Put out into deep water

+  RWS 533 February 10, 2013

5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

4 After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,

"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

Work deep

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The instruction of Jesus to Peter to “put out into deep water” is very often interpreted as an invitation to His believers to go deeper in their life and activities. Thus, it could also challenge us to reflect on how we can get deep into our daily work so that we can reap greater satisfaction and enjoyment from it than the usual material and temporal ones. Very often, we value our work only at the surface, through its immediate benefits for us and our families.

To work deeper, so to say, we need to have faith and value things, people and events with and in the light of faith. It is a faith taught by the Catholic Church as “a personal adherence to God, ...a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.” Faith then, “has to be a norm and guide of life, its energy, inspiration and light” also for our work. Working with faith and in faith makes the worker see the God of life and work. Realizing then the presence of the Almighty, the worker would work in the spirit of love and surrender to the Lord, thus doing his work the best he can. The light of faith makes the worker understand the deeper meaning of the difficulties and hardships at work and thus make him more persevering and dedicated in his job. The energy that springs from believing makes the worker tireless in doing his job not only for its material compensation but above all for the social, moral and spiritual benefits from working well. Guided by his faith, the worker will be honest in his job at all times. He will also avoid anything that will compromise the welfare of his employers and those affected by his work. Indeed, faith makes one work deeper and with more fruitfulness.

As Peter experienced a great catch of fish because he believed in Jesus, the worker will surely enjoy work’s benefits with a satisfaction far beyond his expectations for as long as he works with faith in his mind and heart.

Abundance for all

By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

            At work, obedience to superiors is essential.  When done in good faith, obedience gives the worker direction, cultivates in him empathy and a sense of responsibility, teaches him patience, and prepares him for future leadership.  Fortunate are those who know that obedience in the workplace is more than just an employer-employee thing, not only a me-and-my-boss issue.  You do right when you believe that even if you think the will of your superior is not the will of God, it is the will of God that you obey your superior.  In other words, a Higher Authority than either you or your superior has to come into the equation.

            The powers that be in the workplace have a moral obligation to strive to be wise, just, and righteous.  A boss who demands of himself to be a servant of the good in time becomes the most productive superior of all, a blessing to everyone, a good role model whose legacy will last to benefit future generations.  A boss who will not align himself to the good will in time be taken over by malevolence because as the saying goes, “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  He who refuses to be a servant of the good will sooner or later become a slave of the bad. We only have to look around to see the chaos that can be caused by superiors who have chosen to be loyal to the wrong master—in the workplace, mediocre performance and a lot of cheating; in the bigger community, crime, corruption, moral depravity.

            See what happens when the subordinates obey in faith and superiors are above reproach, as demonstrated in today’s gospel.  The impossible becomes possible, and there is abundance for all.