Luke 5،1 -11
This Gospel allows us to witness a process of profound transformation taking place in Peter’s soul. This transformation shows itself in the way that Peter addresses Jesus. At the beginning of the episode, he calls Him “Master”, at the end; he calls Him “Lord”.
The first term “Master” implied that Peter recognized in Jesus as special authority, superiority. This is the first level of faith, the faith of a devout Jewish fisherman, who loves his religion, and believes he can serve it, and put his talents on other aspects of his life at the disposition of his Master. This is the level of the majority of Christian today.
When freely they involve themselves in the different activities of the church and they enjoy the “Diaconia” the service, spending all their spare time in order to improve the presence of the Church in the World and in their lives. As Peter did, he put his ship and his nets under Jesus’ will as well he listened to His divine world.
To serve the church, and to read the word, in our spare time, whenever possible, this is the first level of faith.
The level of a faithful fisher is a good level of Christian life, but the faith of the Apostle is a lot different.
In fact, As Christians we do not give the church things from our life, but we find in it life itself.
To “serve” the Church is a task of God’s servants. To live for the Church is a task of God’s Children.
The Lord, in the psalms doesn’t ask for apart of our lives or of our time, or of our possessions, or of activities; but He asks for our hearts.
The Second term “Lord” implies that Jesus has certain sovereignty, a power over Peter himself. Here the faith in Jesus becomes more ontological than sociological.
According to the first level, we serve God as a master according to the second one we worship Him as “Lord” and we fall to our knees before Him.
As servants we offer to Jesus more or less from our life, as children we find in Him the whole of life. Before, we share God our life, now God himself becomes our life.
When Jesus uses the same word “fisher” in two different ways, i.e, as a kind of work, and after as a holy order of apostolic task, He wants to express a very deep truth, that is:
To become an apostle, we have to eject the world, or our work, or anything else, or to live outside for away from social matters. There is really one way like this, the monastic life. But to be an apostle, first of all we have to change our destination instead of the way.
The goal of Christian life is to live in the spirit i.e. life in Christ. The ways are various, but the goal is one.
We can choose one of different ways, but we must go to the final goal, the true destination, where Christ doesn’t occupy a part of our life, as or “Master” but He becomes our life itself as our Lord, in whom we live, and more and have our being.
Amen
Written by Metropolitan Paul Yazigi
Metropolitan Paul Yazigi 