Christ could have chosen his first disciples from any background. Yet, he chose fishermen, astonishing them at the beginning and end with miraculous catches. They understood his strangeness. They knew fish get tangled in nets at night, in the dark, not in the morning when the water is clear. Spreading and pulling in nets is not as easy as it might seem. It’s exhausting. Yet, it was all in vain until the catch was unexpectedly successful. This event clearly illustrates the problem of work and grace that theologians pose. On the one hand, we must work as if our efforts determine everything. But ending, Christ, on the other hand, God’s undeserved success is a gift of his grace, given according to his mysterious intentions. If this is true of all work, then it is especially evident in our efforts to win others to Christ and be fishers of men. Jesus appears to be telling us, “Strive, and I will reveal success to you when you least anticipate it.”
They could not draw the net because of the multitude of fish.
When we consider all that is being done in the Church—the work and money spent on promoting priestly and religious vocations, expanding Scripture reading, and increasing morality — we realize what priests often complain about. How much work is wasted! However, when we complain about this, we forget the other side of the same problem: how many good people in the Church deserve more attention! Unfortunately, we are too few; we cannot ‘pull out’ of those obligations. Occasionally, the question is naively asked: Are there more failures or successes in the life of the Church? This question cannot be answered because both failures and successes are part of the same whole. Christ’s success was achieved through the cross’s failure. The Church and all its works reflect this mystery throughout their existence.
Despite the large number of fish, the net did not break. In the technical world, everything has performance limits. For example, we know the maximum speed a car can reach, and the carrying capacity of a bridge is marked. Every person should know their limits, too. A hospital knows how many beds it has and how many patients it can treat. But how many people can a church accept? It is designed to save everyone. Some people often predict that Peter’s net will break during major changes in the world. They predict that the church won’t adapt to the new era and that many will leave it. However, our experience so far indicates that a large increase on one side immediately balances losses on the other side. Before his death, one militant atheist is said to have said: ‘Fear the Church!’ We will not be, and it will remain!” It’s a pity there was no one there to respond: ‘So do not be afraid to be caught in its net—you will be too.’
