Into the Deep

OK, so I am admittedly a little behind in my posting! With the craziness of getting ready for Fall Retreat last weekend (an AMAZING weekend, by the way! Check out the pics online at www.hfk122ministriesseniorhigh.com) I totally spaced on putting up my usual Thursday posting, and this week, time just got away from me - so I am employing the theory of "better late than never" here!

So anyways!

Every Monday night, I have the unique pleasure of watching an episode of Fr. Robert Baron's great gift to the Catholic church - his series call "Catholicism" (better know as The Catholicism Project), with some of my amazing teens! Every week brings me new and greater appreciation of this faith that I love - and the opportunity to have my mind blown by the insight and depth of these incredible teens!

This past Monday, we watched the episode that discusses the role of Peter and Paul in the early Church, and their enduring legacy today. In it, Fr. Baron talks about the call of Peter, then called Simon, and his brother, Andrew. For those needing a little refresher....

"He said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.' Simon said in reply, 'Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets. We they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing...When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man'...When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him." Luke 5:4-7, 8, 11

I asked the teens what it meant to them to "put out into deep water" with Jesus, as was awed by their responses - ranging from giving Him control, to not knowing what is going to happen, to losing your sense of security and safety, to not being able to turn back.

For me, "putting out into deep water" causes a sense of anxiety in me - even just simply sitting here typing the words! See, I LOVE water and I LOVE to swim, but I also have an extremely overactive imagination - which means that when I think about deep water, I think about sharks, giant sea monsters, eels, man-eating fish, sea serpents... really rational things to be concerned about, right? But I can't help it - that's where my mind goes, so unless I am super focused, whenever I am swimming in a lake or the ocean, I become convinced that some crazed sea creature is going to come up from below and eat me!

So what does this have to do with the spiritual aspect of "putting out into the deep" - well, a lot, I think! See, for me, and a lot of people I think, being in "deep water" means being in some sort of danger. I means that you have gone to a point where you cannot easily or quickly get back to safe ground - you cannot simple put your feet down and stand up to keep your head above water. You have to trust in your boat, or your swimming skills, or your raft - whatever has brought you out there to bring you back to shore. And if something goes wrong, chances are it is going to go REALLY wrong. That's what's at the heart of my irrational fear of deep water - an inherent sense of danger, a lack of security.

And let's face it - when we "put out into the deep" with Jesus, we are undoubtedly getting in over our heads. Giving your life to Jesus is not going to be easy, comfortable, or secure - He is going to rock your boat, toss you out into the water, and force you to learn how to swim. To follow Him means to step away from the safety of the shore, to get comfortable with not knowing what is "swimming around beneath you"or what might be lurking in the depths - and in that to TRUST, fully, that the One who brought you out there will never leave you out there.

But here is what we need to remember...as long as we keep our eyes firmly on Jesus, there is nothing to fear in the deep water. Instead, when seen through His eyes, the water is no longer full of monsters waiting to devour you - instead, you find yourself swimming in an endless pool of love and grace wanting to engulf you.

Peter learned this first hand - it took Jesus literally taking him into the deep water for him to initially trust in this stranger who appeared on the shore - and, some time later, it took Peter keeping His eyes firmly on Christ to keep from sinking into that deep water when he stepped out of the boat.

He will not let us sink if we keep our eyes, our trust, and our heart on Him - so do not be afraid to "put out into the deep water" - dive on in!