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Commentary 5-09-2024
In Your Name
What does a carpenter know about fishing? How does Jesus dare to give fishing advice to experienced fishermen who have spent their whole lives doing this work? When Jesus advises casting the nets on the other side, Peter argues, but only a little: we’ve been working all night and haven’t caught anything… But he immediately says, “in your name, Lord.” A detail that may seem insignificant, but turns out to be vital.
We often think we know exactly what we’re doing because we’ve been doing it our whole lives. We may see that there comes a time when our efforts are ineffective, that we’re not getting anywhere. If someone, who’s not from our field, advises us to do things differently, we might look at them with disdain, wondering what that person knows. But Peter says, “in your name,” and the result is amazing. If we’ve ever experienced success, we might later forget about the “in your name” part and think it was all due to our own effort. Peter’s reaction is exemplary: he recognizes that he had nothing to do with the result, that he is a sinful man, and that the fruit of any effort is due solely to God.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if the effort “in your name” hadn’t produced such a spectacular catch. What happens to us when, despite entrusting our actions and work to God, they seem to have no result? It’s possible that we would say that, logically, Jesus (or the person who, in his name, may have advised us) has no idea about our profession… It’s possible that we lose confidence. Perhaps because we continue to think that the “in your name” was just a formula without any further reach or effectiveness.
The challenge presented to us today is unwavering faith that the “in your name,” the going deeper, always produces amazing results… even if we don’t see the fish immediately. God sees them because they are his, not ours, and that’s what’s important. Our part is to row further out and cast the nets, “in his name.”