I once dreamed of being a called, like Peter, to be a catcher of men. But the Lord had a better plan for me; in fact, many plans. Today, I am a catcher of growing kids. I literally caught Jonathan and Jane as they were growing up as babies. As toddlers, I often caught them as they fell countless times learning first how to crawl and then how to walk. Then I was catching their interminable questions as their curiosity blossomed and bloomed when they started exploring and discovering the world around them. Now, I am catching their feelings and emotions as they unlock and uncover their inner selves and begin to identify and define who the persons they are.
In a reality, Jonathan and Jane are also catchers, specially now they are becoming their own persons. Even as I try to catch their behavior and try to steer them to what is good and true, they catch my cues and learn and in the process become. They catch my ideas and they learn. Jonathan catches his Dad’s pun-ny remarks and he is growing with a cheesy sense of humor. Jane catches her Mom’s sensitivity and she is growing with such artistic flair. The values and attitudes they will carry in life are not only taught them but they also catch these from the milieu they grow in.
I guess in the end, we are all catchers, right? Like the flu bug when it is in season, we catch what is in the air and pass it on. Not to be afraid, for as a human being I can choose and decide what I pass on. The atmosphere around me may be full of anger and hatred. I choose to pass on love and kindness. The air I breath may have the stench of pain and despair. I choose to pass on peace and hope. I may live in a milieu filled with greed and selfishness, I will choose to be generous and giving. To be able to do all these, I need to catch God’s grace every morning in prayer.
To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Psalm 24
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:8–11