Open to Suggestions

Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

Imagine this scene.  You've been up all night working at your lifelong trade.  You have had no success at it.  You are exhausted, frustrated, and impatient.  As you pack up your tools of the trade, a man comes by and offers you a suggestion.  He isn't even a part of your trade at all - what could he possibly know?   Your reaction to this scenario is probably that of many other people: you will ignore this guy or reject his suggestion in a less than friendly manner.

But in today's Gospel scene we find Peter in this very situation, and yet he takes the suggestion of Jesus.  Despite his fatigue and frustration, despite the fact that Jesus is a carpenter and knows nothing about fishing - despite all these things Peter is open to the prompting of God in this moment.  As a result of that openness, no matter how crazy the suggestion seemed, it worked and Peter has realized a great haul of fish for his business.  

We often wonder where God is in moments of darkness and frustration.  We are often unable to see that presence because we are focused on our own egos and what we are experiencing.  Today is a day for us to practice this openness of Peter in the inevitable moments of frustration we will encounter in our day.  We are likely to find God's presence in unlikely places, just as a fisherman found them in the suggestion about fishing from a carpenter.