CAST YOUR NET TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BOAT
 
How many times have we heard about people who cast their nets on the wrong side of life?
People who cast their nets on the wrong side of life catch nothing. Jesus teaches us that we must cast our nets on the right side of life to experience the blessing of abundance. After Jesus died, Peter and the other disciples where quick to forget about their calling. They were quick go back to their former profession. They went back to their old way of life. They were fishermen but when they encountered Jesus, Jesus changed their profession from being fishermen to fishers of men. Jesus changed their old way of living to a new way of living. They abandoned this new calling and went back to the old way of living. Peter told the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” This statement was not made just for himself, it was an invitation to the other disciples to go back to their old way of living. The old way of living was a life without Jesus. That old way of living was a life in which they have been casting their net on the wrong side of the boat. It was a life without the grace and blessing of Christ. It was a life they toiled day and night without catching anything. In the first calling of Peter, Peter and his companions toiled all night without catching any fish. When Jesus came into his life, he told Peter to put his net on deep waters for a catch. Peter did what the Lord said and their was a miracle of great catch. By telling Peter to put his net on deep water, Jesus was telling him that he was living a shallow life. He needed to upgrade his life to that of deep relationship with God. A life of deep relationship with God leads to experience of abundance. To live a life of deep relationship with Christ is to live right. It is to cast your net on the right side of the boat. In this second calling of Peter, Peter and his companions toiled and labored again all night and caught nothing. Jesus came into their life again and told them what they must do to catch fish. He told them what they must do to experience the miracle of abundance. Jesus told them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” Though they did not at first realize that it was Jesus, they did what he told them and there was a miracle of great catch. Jesus teaches them that they were not living according to their calling, they were casting their nets on the wrong side of life. They were not living according to what Jesus taught them. Jesus wanted Peter to live a life of deep relationship with God. Peter never did. In the second calling Jesus teaches him that he toiled and labored all night and still caught nothing because he was not living according to the way he was taught to live. Having a deep relationship with Christ and living right leads to the experience of grace and blessings of Christ. Jesus calls us to leave the old ways of life behind and live a new life that involves faith and love for Jesus. Peter gave up on Jesus, denied Jesus three times and went back to the former way of life. Even though he abandoned Jesus, Jesus did not abandon Peter. Jesus came back to Peter to make him cancel out those times he denied him by professing three times his faith and love for Jesus. Jesus teaches him that every profession of love comes with a price, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus never abandon us even when we abandon him. He gives us opportunity again and again to cancel out the many times we denied him. In the first reading Peter followed up his profession of faith and love for Jesus by bearing witness to his faith even in the midst of persecution. He did not deny him anymore but defended him. He was not afraid to live right and have deep relationship with Christ.