Fishing is a difficult and dangerous way to make a living. The profits sometimes do not justify the perspiration and the peril. And it is highly unlikely that a man who has spent his life fishing on a small, pear shaped sea in Galilee would take the advice of a carpenter about where and when to lower his nets. That is why Simon’s response to Jesus is such a strong statement of faith. When Simon Peter realized that Jesus was calling him to be his disciple he fell to his knees and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” When Isaiah heard the Lord he proclaimed his unworthiness. The Lord asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responded, “Here I am Lord, send me!” When Cardinal Karol Wojtyla stepped onto the balcony as Pope John Paul II, he said, “Do not be afraid!” Isaiah, Simon Peter and John Paul II are teaching us that being a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ, is not about being worthy. It is about being willing. If we wait until we are worthy, we will never begin. If we are willing, we have already begun to follow Jesus.
