Choices

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 5: 1-11

In the time of Jesus, the concept of upward mobility was unheard of. If your father was a farmer, you would grow up to be a farmer. If your father was a craftsman, you would be a craftsman. And if your father was a fisherman, you would grow up to be a fisher as well. (Women, of course, had it even worse. They had no options at all.) As limiting as this seems to our 21st century sensibilities, this was just how it was, and no one thought about it much.

Astonishingly, even in our modern world, there are places where children are still given an aptitude test when they are very young. Depending on the results of that test, they are sent to specific kinds of schools to learn to become what their aptitude says they will be best at. Engineers, teachers, military, and so forth. While that might work for a particular culture or society, it is incredibly demeaning to the individual who has no say in their career and life’s work.

In today’s Gospel. Jesus calls Simon away from all he has ever known and to a new way of life.  Simon’s father had surely been a fisher, and so Simon had no expectation other than to continue the only way of life he knew. The Gospels tell us that Simon did not hesitate but got up and followed Jesus. It would be amazing if it were true, but perhaps Simon asked Jesus to “hold that thought” and then ran off to check with his wife. I think Jesus would have smiled and said, “Sure, by all means.” At least, I hope Simon checked with his wife!

We have scripture and history to tell us how Simon Peter’s life worked out, as well as the rest of the apostles. Each were called to be and do something different than they had ever dreamed they would be. It certainly was a time of learning for all of them. We hear of the many times Simon acts rashly, but given his background, can we blame him? And in the end, it all turned out pretty well.

I look back on my life and realize that I very easily could have been a farmer. Given my ancestor’s work, that's where I would have ended up.  But in 20th century America, my grandfather, father, and I all had choices. My grandfather became a machinist, my father a pharmacist, and I’m still trying to figure out what to be when I grow up. We all had choices, and our lives played out as they did.

I still have choices. Every day I am offered the chance to be a person of God. One who learns the lessons that Jesus taught and tries to apply those to my life. In this moment in history, I am almost overwhelmed with the choices I have to proclaim the mercy of God. I am woefully unprepared for this work, but I am then led to recall that Simon Peter started out pulling fish from the Sea of Galilee and ended his life in Rome. Isaiah recounts how he felt unworthy to preach the good news of God, until God showed him the way. Isaiah finally cried out, “Here I am, send me!” (IS 6:8)

I am no Peter, and I am no Isaiah, but I am able to stand up and speak truth. I can hold the hand of someone hurting or sorrowful. I can make a meal for someone who is hungry. And so much more. I am drawn to the daily work, both personal and collective, of bearing witness to the reign of God, drawing others in through the genuine embodiment of faith in my life.

Every Day.

© 2025 by Timothy J. Doppel

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