Streetwise

4 Sep

Brothers and sisters:
Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.  (1 Cor 3:18-19a)

We oftentimes hear someone being described as “streetwise”.  When we say that about a person, we usually mean that person is shrewd, able to survive on the streets among all the deceptions and dangers that lurk there.

Of course, in order to survive, that person often must be as deceptive as everybody else.

Becoming “wise” in this age; however, does not guarantee that we are wise in the ways of the Lord.  As a matter of fact, the direct opposite is true.  The more “streetwise” we become, the less focused we will be on the Kingdom of God because the cares and concerns of this world will distract us from what is true.

Peter, James, and John discovered this.  In today’s gospel, we hear about them going out to fish and catching nothing all night.  There were people who were very wise in the ways of the world when it came to fishing.  That was, after all, their business.

After speaking to the crowds, Jesus told Peter, James, and John to go out and cast their nets.  Peter, the master fisherman, told the Lord that it would be useless for they had caught nothing all night.  Jesus told them to cast the nets out nonetheless and the nets filled so full of fish that the boat almost capsized.

Peter realized that he had been judging according to the ways of the world and told Jesus to leave him for he was a sinful man.  Jesus told Peter that he would be catching people from now on instead of fish.  With those words, Peter, James, and John left their boats and equipment and followed the Lord.

Perhaps we, too, need to do the same.  We might have become so immersed in the world that we think we know better, as Peter thought when Jesus told him to cast out his nets.  Let us do all that we can to focus on the Lord and not on our selves.

FAITH ACTION:  As you meditate today, ask yourself the following question:  Do you depend upon yourself too much and upon the Lord too little?