Sea of Galilee Moments

Reflection for January 25, 2026 — The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus comes across two fishermen, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Find the daily reading here.

Young or old, believer or non-believer, rich or poor, healthy or sick: it doesn’t matter who we are. It doesn’t matter what our life looks like. If we are a human being, if we have a soul, we stand on the shore of a great and powerful sea, a net in our hands and a hunger in our soul.

So what’s in the sea? I don’t know about yours, but mine is filled with feelings of inadequacy. It’s filled with fear and resentment and confusion. It’s filled with misplaced pride. It’s deep. It’s dark. It’s well-stocked.

I cast my net, over and over again. What else is there to do? If I draw back a harvest, it can sustain me for days, weeks, maybe even years. The nourishment of the sea can keep away the hunger pangs — for a time. You can survive on fear and resentment and pride if it’s all you have. You’ll never feel full, and you’ll never be strong, but you’ll survive on what the world can offer you — so long as you keep coming back to the shore.

This is where Jesus finds us.

If I close my eyes, I can picture the moments exactly, all of them: my Sea of Galilee moments. I could describe them to you — the day, the year, what was happening in my life, what I wanted and what I needed and what gnawing hunger had brought me, once again, limping, crawling back to the shore.

But you wouldn’t understand my Sea of Galilee moments, just like I wouldn’t understand yours. There is only one who understands, and his is the voice we heard, clear and strong: “Put down the net, and come with me.”

©LPi