Week of February 7-13

 

Today, I want to tell you about Betty. I met Betty in a random café in San Francisco as I sat down with a new friend to tell her about the exciting ministry we are apart of in New Orleans.

 

Betty offered us crackers. After we both kindly turned her down, I noticed she was wearing a Saints sweatshirt. I asked her if she watched the Saints beat the Vikings to capture the NFC Championship. She smiled and fondly recounted her experience of the victory from her new apartment a block away.

 

When my friend asked her how long she had been living in San Francisco, Betty replied, “I’ve been here since the storm. My house got 3 feet of water, and we sold it. I now live closer to my son who’s been living in San Francisco for the past 37 years. I miss New Orleans. It’s just so expensive to move back.”

 

What were the chances that I would run into an evacuee from Hurricane Katrina???

 

It’s been 53 months, and Betty had to start her life again. She turned 90 this year. Yet, the joy on her face was contagious when she spoke of the Saints and their chances at the Super Bowl.

 

Perhaps that’s it. As hopeful people, we spend time trying to be open to the chances of a better way, a better life. In today’s Gospel (Luke 5:1-11), Jesus instructed an already tired, but obedient fisherman, Simon, to re-cast his nets. Despite his own reluctance, Simon threw out his nets to catch so many fish that the nets almost tore!

 

Our ordinary life can be transformed by a chance. There was a chance that Simon could catch more fish, so he tried. There is a chance that the Saints can win the Super Bowl, so we go crazy rooting them on.

 

There is a chance that people can connect with us, so we share our crackers, or ask questions, or take a moment to listen to someone’s life.

 

Take a chance today. You may be tired or impatient or perhaps you already know what will happen, but the Good News encourages us to simply take a chance and see what happens…