Sail On

I’ve never been onboard a modern, commercial fishing boat, but I’m sure they carry highly sophisticated electronics and are constructed with safety in mind. Still hard work, though. Whether your name is James or John and you run a little family fishing business, or you’re the pilot of a high-tech vessel in the 21st century, fishermen learn their trade quickly or they face disaster. No one controls the big waters. Storms pop up quickly, tides rise and fall and a good fisherman is ready. You can see in the picture how close some fishing boats come to the shore, and that’s another danger area. The last thing you want to do is run aground and be at the mercy of the churning ocean. So, the pilot must know where that imaginary sign is located: “Danger Beyond This Point!”

That’s the life works, isn’t it. Knowing where the boundaries are, limits. Sometimes it’s “how far can I go?” At other times it is “how far should I go…how far must I go?” All depends on the circumstances, I suppose. You and I have been there, in that moment when faced with an ethical or moral dilemma, we make the distinctions, the choices to move ahead, stop, or retreat. Boundaries. Limits. Red lights, yellow and green lights. Ignoring them has consequences. The spiritual path we have chosen to follow, The Way of Jesus, calls us to live thoughtfully, compassionately, and often selflessly. Here are some signs along that path: *Love has no limits. *Think! Use the brain God gave you. *Peace requires an open mind. *Justice requires sacrifice. *Caution: Turn around and go the other way. *Be truthful in all things. 

Those signs and many more are inherent in the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus. Fishermen in his time and today depend a lot on inner knowledge, experience. We call it wisdom. And so do pilgrims traveling The Way of Jesus. He is the Source of life’s fullness. He is the Sign Maker. So, if you find yourself faced with an opportunity, a dilemma, a moment of indecision, the first place to turn is into the heart and the mind of Christ. Knowing how and where and why you steer your ship gives you a pretty good chance of reaching your destination. Sail on.