Ah!

Ah!

The late Jesuit Michael Paul Gallagher used to greet a new batch of students by introducing them to the distinction between Ha! Aha! and Ah! ‘Ha!’ is my reaction to a piece of passing information that does not touch my life. ‘Aha!’ denotes I have understood something or agree with a speaker. But when I am filled with wonder I say ‘Ah!’

In the film Japanese Story a geologist accompanies a Japanese business man into the desert of Australia to explore for minerals. Their relationship is formal and each finds the other a pain in the neck but they have to do the job. Aha! Then their car gets stuck in the dust and nothing they can do at first helps. Slowly their formality melts as they realise their common danger. Predictably a relationship develops between them but the man cannot handle it and drowns himself in pool. She is devastated and no one grasps what she is feeling. They all “help” but they only make it worse for her. For them it is Aha! For her it is Ah!   

When Peter first got to know Jesus he moved quickly from Ha! to Aha! He heard his words and saw the adulation of the crowds. He even witnessed some cures and exorcisms. But he could handle all that. He knew of the tradition in Israel of prophets and teachers with followings and some, like Elijah and Elisha, even worked miracles. Aha! Not a big deal!

Then suddenly an event occurs that changes everything. They had been fishing all night without success. But Jesus says, “Put out into the deep water.” Peter felt there was little point but decided to do it anyway. We know what happens next: two boats are filled to sinking point. Peter is utterly dumbfounded. He falls on his knees and says, “Leave me, Lord, I am a sinner.” Ah!

I feel sure that every one of us has had some experience of Ah! in our life. It is that moment when something really takes hold of us – maybe for a minute or maybe for a life time. Religious people can stay permanently in the Aha! stage. They can pray and worship regularly but nothing actually touches them and there is no change in their life. They acknowledge God in private and in public – Aha! - but they keep him at a distance. In fact, if they only realised it, they create God in their own image! They worship a God who fits in with their plans.

The catch of fish hit Peter just as the “light from heaven” (Acts 9:3) struck Paul, Augustine of Hippo, Catherine of Siena, Ignatius of Loyola and countless others down to our own day. This Ah! experience is a gift from God. We cannot manufacture it for ourselves. But we can dispose ourselves by being people who make a habit of pausing in wonder before the world we are given, and the people who are our companions on the journey. And if we pause in our prayer without hurrying on we are also preparing our heart for the visitation of God. And then we will utter, “Ah!”    

7 February 2016                     Sunday 5C

Isaiah 6:1-8                             I Corinthians 15:1-11                         Luke 5:1-11