Today's gospel is about access. Access to Jesus. Who has it, and who doesn’t have it. Access is a currency we deal in all the time, consciously or unconsciously. Consciously is when we pay extra at an Airbnb to get beach access. Unconscious examples include things like a zip code, an education level, or a network of friends. These types of things give us access to all sorts of things we take for granted: libraries, parks, social stability, and information.

Last night for a Valentine’s Day date, Pierrette and I did what we often do—we went out to hear live music. Last night’s show was nearby—at the Jazz Showcase in the old  Dearborn Station. The Alexander McLean Project, a collaboration of vocalist Dee  Alexander and band leader, composer, and guitarist John McLean, was just what we wanted for a delightful evening. They played old standards like My Funny Valentine  (of course) and new tunes they are working on for their next record. Their gesture to the larger political winds were subdued but not subtle—they signaled in no uncertain terms that the so-called “Love Day” shouldn’t be just one day in mid-February but every day. Ms. Alexander couldn’t have said it better had she been in a pulpit.  

Our gospel reading this week is a familiar one: Jesus tells fishermen to cast their nets again, and they miraculously catch more fish than their boats could hold! Jesus tells them to follow him and become "fishers of people." This story is often interpreted to mean that Jesus' disciples have the role of bringing people to Jesus or to "the faith." While sharing our faith with the people around us is important - I don't think that the idea of trapping people and dragging them into our faith sounds like something Jesus would endorse. In fact, it sounds a lot like the forced conversions that were common during the colonization of many lands across the world - an evil twisting of our religion to empower bloodthirsty empires.

February can be a brutal month. Will winter ever end? We look for any sign of spring that we can. And in these dark , chaotic times, any sign of hope, any sign of new life. No wonder Groundhog Day captures our imagination.