I've never been much of a fisherman. I just don't have the patience for it. I've been fishing many times in lakes and streams, casting my line into the water over and over. With each cast, I hope the next one will provide a catch and the excitement that comes with it.

I've also been out on boats, fishing in the deep sea, trolling for hours, creeping along at very slow speeds. If we aren't catching fish, my mind wanders, and I just want to go home.

In today's Gospel, Jesus chooses his first disciples --- fishermen, sitting in their boats tending their nets. Maybe it's because of my own attitude toward fishing, but I tend to assume that Peter, James, John and Andrew were bored - bored with their jobs, their lives maybe even their religion. When Jesus comes and invites them to "follow me," they seem to literally leap at the chance for a new direction and vocation.

Maybe they don't know they are leaving fishing for good when they jump up to follow Jesus. Maybe they don't understand that when he promises, "I will make you fishers of men," it means they will become leaders in the saving work of Christ in this world. But they follow nonetheless.

We are called to do the same. Maybe we are more open to following Jesus when we are bored or discouraged with our lives. While circumstances may play a role in the reason we take those first steps of faith, we must keep following even when circumstances change. We must continue to follow until we understand what becoming "fishers of men" might mean for each one of us.

There are many times in my own life when I feel like I do when I'm fishing - bored, dissatisfied, distracted by things other than what I should be doing. I may not feel fulfilled by my work or by my relationships or by my commitments.

Fortunately, God promises to make our lives rich and rewarding if we remain faithful to Christ. For those first fishermen, the promise was to be transformed into "fishers of men." God promises to transform our lives from ordinary, routine exercises to journeys that result in the transformation of us and of those we will encounter on the way. The religious word for this kind of transformation is conversion.

The life of a follower of Jesus will not be boring. But it will not be easy, either. The hardships and challenges that the followers of Jesus face will force them to test their faith and face their fears.

We can expect the same. Transformation, or conversion, by its nature, involves relinquishing our past lives, which is never easy. What lies ahead is unknown and perhaps frightening --- but, as Jesus tells us, it is glorious.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.