You Will Catch People for the Kingdom of God
Introduction: May you know the touching hand of GOD in your life, and may you be an instrument in the Lord’s hand as He reaches out to others.
Life can be quite challenging. We all have those days when we find it hard to get out of bed and face another day. Financial concerns, health issues, relational problems, and various other changes that we have to face, these make it difficult to get moving. How do you handle it when you are burdened? What has helped you get through those trying times? Often it is someone who reaches out to you with a comforting, compassionate hand, and who reminds you that GOD loves you and that GOD is ultimately in control. Spending time with the Lord Jesus in prayer, even if we don’t feel any immediate relief, can also strengthen us to deal with our problems. We then realize that we are in touch with the holiness of GOD. It is not what we do or who we are that makes us holy. It is GOD’s sharing divine holiness with us, which then empowers us to do what GOD wants us to do.
First Reading; Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8: 'Here I am: send me'
Commentary: In the collection of the sayings of Isaiah subsequently made, this vision is not the first, but it certainly recounts the first vocation of the prophet. For Isaiah God is primarily the Holy One of Israel. This vision of the triple-Holy, seated on the throne of glory in the Temple, does all that is possible to convey in words the daunting otherness of the One whose glory fills the whole earth. The human reaction to it can only be acute awareness of uncleanness. Isaiah can only shrink away until his uncleanness has been purged by the cauterisation of his lips. No human being can see God and live. The glory seen by Isaiah (and by Moses on Mount Sinai) is but the outer fringe, but it leaves the human visionary stunned and aghast at the contrast between divine holiness and human unworthiness. Throughout the Book that bears his name, Isaiah will revert again and again to the awesome holiness of the Lord. God is our loving Father, but there can be no neglecting the distance that lies between the Creator and the created. At the same time, we are attracted and daunted.
Responsorial Psalm 138:1-5,7-8: Before the angels, I will bless you, O Lord.
The Responsorial Psalm is a hymn of praise to the GOD Who is truly awful/awe-filled (“full of awe”). As the psalmist experiences the majesty of GOD, he can do nothing other than proclaim the glory and praise of GOD. GOD has done marvelous deeds, and GOD will continue to fulfill the divine promises of loving the people called by GOD. Another translation of the refrain and first verse would be “In the sight of the divine (holiness), I will sing Your praises, O LORD.”
Second Reading; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11: I preached what the others preach, and you all believed
Commentary: The most precious element of this reading is the first traditional recital of the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection, which the earliest Christians already saw as fulfilling the Scriptures. We can tell that by Paul’s time this recital was already traditional. Firstly, Paul here uses the terms used by the rabbis for the handling of tradition, ‘I taught you what I had been taught myself’. Secondly, the language is not quite Paul’s own; for instance, for scriptural fulfilment Paul always writes ‘as it is written’, whereas here we twice have ‘in accordance with the scriptures’, which Paul himself never says. To witness the resurrection of Christ was the primary task of the apostles. For us, too, it is the primary task; not merely by our words, but by the way we behave, we need to live in the awareness that Christ’s resurrection after his endurance of humiliation and dreadful suffering is the basic fact of life. The basic factor in Christian faith and witness is not the empty tomb but the experience of the apostles in meeting the Risen Christ. This is what unbelievably transformed them from being a defeated and hopeless rabble, huddled in hiding, into courageous and enterprising witnesses.
Gospel, Luke 5:1-11: They left everything and followed him
Commentary: There were obviously several different versions circulating in the early Church of the call of the first disciples. If you try, in your own family, to work out a single version of an important experience that affected you all, you will find the same phenomenon: the event itself is so bright that you are too dazzled to agree on the details that surrounded it.
In Mark and Matthew Jesus is passing along the shore of the lake when he calls two pairs of disciples. In John, it takes place where John the Baptist was preaching. The story in Luke has many similarities to the story at the end of John’s gospel after the Resurrection, when the risen Christ commissions Peter: a night of failed fishing, followed by a huge catch in obedience to Jesus’ instructions. The Church has always seen this as a sign of the need for obedience to Christ. Luke’s version here combines the same play on words as in Mark and Matthew about fishing for people. Luke sets the story a little later: in Mark the fishermen have never seen Jesus and follow him blindly; in Luke Peter and his friends have already got to know Jesus before they are commissioned. A special feature in Luke is Peter’s cry that he is an unworthy sinner. Luke often teaches us that no one can be a disciple of Jesus without first admitting their sinfulness: Zacchaeus the tax collector, and the woman who wept at Jesus’ feet (Luke 7.36-50) are other examples.
Reflection: Why did Jesus perform the miracle of the great catch of fish? No doubt the great crowd of people who had pressed upon Jesus had something to do with this miracle. They were very hungry for God and were eager to hear his word. Jesus wanted to use this occasion to teach his disciples an important lesson. Although Simon was wearied from a night of fruitless toil, he nonetheless did what the Lord Jesus told him to do: At your word, I will let down the nets. When you meet disappointment and failure, do you press upon the Lord, like Simon, to hear his word and to receive his command?
God expects greater things than we can do by ourselves: This incident tells us an important truth about how God works in and through each of us for his glory. God expects of us greater things than we can do by ourselves. When we cooperate in his work, we accomplish far beyond what we can do on our own. Therese of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four, wrote to a friend: "Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us that he wills that we have a share with him in the salvation of souls. He wills to do nothing without us. The Creator of the universe awaits the prayer of a poor little soul to save other souls redeemed like it at the price of all his Blood."
When God's word is spoken his kingdom is revealed and his power is released. When people respond to God's word with faith and obedience they are changed and made "a new creation" in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Witness the joy of the Gospel: God chooses ordinary people, like you and me, as his ambassadors and he uses the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives and work situations to draw others into his kingdom. Jesus speaks the same message to us today: we will "catch people" for the kingdom of God if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us. God wants others to see the light of Christ in us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the Gospel. Paul the Apostle says, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ Jesus always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15).
Do you witness to those around you the joy of the Gospel and do you pray for your neighbors, co-workers, and relatives that they may come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge of his love and truth?
Lord Jesus, fill my heart with love and compassion for those who do not know you or follow you. May I be a good witness of your truth and salvation to my family, friends, and co-workers.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: By faith, Peter casts the nets of Christ's teaching, by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD)
"'That you may understand that the Lord was speaking of spiritual fishing, however, Peter says, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets.' It is as if he were saying, 'Through the whole night our fishing has brought us nothing, and we have been laboring in vain. Now I will not fish with fishing gear but with grace, not with diligence acquired by skill but with the perseverance acquired by devotion.' When Peter lets down the nets at the word, therefore, he is in fact letting down the teachings of Christ. When he unfolds the tightly woven and well-ordered nets at the command of the Master, he is really laying out words in the name of the Savior fittingly and clearly. By these words, he can save not creatures but souls. 'We toiled all night,' he says, 'and took nothing.' Peter, who beforehand was unable to see to make a catch, enduring darkness without Christ, had indeed toiled through the whole night. But when the Savior's light shone upon him the darkness scattered, and by faith he began to discern in the deep what he could not see with his eyes." (excerpt from SERMON 110.2.1)
Seeing and obeying: “My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” —Isaiah 6:5
Jesus showed Sts. Peter, James, and John His transfigured glory, radiant beyond all measure (Mt 17:1ff). He showed these same apostles His power over death in raising the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:37ff). Finally, He showed them His agony in the garden of Gethsemane at His approaching death (Mt 26:37ff).
Whether Jesus shows us glory or suffering, He calls us to put out into the deep (Lk 5:4), to be not afraid (Lk 5:10), and to follow Him wherever He leads (Lk 9:23). It’s up to the Lord whether He lets us see majesty or suffering. It is up to us to receive His grace and say “Yes” to Jesus.
There is glory and grandeur in our life of faith. There are also many tiny mustard seeds, small beginnings (Zec 4:10), crosses, rejections, persecutions, and failures. Whether we are permitted to see things great or small, successes or failures, so much more are we called to rejoice and give our all to belong to the Body of Christ. We are richly blessed to serve Jesus in whichever way He calls us. Who are we that the Lord Jesus, King of the Universe, would call us to such a noble task as to be fishers of men and women? (Lk 5:10) Answer His call. Catch people for Jesus.
Prayer: Father, I will be attentive to whatever You let me see. Grant me the grace to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men.” —Lk 5:10, Praise Jesus, “the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25). In Him, we will be raised from the dead and live eternally. Alleluia forever!
The personal action for today: How have I experienced the holiness of GOD? What feelings did I have when I experienced GOD’s holiness? How has the awesomeness of GOD challenged me to be apostolic, traditional, and evangelistic? To whom might I be called to proclaim the Good News today? this week? And how will I share the awesomeness of GOD with them?
Saint Jerome Emiliani: A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison, Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.
In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes, and a hospital.
Around 1532, Jerome and two other priests established a congregation, the Clerks Regular of Somasca, dedicated to the care of orphans and youth education. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928, Pius XI named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children. St. Jerome Emiliani shares the celebration of his liturgical feast with St. Josephine Bakhita on February 8.
Very often in our lives, it seems to take some kind of “imprisonment” to free us from the shackles of our self-centeredness. When we’re “caught” in some situation we don’t want to be in, we finally come to know the liberating power of Another. Only then can we become another for “the imprisoned” and “the orphaned” all around us.
Blessed are You, LORD GOD of all holiness. Through Your
Goodness, You share the manifestations of Your holiness with Your people,
especially in and through Your Son, Jesus. He came to make known Your call to
holiness and invite individuals to experience You, the source of all holiness.
In order to continue His ministry to all people of all times, He has chosen,
and continues to choose, individuals as co-workers with Him in the process of
announcing the Good News of Your holiness. We thank You for those who have
responded to Your call to be holy and shared Your message of salvation. We also
praise You for allowing us to be a part of the process of salvation, permitting
us to taste the holiness with which You feed us, and commissioning us to be
apostolic, traditional, and evangelistic. For the times we have failed to live
out the holiness that You have bestowed on us, we seek Your pardon and
forgiveness. May we always sing Your praises in the sight of all who are called
to holiness, as we minister in the name of Your Son, Jesus, our Master-Teacher
and Savior, Who has ministered and continues to minister, Who has died to make
us holy, Who is risen, and Who is living and reigning with You and the Holy
Spirit, our one and only GOD, for ever and ever. Amen.