Posted on 02/06/2016 8:23:07 PM PST by Salvation
Fishing All Night and Catching Nothing
Pastor's Column
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 7, 2016
"Simon said in reply, 'Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.'"
from Luke 5:1-11
It is significant that Peter and his fishing partners had caught absolutely nothing on the night before Jesus called them. Peter and Andrew had met Jesus before this, near the Dead Sea when John the Baptist was preaching. So Jesus' voice was a familiar one. While fishing by day, often a spotter would stand on the shore to watch for and advise the boats. Jesus called out his advice for them to try one more time.
The world that we live in looks for winners, those who can get results. Not so with Jesus. Jesus pays attention to the effort that went into what we did, not just the "results". Jesus knows what we have been through; he knows if we have really tried and when we have not because he made us.
Simon and his fishing partners must have felt like failures that morning, having fished all night and caught nothing. How often we, too, can feel this way if we judge our results and others by worldly standards and not God's. Jesus called out to Peter that day at precisely the moment when Peter was most vulnerable, most down, least successful. Peter was especially open to the words of Christ at that moment.
Here we can notice a pattern: as Jesus called Peter, so too does he call us. When does he call? Jesus could have chosen to call Peter after a successful fishing expedition; but no, Peter will be most open to the Lord precisely when he is most vulnerable. In the same way, when we are most in need, most sinful, most hurting, most vulnerable, here we will often find Jesus calling out to us as well.
Perhaps Jesus will call us to spend some extra time with him in the adoration chapel, to attend Mass and really pray the Mass, to read our Scripture at home. Jesus may come to us in the form of a person in need. Jesus will be hiding there, waiting for us to find him, calling out to us for a greater life of service.
Peter, having had a genuine encounter with the Lord's power after obeying his voice and filling his boat with fish, is utterly humbled by our Lord's attention: "Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" says Peter. But, it is precisely this, in Peter's weaknesses that Jesus will use to show forth his power, and it will be the same way with us, if we will only let Jesus act through us.
Father Gary
Very good scripture readings today
Readings:
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138:1-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Simon Peter, the fisherman, is the first to be called personally by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel.
His calling resembles Isaiah’s commissioning in the First Reading: Confronted with the holiness of the Lord, both Peter and Isaiah are overwhelmed by a sense of their sinfulness and inadequacy. Yet each experiences the Lord’s forgiveness and is sent to preach the good news of His mercy to the world.
No one is “fit to be called an apostle,” Paul recognizes in today’s Epistle. But by “the grace of God,” even a persecutor of the Church—as Paul once was—can be lifted up for the Lord’s service.
In the Old Testament, humanity was unfit for the divine—no man could stand in God’s presence and live (see Exodus 33:20). But in Jesus, we’re made able to speak with Him face-to-face, taste His Word on our tongue.
Today’s scene from Isaiah is recalled in every Mass. Before reading the Gospel, the priest silently asks God to cleanse his lips that he might worthily proclaim His Word.
God’s Word comes to us as it came to Peter, Paul, Isaiah, and today’s Psalmist— as a personal call to leave everything and follow Him, to surrender our weaknesses in order to be filled with His strength.
Simon put out into deep waters even though, as a professional fisherman, he knew it would be foolhardy to expect to catch anything. In humbling himself before the Lord’s command, he was exalted—his nets filled to overflowing; later, as Paul tells us, he will become the first to see the risen Lord.
Jesus has made us worthy to receive Him in the company of angels in God’s holy Temple. On our knees like Peter, with the humility of David in today’s Psalm, we thank Him with all our hearts and join in the unending hymn that Isaiah heard around God’s altar: “Holy, holy, holy....” (see also Revelation 4:8).
Teaching the Thickheaded | ||
|
||
February 7, 2016 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
|
||
|
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
Most things skitter along the surface of our life, without ever really penetrating the surface. We might read the news or watch a silly video or pick something up at the story, but these kinds of everyday experiences rarely make a difference. We don't even think about them, but just let them be included in the overall background of our vision of life. On the other hand, those moments of exceptional clarity are the ones that shape us. Every once in a while, we experience a serious, life-altering moment of change, a moment that rocks us to our core and alters everything. Fortunately, more of these moments are clustered early on in life--where I will go to school, what career-path I will choose, who I will marry--but they can happen later on too: a serious accident, the onset of an illness, the loss of a friend. These crucial turning points in our lives cannot be ignored, but clamor for attention, reflection, and an adjustment in the way we go about our lives.
In this Sunday's reading from Isaiah, the prophet himself undergoes one of these life-altering moments of change that blows our experiences out of the water. In a vision, he walks into the throne room of the living God! First, he describes what he sees: God himself is seated on his throne, up some steps from the floor and his garment is so voluminous that it fills the whole temple. To me, this brings up some fascinating connections. In Hebrew, the word for temple (heykal) can also mean palace. While many times, we have to consider whether the author is referring to a king's palace or god's temple, here the word is both. God is reigning in the throne room of his palace/temple: the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant, the top of which was referred to as the "mercy seat," because that is where God's presence would come and "sit" as if on a throne (see Exod 25:17-22). The Holy of Holies was designed to be God's throne room, the place of his presence.
Yet Isaiah is not walking into the mere earthly temple, which is only a "copy and shadow" (Heb 9:5) of the heavenly sanctuary. The real temple is in heaven. The earthly temple merely imitates it. Though only the high priest is able to enter the Holy of Holies, and he only once per year, Isaiah is invited by God into the sanctuary in heaven, into the heart of his presence. While we might think of this invitation as a great opportunity, Isaiah is terrified. He has the right response to God's presence: fear. But why is he afraid? He is afraid because of his own sin. He immediately declares, "Woe is me! For I am lost" (Isa 6:5 RSV). He fears for his life for God himself had promised, "for man shall not see me and live" (Exod 33:20 RSV). It is not that God is like Medusa, turning anyone who looks at him into stone, but that our capacity as human beings is limited. If we were to see God, it would overload our circuits and we'd blow a fuse. We couldn't handle it. It would be the end of us. Isaiah knows this and is filled with fear.
But he has not been invited into God's presence by mistake. The Lord brought him for a specific calling. Before Isaiah can be commissioned, however, he needs to be purified. When Isaiah protests that he is sinful and despairs of his life, God does not dismiss his self-accusations of sinfulness, but instead provides a remedy. One of the six-winged seraphs worshipping the Lord, comes to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar of incense in the throne room (as there was an altar of incense in the Temple) and touches it to Isaiah's lips to purify him. God does not ignore our sin, he cleanses us from it. In fact, this powerful cleansing of the burning coal prompted many early Christian interpreters to see the coal of the altar as a figure for the Eucharist. Just as Isaiah is purified by the burning coal, we are purified each time we receive Communion. To this day, the Church teaches that receiving the Eucharist remits venial sins. It heals us from the daily impurities of our minor failings and disposes us to receive more and more of God's grace.
Finally, God calls out to Isaiah with a challenge: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (Isa 6:8 RSV). God has a message for his people and he needs a messenger. With bravery instilled in him by his purification, Isaiah responds enthusiastically: "Here am I! Send me." At this point, we see how to respond to God in that handful of life-changing moments we will have. When God comes calling, we should not let our hands droop and reel backward in fear at our own failings, weaknesses, and deficiencies. God does not call people who are ready for the work, he makes us ready through calling us. Isaiah was unclean, but God cleansed him. We are sinful and yet he washes away our sins. It is tempting to shrink back from God's call because we know ourselves, yet God wants us to look at him in faith and embrace his call with the zest of Isaiah. It takes a little courage, a bit of bravery, a pinch of panache to say to God "Send me!" Yet faith changes us from fearful to audacious.
Our readings make us wonder: Why does God pick the unworthy to do His work in the world?
St. Luke tells us that one day, Jesus was teaching an enormous crowd of people by "the Lake of Gennasaret," also called the Sea of Galilee. He saw two empty boats, and He decided that it would be easier to address the people from one of them, if it were "put out a short distance from the shore." He chose the boat that belonged to Simon, one the fishermen who were cleaning their nets. Simon and his partners, James and John, had to be impressed by the effect Jesus had on all these people, drawing them to Himself in droves. Surely they listened to what the Teacher had to say as they worked on their nets. Could Simon have imagined that when Jesus was done speaking to the crowd, He would speak to him? "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon's response to this surprising directive was quite restrained: "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing." Simon didn't want to scoff outright. Was he amused that the Teacher suddenly considered Himself a fishing expert? Perhaps Simon wanted to let Him down gently, preparing Him to see that seasoned fishermen knew their own waters better than He did: "...but at Your command I will lower the nets." Out of respect for the Teacher, not from conviction, Simon was willing to obey Jesus' command.
The fishermen could never have guessed what happened next. Their nets brought up so many fish that a second boat had to be brought out. Both boats were in danger of sinking from the incredible catch of fish. We know from Simon's reaction that the men fully understood that they had witnessed a bona fide miracle. This haul of fish could not be explained any other way. Simon Peter fully recognized that Jesus was no ordinary Teacher: "...he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.'" Simon knew he was in the presence of Someone touched by the Divine. The miraculous nature of what he witnessed made him feel the weight of his own unworthiness. He shrank away from offending Jesus; he felt fully exposed in his sin. If Jesus could see fish in deep waters, what could He see in a man's soul? Simon's desire to hide reminds us of Adam and Eve's reaction to God's presence in Eden after they had sinned; they, too, wanted to hide from holiness.
Jesus, however, knew that now Simon was ready to be His true follower. His conviction of his own unworthiness, his humility, fully prepared him to become a co-worker with Jesus. Only a man who knows that divine work is the work of the Divine, not himself, can work the mission Jesus gave to Simon and the others: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." Paradoxically, it was the deep conviction of sin that opened Simon to a new life: "They left everything and followed Him."
Simon thought his sin ought to separate him from Jesus. When he confessed it, he found out the truth was exactly the opposite. Perhaps that "astonished" him even more than the boats sinking from so many fish. It's still astonishing, isn't it?
Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me be honest about my failures and confess them. When I stay small, there is room for You.
Isaiah, the prophet (who lived about 700 B.C.), had a vision of heaven in which he "saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne." He also heard seraphic angels crying out, "Holy, holy, holy!" This vision of God's glory was so overwhelming that Isaiah was undone: "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips." Isaiah's reaction to Divine holiness was similar to Simon Peter's--he had a profound conviction of his sin, as well as the sin of his people. In answer, one of the angels flew to him with a burning ember from the Divine altar, a symbol of God's fiery love, which can be both frightening and yet merciful. When the angel touched Isaiah's lips with the ember, he pronounced him clean: "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." This is the same sequence we saw in the Gospel. A man is confronted with the holiness of God and is struck to his core with conviction of sin. That humility leads to purification and readiness to participate in God's work on earth. When the Lord asked Isaiah, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?", he was able to answer, "Here I am...send me!"
Possible response: Heavenly Father, help me not to fear Your fiery love. I know Your touch will heal me.
We see in this psalm a great desire to worship God. Why? The psalmist tells us that when he called out to God, "[He] answered me and built up strength within me." The psalmist is very aware of how God has worked in him to make him a fit witness to His glory and majesty. He knows that, because of this kindness from God, he can proclaim: "In the sight of the angels, I will sing Your praises, Lord." Again we see that it is God Who makes a man ready to be His servant. The psalmist is quite confident of this: "The Lord will complete what He has done for me." God's goodness makes the unfit fit.
Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.
St. Paul is perhaps one of the most outstanding examples of the theme we are following in our other readings. He persecuted the Church and tried to destroy it, but "by the grace of God" his life was turned inside out when Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road. St. Paul was fully aware of his unworthiness: "For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle." God's grace changed all that. In fact, the graciousness of God's grace is never clearer than when we see Him call someone who is spectacularly unfit into His service. St. Paul's gratitude made him zealous with energy to toil "harder than all of them" (the rest of the apostles). He wasn't boasting; he was simply acknowledging that those who seem very far from God are, when they are touched by His grace, boundless in their joy over God's mercy. St. Paul understood that even this greater zeal was not his own doing: "[it is] not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me."
Why does God pick the unworthy to do His work in the world? Surely it is because of something the Lord said to St. Paul when, at one point in his life, he cried to Him over his "thorn in the flesh": "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).
So that's it!
Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me learn not to hate my weaknesses; instead, teach me to open them up to Your power.
Language: English | Espa�ol
All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 2
|
Luke | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Luke 5 |
|||
1. | AND it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth, | Factum est autem, cum turbæ irruerunt in eum ut audirent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genesareth. | εγενετο δε εν τω τον οχλον επικεισθαι αυτω του ακουειν τον λογον του θεου και αυτος ην εστως παρα την λιμνην γεννησαρετ |
2. | And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. | Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum : piscatores autem descenderant, et lavabant retia. | και ειδεν δυο πλοια εστωτα παρα την λιμνην οι δε αλιεις αποβαντες απ αυτων απεπλυναν τα δικτυα |
3. | And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship. | Ascendens autem in unam navim, quæ erat Simonis, rogavit eum a terra reducere pusillum. Et sedens docebat de navicula turbas. | εμβας δε εις εν των πλοιων ο ην του σιμωνος ηρωτησεν αυτον απο της γης επαναγαγειν ολιγον και καθισας εδιδασκεν εκ του πλοιου τους οχλους |
4. | Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. | Ut cessavit autem loqui, dixit ad Simonem : Duc in altum, et laxate retia vestra in capturam. | ως δε επαυσατο λαλων ειπεν προς τον σιμωνα επαναγαγε εις το βαθος και χαλασατε τα δικτυα υμων εις αγραν |
5. | And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net. | Et respondens Simon, dixit illi : Præceptor, per totam noctem laborantes nihil cepimus : in verbo autem tuo laxabo rete. | και αποκριθεις ο σιμων ειπεν αυτω επιστατα δι ολης της νυκτος κοπιασαντες ουδεν ελαβομεν επι δε τω ρηματι σου χαλασω το δικτυον |
6. | And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke. | Et cum hoc fecissent, concluserunt piscium multitudinem copiosam : rumpebatur autem rete eorum. | και τουτο ποιησαντες συνεκλεισαν πληθος ιχθυων πολυ διερρηγνυτο δε το δικτυον αυτων |
7. | And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. | Et annuerunt sociis, qui erant in alia navi, ut venirent, et adjuvarent eos. Et venerunt, et impleverunt ambas naviculas, ita ut pene mergerentur. | και κατενευσαν τοις μετοχοις τοις εν τω ετερω πλοιω του ελθοντας συλλαβεσθαι αυτοις και ηλθον και επλησαν αμφοτερα τα πλοια ωστε βυθιζεσθαι αυτα |
8. | Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. | Quod cum vidisset Simon Petrus, procidit ad genua Jesu, dicens : Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum, Domine. | ιδων δε σιμων πετρος προσεπεσεν τοις γονασιν ιησου λεγων εξελθε απ εμου οτι ανηρ αμαρτωλος ειμι κυριε |
9. | For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. | Stupor enim circumdederat eum, et omnes qui cum illo erant, in captura piscium, quam ceperant : | θαμβος γαρ περιεσχεν αυτον και παντας τους συν αυτω επι τη αγρα των ιχθυων η συνελαβον |
10. | And so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men. | similiter autem Jacobum et Joannem, filios Zebedæi, qui erunt socii Simonis. Et ait ad Simonem Jesus : Noli timere : ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. | ομοιως δε και ιακωβον και ιωαννην υιους ζεβεδαιου οι ησαν κοινωνοι τω σιμωνι και ειπεν προς τον σιμωνα ο ιησους μη φοβου απο του νυν ανθρωπους εση ζωγρων |
11. | And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him. | Et subductis ad terram navibus, relictis omnibus, secuti sunt eum. | και καταγαγοντες τα πλοια επι την γην αφεντες απαντα ηκολουθησαν αυτω |
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.