The
Power of His Word
Lk
5: 1 – 11
Fifth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Introduction
The Gospel today narrates to us Simon Peter’s great haul of
fish after Jesus told him to go into deep water and lower his nets for a catch.
This miracle moved Simon and his companions so much that they left everything
to follow Jesus.
The
Gospel
It was one of those days when Jesus was preaching by the
Lake of Genesaret. There was a crowd there that pressed on him as they listened
to him preach. Then Jesus saw two boats that were alongside the lake; the
fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Luke then tells us that
Jesus gets into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon.
Jesus asked Simon to put out a short distance from the
shore. Jesus then sat down and from there began to teach the crowd. After Jesus
had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “ Put out into deep water and lower
your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply: “ Master we have worked hard all
night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”
They did as Jesus told them to. Then lo and behold, when
they have lowered their nets, they caught a great number of fish. The catch was
so great that their nets began to tear. They signaled to their partners in the
other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they
were in danger of sinking.
Luke then tells us that when Simon Peter saw this, he fell
at the knees of Jesus and said: “ Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man.”
Everyone was astounded at the catch of fish they had made including James and
John, the sons of Zebedee who were partners of Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “ Do not be afraid;
from now on, you will be catching men.” When the men reached the shore, they
left everything and followed Jesus.
Reflection
It must have been quite an exhausting experience for Simon
Peter and his companions to have spent the whole night fishing without catching
anything. At the break of dawn, they headed back to shore. There as they moved
towards the shore, they see a large crowd standing by the side of the lake. Unmindful
of the crowd, they clean their boats and wash their nets as they hear a certain
Jesus preaching to the crowd.
They must have heard something about Jesus. Judging from
the size of the crowd that was there, one could tell how popular Jesus was. But
Peter and the rest were just too exhausted to give any attention to Jesus or
the crowd. After a disappointing night
at sea, all they wanted was to finish off washing their nets and head back
home.
But without any notice, Jesus makes contact with them. He
gets into Simon Peter’s boat and asks to be put off some distance from the
shore from where he could preach. Then after speaking to the crowd, he speaks
to Simon and tells him to go out into the deep to cast their nets. Then the
rest is history.
This story tells us not only about the miracle of the great
haul of fish but more importantly, it tells us also how God gets in touch with
us in a very deep and personal way even without us intending to reach out to
him.
Just like Peter and the rest who all felt exhausted and disappointed,
unmindful of the crowd and unmindful of Jesus, we too just want to move on with
our usual lives at the end of each disappointing day. During these times,
nothing seems to get our attention, not even the presence of God in our midst.
We just want to get over things and get back to our usual routine.
But all that changes when the Lord takes the initiative to
meet us and sets up his encounter with us. He meets us at a time when we feel
so much disappointed and frustrated, much in the way Jesus engineered the time
of his encounter with Peter. The Lord’s encounter with Peter was a time when
Peter candidly told the Lord that he has labored hard all throughout the night
and has caught nothing. Peter’s frustrations reflect our own frustrations in
life. Each day, we give so much of our best yet the best that we have given
have yielded nothing. It is indeed humbling to know that we can only do so much
despite our best efforts.
But just like Peter, we encounter the Lord in his word. When Peter heard Jesus
saying: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” it was
Peter’s encounter with Jesus in his word. This word told him what to do: to go
out into the deep and lower the nets. This word told him to do what he has been
doing all along (which was to fish), but this time, animated and directed by
the word that has been spoken by Jesus.
It was Peter’s obedience to this word that gave him a great
haul of fish that far exceeded what he had ever imagined. The Gospel speaks of
such overwhelming haul, saying: “They came and filled both boats so that they
were in danger of sinking.” It is the
word of God, obeyed, that brings success to our ordinary daily efforts.
Obeying God’s word, however, did not only bring success and
reversal to Peter’s disappointments and frustrations. The great haul of fish
which was a result of his obedience to the word made Simon Peter realize his sinfulness.
He told the Lord : “ Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man.” It seems
indeed but natural that all who come close to the divine realize their
sinfulness.
Many prophets of old like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel all felt unworthy as they encountered God who was Holy. Peter had the
same experience and it will not be surprising that it too can become our own
experience as we see ourselves unworthy when the Lord comes to take his own
initiative to encounter and meet us in a deep and personal way.
But the final result of Peter’s encounter with Jesus in his
word is discipleship. The gospel ends by telling us that Simon Peter, James and
John, left everything and followed the Lord. Ultimately, our encounter with the
Lord who meets us results in discipleship.
When we meet the Lord and encounter him in a deep and
personal way, we are led to a time in our life when we finally make a decision
to leave everything in order to follow Jesus. To leave the old ways, in order
to embrace a new life in Jesus is the result of a real encounter with the Lord
who has given us meaning in our life.
Prayer
Dear Lord, you come to me in moments when I get
disappointed and frustrated over the course of my life. Surprisingly, you meet
me there when I am most vulnerable and helpless, when I lose a sense of meaning
in life.
Despite of all this, you fill my life with so much
blessings. Just like Peter’s own experience, you give me blessings that simply
overwhelm me.
Lead me Lord to make a decision in life to follow you just
like what Peter and the rest did after the great haul of fish. Amen.
“
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. “ – Psalm 119:105
For reflections like this,
visit my blog: thevineyardlaborer.blogspot.com
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