HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Feb 6, 2022

1208

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (6:1-2a, 3-8)

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above.

They cried one to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!" At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said, "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!"

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8)

(R) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praise, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. (R)

Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R)

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth; and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord: "Great is the glory of the Lord." (R)

Your right hand saves me. The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (15:1-11)

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (5:1-11)

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he 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." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. 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. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

It has been four weeks since we started to study the gospel of the day each week. Let us briefly look back on what we have read so far. Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. After His baptism, Jesus went to the desert where He was tempted and then, He went and lived in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee.

One day He went to Cana with His mother and His disciples where He performed the first miracle of turning water into wine. Since then Jesus went around all the villages and towns preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing people. On one Sabbath day He went to the synagogue in his home town, Nazareth, but was strongly rejected by his own people. However, Jesus' teaching and works at other places had already attracted great crowds of people, and on this particular day, the gospel tells us that Jesus was standing and preaching to a crowd by the Lake of Gennesaret, which is also called the Sea of Galilee and the Lake of Tiberias. But the crowd had become so large that they were pressing Jesus and pushing Him towards the shoreline.

In the meantime, Jesus' disciples were on the boats washing off their nets after a long night of unsuccessful fishing. Because of the crowd Jesus got into one of the boats belonging to Simon and asked him to go further out so that the people could see and hear Him. After teaching the crowd, Jesus, who was a carpenter by trade directed Simon, probably an expert fisherman, to cast the net into deep water for a catch of fish. Jesus' instruction must have sounded strange in the ears of the disciples so Peter said to Jesus, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net."

This was Simon's great declaration of faith, and trust in Jesus' word. He ultimately obeyed Jesus and lowered his nets into the deep water as directed and caught such a great number of fish that their nets were breaking. The results of his obedience to Lord's instructions were so amazing that the miracle made Simon fall on his knees before Jesus and say, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Why did Simon say what he said? He said this because he did not feel worthy to stand in the presence of Jesus.

Peter's reaction is what we often see in the Bible as man's reaction to a face-to-face confrontation with God. For instance, when the prophet Isaiah (6:1-5) saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up he declared, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh." Job (42:5-6) reacted the same way. He said, "Before, I knew you only by hearsay but now, having seen you with my own eyes, I retract what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes." John in his book of Revelation (1:17) writes of his experience, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One.""

Like the prophet Isaiah, Job and John, Peter was also simply overwhelmed and astonished by the blessing and felt unworthy to be in the presence of the Lord. Of course Jesus did not go away. Instead Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." Imagine! Peter had just confessed to being a sinner, and testified to the greatness of the Lord. And the Lord responded with the assurance not to fear, and a promise that Peter and the others would become fishers of men. Perhaps Jesus saw Peter's fear of giving up his occupation as a fisherman to follow Him. Luke concludes the story with the disciples leaving everything and following Jesus: When they brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him, (Luke 5:11).

That is to say, the disciples responded with hearts overflowing with joy and the value of knowing Jesus. All of a sudden Jesus became more precious than anything else in the world. From then on Jesus stayed with Simon and the others, and they stayed with Jesus to do God's work.

What is the message for us?

Like Peter and the others in the gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ has called us not to be nominal Christians but to be His true disciples. Despite our good intentions and best efforts; we however, sometimes might fail in our dedication and commitment to Him. Perhaps, we too, like Peter, have lowered our nets many times but caught nothing. Sometimes feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, fears, anxieties, disappointments and frustration set in, and we are tempted to turn our backs on Jesus' hopes for us. There are times we see the way others live without Jesus and are tempted to turn away, and go back to our old ways. Yet, in these moments Jesus finds a way into our life and commands us to commit ourselves at a much deeper level than before and lower our nets once more.

Our Lord Jesus wants us to turn to Him and try once more. When we lower our nets; when we commit ourselves to the Lord and trust in Him, Jesus Christ in His graciousness and mercy, will fill our nets; our life with good and eternal things.

Therefore, first of all, as disciples of Jesus, let us seek to follow our Master and Lord Jesus above everything and everyone else. Secondly, let us remember that God has in store for us something far better, far more satisfying and much more lasting than anything this world has to offer. Thirdly, in the midst of frustration and fear, let us ask Jesus Christ for courage to persevere and trust that He will fill our empty nets with immeasurable treasures. Fourthly, when we experience the grace of Christ, let us be humble before Him, as He delights in bestowing grace to humble and contrite hearts.

Like Peter, if we acknowledge our unworthiness, we will also be used by Jesus for His work. The more humble we are as we walk with Jesus, the more He will manifest Himself to us and aid us in all our endeavors.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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