The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today identify some of the obstacles and the source of our strength to fulfil our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians declares the Role of God’s Ministers.
* [3:21–23] These verses pick up the line of thought of 1 Cor 1:10–13. If the Corinthians were genuinely wise (1 Cor 3:18–20), their perceptions would be reversed, and they would see everything in the world and all those with whom they exist in the church in their true relations with one another. Paul assigns all the persons involved in the theological universe a position on a scale: God, Christ, church members, church leaders. Read from top to bottom, the scale expresses ownership; read from bottom to top, the obligation to serve. This picture should be complemented by similar statements such as those in 1 Cor 8:6 and 1 Cor 15:20–28. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 24 celebrates Entrance into the Temple
* [Psalm 24] The Psalm apparently accompanied a ceremony of the entry of God (invisibly enthroned upon the ark), followed by the people, into the Temple. The Temple commemorated the creation of the world (Ps 24:1–2). The people had to affirm their fidelity before being admitted into the sanctuary (Ps 24:3–6; cf. Ps 15). A choir identifies the approaching God and invites the very Temple gates to bow down in obeisance (Ps 24:7–10).
* [24:4–5] Lit., “the one whose hands are clean.” The singular is used for the entire class of worshipers. (Psalms, PSALM 24 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Calls the First Disciples.
* [5:1–11] This incident has been transposed from his source, Mk 1:16–20, which places it immediately after Jesus makes his appearance in Galilee. By this transposition Luke uses this example of Simon’s acceptance of Jesus to counter the earlier rejection of him by his hometown people, and since several incidents dealing with Jesus’ power and authority have already been narrated, Luke creates a plausible context for the acceptance of Jesus by Simon and his partners. Many commentators have noted the similarity between the wondrous catch of fish reported here (Lk 5:4–9) and the post-resurrectional appearance of Jesus in Jn 21:1–11. There are traces in Luke’s story that the post-resurrectional context is the original one: in Lk 5:8 Simon addresses Jesus as Lord (a post-resurrectional title for Jesus—see Lk 24:34; Acts 2:36—that has been read back into the historical ministry of Jesus) and recognizes himself as a sinner (an appropriate recognition for one who has denied knowing Jesus—Lk 22:54–62). As used by Luke, the incident looks forward to Peter’s leadership in Luke-Acts (Lk 6:14; 9:20; 22:31–32; 24:34; Acts 1:15; 2:14–40; 10:11–18; 15:7–12) and symbolizes the future success of Peter as fisherman (Acts 2:41).
* [5:11] They left everything: in Mk 1:16–20 and Mt 4:18–22 the fishermen who follow Jesus leave their nets and their father; in Luke, they leave everything (see also Lk 5:28; 12:33; 14:33; 18:22), an indication of Luke’s theme of complete detachment from material possessions. (Luke, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly comments that all the fishermen were extremely impressed, that is certain, but they must have also felt some fear. Simon Peter so much so that he fell to the ground at the feet of Jesus in repentance for his lack of belief. Yet, Jesus took away that fear with just his word and all the fishermen there that day immediately followed Jesus’ next directive to follow him and be catchers of men. That was a powerful experience and directive!
What is in this for me? For you? I think Jesus is saying let us not let our fear of failure or our lack of confidence in our own goodness stop us from sharing the good news of Christ with others. We need not be perfect or wise. In fact, no one dares boast of such vanity and foolishness. Today I pray that we hear the words of Jesus say, “Do not be afraid.” And “from now on” we can all do so much more. (Dilly, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “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 in 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 in a fitting and clear fashion. By these words he is able to save not creatures but souls. 'We toiled all night,' he says, 'and took nothing.' Peter, who beforehand was unable to see in order 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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 5:1-11 comments that the lesson Peter learned can change our lives, too. Our own efforts, like Peter’s unsuccessful night of fishing, can get us only so far. But when we listen to and obey Jesus, as Peter did, we allow him and his grace into our lives. We open ourselves to new and unexpected ways that he might want to work in and through us.
So where do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Are you dealing with a troubled child? Invite Jesus into the situation and ask him to give you his peace or maybe even to give you the right words to say to your son or daughter. Are you feeling exhausted as you wrestle with a difficult situation at work? Put it in Jesus’ hands and let him guide you through the obstacles. Are you dejected as you struggle once again with a persistent sin pattern? Abandon yourself to Jesus and let him forgive you and raise you up.
As you yield to Jesus and offer him your self-reliance, he will show you that he can bless and provide, even when your efforts seem to come up empty.
“Lord, I give you all the ways I rely on myself. Help me to receive your grace.” (Meditation on Luke 5:1-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the message of Paul likely to the Gnostics who considered themselves to be recipients of special revelation and superiority that Jesus is the centre of our relationship with God. Jesus directs Peter to take the boat away from the natural amphitheater where He preached to fish in the warm water of the lake even after the fish had gone to depths beyond the reach of his nets. Friar Jude reminds us that attraction and fear are human reactions to phenomena that are beyond our understanding and control.
Brian McLaren considers how paying attention to tortoises is a form of love.
I know that both Jesus and Saint Paul said that our faith would save us. And I get that. But I wonder if it is equally true to say that if we are to be saved, it will not be by faith alone but by love as well. After all, didn’t Jesus say that love is the one greatest command, and didn’t Paul say that without love, nothing else we have (including faith that moves mountains) amounts to a hill of beans?… Maybe love includes as a given the kind of faith that really matters. That would certainly be the case if another voice in the New Testament was correct when he said, without qualification, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16).
Could that be why … [many people] join one another, and perhaps even join their Creator, in loving these creations, these tortoises…?
I gaze with human benevolence and with a deeper human awareness … of our profound, inescapable kinship.
I gaze with love.
And somehow, the world is made a little better. (McLaren, n.d.)
We seek the Holy Spirit to resolve the tension between the social and political philosophies of our time and the limitations that result from human ego and selfishness and our mission with Jesus to be “fishers of People”.
References
Dilly, B. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/
Luke, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?1
McLaren, B. (n.d.). Looking is an Act of Love. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/looking-is-an-act-of-love/
Meditation on Luke 5:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/09/05/1067135/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/3?18
Psalms, PSALM 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/24?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Will Catch People for the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=sep5
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