Sunday February 6, 2022

FIFTH SUNDAY of ORDINARY TIME

 

The Rich Word of God

It is fortunate that the new liturgy has opened the Bible for us. Not only do we hear it now in our own language but also the number and selection of texts read to us has improved immensely. No wonder many people now have a Bible and regularly read from it. Why do we read the Bible? Is it only to seek consolation in it or is it that we want to know God better, especially through encountering Jesus and his message? When we know God better, do we bring others closer to God? Jesus asks of us today to spread his word and message. Let us listen to him as he speaks to us.

 

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other,

Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.

The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said,

“Doom! It’s Doomsday!
    I’m as good as dead!
Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted—
    blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
    using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I’ve looked God in the face!
    The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!”

Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said,

“Look. This coal has touched your lips.
    Gone your guilt,
    your sins wiped out.”
And then I heard the voice of the Master:
    “Whom shall I send?
    Who will go for us?”
I spoke up,
    “I’ll go.
    Send me!”

 

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing

The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.

But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.

 

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.

When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”

Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. “Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.” When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon.

Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him.

 

Prayer                  
Holy God of our happiness,
you entrust your Good News of life
to weak and fallible people.
Keep us from discouragement
and give us the strength to speak your message
with the language of our life.
Let Jesus your Son work with us and in us,
that each of us may have the courage to say:
Here I am, Lord,
send me as your messenger
to share your glad tidings of happiness
with all willing to listen.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

 

God’s mercy is greater than our sins  

The Gospel tells us of the calling of Jesus’ first disciples on the shore of the lake of Galilee. On the shore are a group of disappointed fishermen. They have been working all night but caught nothing. Jesus walks up and gets on to the boat of Simon. Was it sheer coincidence that Jesus chose Peter’s boat? 

It is unlikely that someone could address a crowd on the shore while staying on a boat. It conveys a symbolic meaning. Although not a disciple of Jesus yet, Peter allows Jesus to use his boat as a podium. We often come across such acts of generosity from people who belong to other faiths. Many non-believers joyfully contribute to the mission of the Church – with their time, talents and treasure. 

Jesus wants Peter to “Put out to the deep and lower the nets for a catch.” Peter takes a considerable risk because if unsuccessful, he would be ridiculed by his colleagues. Human logic would suggest that daytime is not proper for fishing, but still, Peter prefers to obey. Peter’s behaviour deserves our reflection and learning.  Our life in the modern world is totally controlled by logic of the world and proven theories. We claim to have faith but refuse to take that leap into the darkness. 

Despite our faith in Jesus and years of life as Christians, do we not make fun of the simple faith of ordinary people? Peter listens to the Words of Jesus and simply obeys. We find such obedience in the lives of numerous biblical characters in the Old Testament and later in the lives of Mary, Joseph and the apostles. Abraham was clueless when he was called to leave his homeland and family, yet he obeyed. Similar was the case with Moses, the judges and the prophets. Mary and Joseph knew the gravity of the obedience, yet both of them said yes. And this is Peter’s moment of saying “Fiat.” 

The reaction of Peter follows a pattern. In the Bible, whoever received God’s call had similar reactions: – Moses – did not know how to speak, Jeremiah was too young, Isaiah was with unclean lips… examples are many. Peter falls to his knees and cries he is unworthy: “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” 

Peter has a particular task to carry out – to listen attentively to the Word of the Lord to save  the people from the depths of their sinfulness. People would die if they are left alone in the immense, deep, dark, and agitated sea of violence, hatred, war, and moral corruption.

And this is the mission of the Church – our mission to save the world from the depths of sin.  

“Do not be afraid. The Father’s mercy is greater than your sins!”

 

Video available on Youtube: God’s mercy is greater than our sins