February 6th 2022.  Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Lk 5:1-11

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   Lk 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 signalled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats 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.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. It is natural to become aware of our own sinfulness when we experience the presence of God

On this fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we read Luke’s account of the miraculous catch of fish that corresponds with the call of Peter.  The first reading tells of the call of Isaiah and his sense of inadequacy before the holiness of God. He describes himself as a man of impure lips who dwells among a people of impure lips. How do we resolve this confrontation between the holiness of God and our sinfulness? The natural reaction when we experience the greatness, power and holiness of God, is to run away. Peter, in fact, says,  “Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man”. In truth, no human being, once he has experienced the wonder and love of God, could consider himself to be worthy to stand in his presence. Let us consider, however, the various steps in this journey of discernment by Simon Peter as recounted in the narrative.

2. The call to mission only follows our reception and openness to the word of God

The first point is that Jesus has just spoken to the people from Peter’s boat. Thus Peter too has listened to the word of God. Every call to mission (which is what is just about to happen to Peter) only occurs after we have listened to God’s word. It does not originate in our own desires but only after we have been visited from without by the word of God in some form. Then Jesus makes a strange request: he asks Peter to go back to his own activity AFTER he has received this word. Peter admits that he had been fishing all night without result, but upon Jesus’ word he throws out the nets. This is typical of Peter. Despite his tiredness, despite failure, despite the apparent futility of the act, he still takes Christ at his word. Here we have a paradigmatic act of faith: to move from reliance on one’s own capacities and beliefs to reliance on the one in whom we place our trust. The resultant catch of fish is so great that they have to get help to bring it ashore. The fruit of faith is always expansive! Two boatloads are filled. The faith of one person can bear fruit for many others.

3. Once we trust God in the little stories of our lives, then we enter into the great story that he is inviting us to.

Peter had shown himself to be open to this activity of God, but once the great result happens, he immediately feels inadequate. Like the prophet Isaiah, and in common with all of us, once we realize that God is at work in our lives, we realize that this is something that we have not merited. But Jesus does not listen to Peter’s protest of insufficiency.  Rather,  he tells him that he will do things that are even greater; he will become a fisher of men. This Sunday, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we are reminded to conform ourselves to the word in order to become God’s word. We drink in God’s word, then we return to the things we usually do (as St Peter returned to fishing), but now basing ourselves on the Lord’s word, with the result that we live according to a much greater dimension of things. Our activity is transformed into greatness, into mission. This requires, however, that we listen to the word and are obedient to it. Without this step, nothing will happen. If Peter had said,  “Lord you have spoken well, but I know there are no fish out there”, then he would have remained as he was. But Peter enters into greatness and glory with a simple act of trust. The little acts of trust that the Lord asks of us are portals through which we enter into the great story of the mission he calls us to – little acts of faith in order to enter into a life according to the faith.

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

Jesus tells Peter to cast his nets. Peter says there is no point because he has fished all night without catching anything, but he obeys anyway and the result is a huge catch of fish. Then Peter falls on his knees before Jesus and says, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” This statement is accurate insofar as Peter is right about his own misery. But he is wrong to conclude that such misery entails that the Lord cannot do anything with him. How often we are inclined to think that our poverty rules us out of God’s kingdom. The opposite is the case! It is only when we realise our faults that the Lord is able to work effectively within us. Instead of our desolation being a minefield for the Lord, it is actually the fertile ground for him to do marvellous deeds. How many Christians do not hand the reins of their lives over to God because they are convinced that they can manage by themselves! For Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus and countless others, the path to new life begins with the realisation of the inconsistencies of our old way of life. The Miserere (psalm 51) expresses this point well: “My sacrifice a contrite spirit, a humbled contrite heart you will not spurn”. New life is only possible for whoever allows the Holy Spirit to take the wheel because he is finally convinced that he cannot manage by himself. New life begins for me when I acknowledge that Jesus Christ, and not myself, is the Lord of my life.