5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - 7/2/2016 - Gospel: Lk 5:1-11
Beyond appearances
Luke's Gospel gives a brief account on how Jesus called the first disciples and that makes the Gospel readers misunderstand how easy it was for the disciples of Jesus to make the life commitment to follow Jesus. Some may wonder would it be wise to make such a rash decision that involves a life time commitment. Would it be a risky business to commit to something which is very important without having much time considering the consequences because the call to follow is to leave everything behind to follow? It means to leave behind your family, friends and business to follow, a stranger and unknown Jesus. The first pair to make the commitment to follow was Andrew and his brother Simon, sons of Johanna and the second pair was James and his brother John, sons of Zebedee.
The gospel of St John told us that the call to follow was very important for them and these men had serious discussions before making the final commitment to follow. They had spent much time discussing in depth about the pros and cons of the possibility of becoming the disciples of Jesus. They had made no decision to follow after their very first encounter Jesus. There were several steps involved. First they listened to Jesus' preaching. Second they went and stayed with Jesus. Third they went home to tell their family members about Jesus. Fourth they took into consideration other relevant information about Jesus available for them at the time. Andrew was the disciple of John the Baptist. When John saw Jesus walking by John pointed out to his disciples that Jesus was the Messiah. Andrew was the disciple of John and his introduction about Jesus gave Andrew the idea that Jesus is the Messiah. Some of John's disciples- including Andrew- came and stayed overnight listening to Jesus. Andrew in his turned introduced Jesus to his brother Simon Peter. They probably had discussed in depth about the Messiah and when Jesus met them on the shore of Galilee, Simon Peter had no trouble to letting Jesus use his boat to stand in to preach to the crowd. Listening to Jesus' preaching gave him a deep impression and that gave him the confidence that his brother Andrew was right. Jesus is the Messiah. The miraculous of catching of a huge number of fish at an unusual time confirms to Simon Peter that Jesus, if He was not divine at least He must be a holy man. Before casting out the nets, Peter, the professional fisherman forewarned Jesus that there was no fish in the lake since we had netted at night and caught nothing but to obey you we do whatever you asked us to do. After the huge catch Simon Peter was on his knees made the confession saying:
Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man v.8.
The miracle made Simon Peter think that Jesus was a sinless man. Later on we know the reason for Simon Peter to follow Jesus. It wasn't the miraculous catch but Jesus' teaching made Simon Peter publicly confess, saying
Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life Jn 6,68
We ask Jesus to help us making the same confession as Peter did- you have the message of eternal life.
The gospel of St John told us that the call to follow was very important for them and these men had serious discussions before making the final commitment to follow. They had spent much time discussing in depth about the pros and cons of the possibility of becoming the disciples of Jesus. They had made no decision to follow after their very first encounter Jesus. There were several steps involved. First they listened to Jesus' preaching. Second they went and stayed with Jesus. Third they went home to tell their family members about Jesus. Fourth they took into consideration other relevant information about Jesus available for them at the time. Andrew was the disciple of John the Baptist. When John saw Jesus walking by John pointed out to his disciples that Jesus was the Messiah. Andrew was the disciple of John and his introduction about Jesus gave Andrew the idea that Jesus is the Messiah. Some of John's disciples- including Andrew- came and stayed overnight listening to Jesus. Andrew in his turned introduced Jesus to his brother Simon Peter. They probably had discussed in depth about the Messiah and when Jesus met them on the shore of Galilee, Simon Peter had no trouble to letting Jesus use his boat to stand in to preach to the crowd. Listening to Jesus' preaching gave him a deep impression and that gave him the confidence that his brother Andrew was right. Jesus is the Messiah. The miraculous of catching of a huge number of fish at an unusual time confirms to Simon Peter that Jesus, if He was not divine at least He must be a holy man. Before casting out the nets, Peter, the professional fisherman forewarned Jesus that there was no fish in the lake since we had netted at night and caught nothing but to obey you we do whatever you asked us to do. After the huge catch Simon Peter was on his knees made the confession saying:
Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man v.8.
The miracle made Simon Peter think that Jesus was a sinless man. Later on we know the reason for Simon Peter to follow Jesus. It wasn't the miraculous catch but Jesus' teaching made Simon Peter publicly confess, saying
Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life Jn 6,68
We ask Jesus to help us making the same confession as Peter did- you have the message of eternal life.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia