Leaving everything implies a question

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Green Is 6:1-2,3-8 / Ps 138: 1-2. 2-3. 4-5. 7-8 (1c) / Gal 15;1-11 / Lk 5:1-11

1ST Reading Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the Temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: two to cover the face, two to cover the feet and two to fly with. They were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with his Glory!” At the sound of their voices the foundation of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among the people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth,” Then one of the seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

2nd Reading 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Let me remind you, brother and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain. In the first placed, I have passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scriptures says; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles. And last of all, he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and the grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me. Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and which you have believed.

Gospel Luke 5:1-11

One day, as Jesus stood by the lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belong to Simon, and ask him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat and continued to teach the crowd. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a 5 catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking. Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” for he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

Reflection

“After preaching to the multitudes on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret with Peter’s boat as his pulpit, Jesus told Peter to set out to deeper waters for a catch of fish. When we hear the call of God to do something which goes against our natural inclination, we are tempted to compromise our obedience in several ways. We are tempted to be guided by our friends or by our own experiences instead if what Gods says. God may ask you to try again even if you have failed in the past. Will you allow past failure to keep you from following the Lord? Simon and his companions needed to learn that obedience to Jesus should not hinge upon favourable circumstances. Will you allow circumstances to dictate your obedience to Jesus?

When Peter and his companions did Jesus’ bidding, there was a miraculous catch of fish. On seeing this, Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” At first, his request seems strange, that he would ask Jesus to leave. This new revelation of the power and glory of Jesus has given Peter an acute sense of his own sinfulness. Peter was not really trying to get rid of Jesus. He was simply overcome with a sense of his own unworthiness. As our knowledge of Jesus deepens, we come to realize our sinfulness. Then a consciousness of our sin drives us to him for only he can save us.

Jesus told Peter that his future business would not be catching fish, bringing them from life to death, but catching people, bringing them from death to life. On pulling their boat to shore, Peter and his companions left everything and followed Jesus. The word “followed” in the gospel signifies the deepest inward attachment to Jesus. "Leaving everything implies a question. Must all disciples leave everything for their vocation to serve Jesus? I do not think so. Not everyone is called into full-time ministry. The important element is that the call to walk with Jesus takes a priority, so that we are prepared to be whatever whenever God calls us to be.