If you follow me, I’ll make you fishers of men
Introduction
Paul again warns his people against relying on human wisdom rather than on the “foolishness” of God and against giving in to division.
Simon Peter and his companions were amazed that an ‘outsider’ in fishing mastery could tell them where to catch plenty of fish when they, fishermen by profession, had been unsuccessful. This man with a striking message was indeed extraordinary. They were caught in his spell and followed him. Later, they would put out into deep water, that is, they would risk and dedicate their life for Jesus and “catch people” to put them in the spell of Jesus’ message and life.
1 Reading 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Brothers and sisters:
Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Responsorial Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (1) To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his saviour.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Alleluia Matthew 4:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Luke 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.
Commentary
“Duc in altum!” Jesus ordered Simon. “Put out into deep water!” What did Simon do? He agreed to do so, because Jesus commanded it. He caught such a large number of fish that his net began to break. He had to call for help. He also realized the extent of his own sinfulness and begged Jesus to leave him. Fortunately, Jesus would not; instead, he would ask Simon to follow him.
Putting out into the deep can be dangerous. The depths are unchartered territories. You never know what resides in the depths, and what sins—yours and others’—would surface when you explore the depths in yourself and in other people. Your nets—the resources you have—may begin to break. You will be forced to call for help, even from your competitors. The catch you make could be a mixture of good, bad, and ugly fish. Is it all worth the risk? It is, if we do so at the command of Jesus.
Mother Teresa died yesterday. She could have ignored Jesus’s command to put out into the deep—“Come, be my light!”—and remained within the safe confines of her Loreto convent. But she dared, like Peter, to put out into the deep. And how it changed her life, and ours!
Blessing
The Lord entrusts to you his word and his body. Go now, speak his word and be his body to the world. May the Lord bless you, that you may be a blessing to all, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!