MY daily reflection and prayer:
Sunday, February 7, 2016
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Luke 5:1-11
While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
IN last week’s reading (Luke 4:21-30), we met Jesus Christ who taught the people in the synagogue of Nazareth. Today we read that he has a great crowd around him by the lake and he teaches them there.
We can imagine that for these people, lake is everything. It is water, fish, food, transportation, an object of beauty and contemplation. But for Jesus Christ it can also reveal the mysteries of faith and the divine plan! By the lake, he wants to help us understand so many things that are a part of our daily lives in the perspective of faith.
First of all, Jesus Christ teaches us by stepping into Simon’s boat and asking him for a simple task, “Put out a short distance from the shore and put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” With this words, Jesus wants to teach us an important lesson.
Simon’s reaction to Jesus might be also ours. Of course Simon knew better about the lake than Jesus. So it’s normal when he said, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
Simon was wearied from a night of fruitless toil, but he nonetheless did what the Jesus told him to do. So he said, “At your word I will let down the nets.” Here we learn to hear Jesus’ word and to receive his command, even when we meet disappointment and failure. Jesus eventually asks us for something that demands faith and may go against our personal comfort.
Secondly, Jesus Christ wants to teach us about humility and obidience to witness the joy of the Gospel. When Jesus Christ does something marvelous in our life as he did in the life of Simon, we may respond him saying, “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
But Jesus calls us to witness the joy of the Gospel. He will say as well to each of us, “Do not be afraid. You will be catching men.”
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist while worshipping Jesus Christ we learn to put out a short distance from the shore and put out into the deep of our life. There we also want to listen his words and to do his will.
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, as we begin this reflection, we feel you have stepped into our boat of life. We put out a short distance from shore, away from all our daily concerns, to listen to you alone. May we be truly humbled and grateful that you would spend so much personal time with us in the Blessed Sacrament now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
