THE WORD
FIRST READING: Is 6,1-2.3-8
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment fi lling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered. One cried out to the other: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 15,1-11
Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fi t to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
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 fi sh and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
If you were a medical practitioner, how would you feel being taught by a farmer on the proper
way of practicing medicine? Or if you were a fisherman and instructed by a carpenter on the right way of fishing? This is the scenario of today’s Gospel. After having caught nothing, the fishermen were fixing there nets for the next fishing ventures, and here came Jesus, a carpenter, asking them to lower their nets again. After a very tiring night, without catching anything, they were asked by
Jesus to go fishing again. Simon’s initial response was that of hesitation. Probably, he was a bit sarcastic towards Jesus’ request because deep within, he knew from experience that such venture was but a waste of time. Fishing had been his trade and life and nobody could question his expertise there. But when he gave up his expertise and gave Jesus a chance in his heart, what happened next led to Simon’s conversion. Realizing the error of his ways, Simon immediately fell on his knees. His unbelief was replaced with conversion. On the experience God’s immense goodness and generosity, his doubts were replaced with faith.
We must, therefore, remember that none of us has the monopoly of the truth. Even if we are experts in our respective crafts, it is no guarantee that we possess the whole truth. That is why the Gospel for today reminds us to open our hearts and minds and be sensitive to God’s presence in our lives. Most of the time, God sends ordinary people, events or experiences so that we realize His presence. But sometime God’s ways are diffi cult to understand for He continuously works in mysterious ways. All we need is to look at everything from the eyes of faith so that we may become sensitive to His presence and to what He is telling us in our day to day life.
- Fr. Roger Solis, SVD | HNU, Bohol
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
