1 Cor 3:18-23 / Luke 5:1-11
St. John Vianney was considered a dunce, a bit stupid or budhu as we
say in India by his schoolteachers. The only reason he got through the seminary
was that he was pushed through. When he arrived at his first parish, the
pastor thought him too stupid to preach. But the bishop had more insight. He
moved the young priest and made him pastor of a small village called Ars.
The young priest did such a remarkable job that people began coming
from all over France and beyond to hear him preach and to be absolved by him in
the sacrament of Reconciliation. St. John was canonized in 1925 and made
patron of parish priests. He is a living example that the world's wisdom is
nonsense in God's sight.
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Introduction: Below the surface of Paul’s ironical
remark there is a great problem: The problem of nature and grace, of
human and divine truth. There is no conflict between human wisdom and
divine truth. There may be a conflict of wisdom that excludes God and
wants only to bolster human pride in a philosophy that does not take
the orientation of its statements from the Word of God. These philosophers
do not bother that God is not convinced by their argument. God has given
man the intellect to think with, and to think correctly. Grace - and
the Word of God - does not destroy nature, it accepts nature and perfects it.
The greater the gifts of nature, the more can God’s grace perfect. God has
accepted human nature and perfections when he became man in Christ. "We
belong to Christ and Christ to God".
***
How do we tend to evaluate people— by the world's standards or by God's
standard? " 'My thoughts,' says the LORD, 'are not like yours; and my
ways are different from yours.' " Isaiah 55:8
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It is not that easy to always do what you are told. From our childhood
days, whenever we are told to do something, especially something we don't
really like, we have a tendency to question and to argue. More so when we think
we know what is right, then all the more we wouldn't want others to tell us
what to do. And it would be also more likely that we would be telling others
what to do.
In the gospel, Peter faced a situation of a carpenter-preacher telling him, a professional fisherman, where to fish. There is a tinge of protest when Peter said they had worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But he was also submissive enough to do what Jesus told him to. Peter was open enough to do as Jesus instructed maybe because he had earlier heard Jesus preaching from his boat. There was something spiritual in what Jesus said that echoed in the depths of his being that he decided to do what Jesus told him. And it was a decision that led to a revelation.
For Peter it was a revelation of divine wisdom, and that was proven by the great catch of fish. And as the 1st reading tells us, if we think we are wise in the ordinary sense of the word, then we would probably have missed the moments of revelation of divine wisdom. Even though we may be competent enough to know what we are doing, let us also be like Peter and to be open to what Jesus wants to reveal to us. Wisdom is to know that we don't know everything, and that many a time our ways are not God's ways. May we be humble enough to keep learning what Jesus is teaching us.
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Reflection: Jesus methodically prepares the
establishment of the Church. His sermons and miracles have this one aim. Jesus
clearly knows what he is aiming at, Peter is not aware of it. In the synagogue,
he witnessed the exorcism of the possessed. In his own house, he was present
for the cure of his mother-in-law, and in the evening, in front of his house he
saw how Jesus healed the sick. And now, Jesus preached from the boat of Peter.
Peter is near to Jesus and distant from the people. Two demands Jesus holds out
and makes him do. He demands obedience of faith, especially when it is
difficult for Peter to obey. "Put out your nets for a catch". His
experience told Peter the time was wrong. Yet, he obeyed. "If you say
so", he said. There followed the miraculous catch. The second thing he
wants: his disciple must be convinced of his place before God. He is a sinful
man before the all-holy God. This is called humility. Once Jesus is sure of
these two attitudes, he can send him. He sent him to be a fisher of men, the
task of the missionary. Missionaries are often told by their government there
can be no mass conversion. Jesus did not share this opinion. Jesus taught them
to fish with the net, not only with the hook. "They left everything and
followed him."
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Let us pray:
Holy God of our happiness, you entrust your good news of life to weak
and fallible people. Fill us with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may
be ready to speak your message with the language of our life. Let Jesus your
Son work with us and in us, so that each of us may have the courage to say: Here I
am, Lord, send me as your messenger to share your glad tidings of happiness with
all who are willing to listen. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
