Category: Uncategorized

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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 signaled 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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What do we see when we look inside ourselves?

Do we see our strengths, our virtues, our faith? Or do we simply see our sins, all those areas in our lives where we fail?

What do you think God sees when he looks inside of us?

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In the Gospel, Peter says to Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

That’s what Peter sees inside himself: a sinful man.

But Jesus sees someone else: an experienced fisherman. A man with calloused hands, who understands the value of hard work, perseverance, problem solving, and teamwork. 

He sees a man who trusts. Although Peter caught no fish after working all night, he lowers his nets at Christ’s command.

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What a world of difference. 

Peter sees a sinner.

Jesus sees an opportunity. As weak as Peter may be, Jesus says, “From now on, I will make you a fisher of men.”

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So, what do we see when we look inside ourselves?

Hopefully the same thing the Lord does: a person like Peter, who can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

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Image credits: (1) PictureQuotes.com (2) Saint Peter, Guercino (3) Reddit

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Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44

“After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.

At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the worst parts about being sick is the sense of isolation that sets in. 

Despite the care of others, our world becomes increasingly small, as we we’re confined to our own room, to our own bed, and often to our own thoughts.

It can be a terribly lonely place.

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This is the type of isolation we find at work in the Gospel.

Peter’s mother-in-law is deathly ill, confined to her own room and her own thoughts.

Jesus arrives just in time. Taking her by the hand, he raises her up. In effect, he not only restores her health; he also lifts her out of the isolation that sickness brings. 

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It’s the type of healing that so many need on a daily basis – to be drawn out of the isolation that COVID, social distance, and our increasingly technological society brings.

It’s partly why some of us attend daily and Sunday Mass; why we make phone calls, text, or write letters. 

These simple, social activities are good for the soul.

But I wonder if we can think of anyone who remains sick in bed, so to speak. Someone who may feel isolated from the outside world.

Perhaps it’s a child who spent all of last year learning online and hasn’t readjusted; a parent or grandparent confined to a nursing home; a single mom working from home while raising her children.

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Today let’s be like Jesus and lift their spirits.

Make a call. Pay a visit. Write a letter. Send a text. Simple gestures that can create some semblance of community one person at time.

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Image credits: (1) Health Matters, New York Presbyterian (2) Healing Peter’s Mother-in-Law, John Bridges (3) Two Sides

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Luke 4: 16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

    The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
        because he has anointed me
            to bring glad tidings to the poor.
    He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
        and recovery of sight to the blind,
            to let the oppressed go free,
    and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you heard the story about the rock climber who was scaling a large mountain?

About halfway up… he slipped…barely catching himself with one hand! Dangling on the edge, he looked down, then up, and cried out, “Help! Is anybody there?”

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There was a period of silence.

Then, a voice whispered in his ear, “I am God. Though you cannot see it, there’s a ledge beneath you. Let go and you’ll land safely.” 

The climber yells out, “Is anybody else there?”

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This unfortunate climber prayed for an answer…and he got one! It’s just not the answer he expected.

Is there really a ledge beneath his feet? In order to find out, he’ll have to trust and let go.

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In the Gospel, the locals from Jesus’ hometown wrestle with his identity. “Is this not the son of Joseph?” they say. 

Could he also be the answer to their prayers? Could he be the long-awaited Messiah?

Like that rock climber dangling from a cliff, God is inviting the Jews to let go of their expectations, to take the risk and follow Jesus. He will lead them to God.

But first they must trust and let go.

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Maybe there’s a lesson in that for us.

Like that rock climber or the locals in today’s Gospel, sometimes the answer to our prayers isn’t what we expect.

“God wants me to walk through that door? He wants me to take that risk? To make that change? “

Suddenly, we’re not sure.

But our safest bet is to trust and let go.

God always places a ledge beneath our feet, even if it’s not what we’d expected.

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Image credits: (1) Alex Honnold, Free Solo (2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (3) Climbing in Wyoming