First reading Colossians 1:9-14
God has taken us out of the power of darkness
Ever since the day we heard about you, we have never failed to pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. You will have in you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to bear anything joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.
Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Responsorial Psalm 97(98):2-6
The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Gospel Luke 5:1-11
They left everything and followed him
Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.
When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.
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We worked hard and caught nothing
“Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.”. With these words, Peter revealed his frustration at having caught nothing despite working hard all night long.
Let us pause and allow these words to speak to our experiences. We live in a society that values achievements and results. Therefore, if someone does not perform and produce results, he/she is often regarded as a failure.
Interestingly, Jesus did not wait for Peter to have a successful catch before coming to encounter him. He met Peter precisely when he felt tired after a night of hard work with futile results and used this moment to draw Peter to Him. When Jesus told Peter to cast his nets for a catch, Peter did as he was told and had a fruitful catch.
In one way or another, we have experienced disappointments in life. Yet, Jesus draws us out of the loss and frustration and brings us deeper into an experience of faith. He tells us today, “Do not be afraid, I am here. Follow me!”
Question for reflection:
What is Jesus’ invitation to me as I pray with the passage?
