Bible
Study: Isaiah 6, 1 to 2 and 3 to 8. 1st
Corinthians 15, 1 to 11. And Luke 5, 1 to 11.
Somehow,
our readings today continue from those of last two Sundays in that they are all
related to theme of the power and efficacy of the WORD OF GOD. Two Sundays ago,
we had Ezra reading the word of God to the people which made them cry, last
Sunday, we saw Jesus explaining the word of God to his people and they reacted
violently because the word of God contains certain bitter truths. Today, Jesus
proves to us that beneath the bitterness of that word, beneath the senselessness
so to say, lies the keys to all that troubles us. If only we can quieten our natural
human reasoning and just obey God words as they are, our life would be much
easier and richer.
Haven been
rejected from his home town and his own country, Jesus moves on. Failure can be
very painful at times. There are many of us here who have allowed our dreams
die all because our attempts at actualising them were absolute failures. Peter
and his team worked all through the night and caught nothing. They did
everything necessarily for success, they worked as hard as they could at the
best time for the job but despite all their TOILING, they failed woefully.
The
following morning, the group of disappointed fishermen are busy calculating their
losses and Jesus comes along and borrows one of their boats to preach God’s
word. Only for Jesus to finish preaching and issue a command to Peter. It
really felt like a joke when Jesus said: “Put out into the deep and let down
your nets for a catch.” God’s words often come to us as a joke. At times, it
feels as if what God is demanding from us is unreasonable and impossible. For
instance, I once met a man who told me that the success of his business is his
ability to tell lies. For him, the day he stops telling lies is the day his business
will crumble. Can you imagine that? But, aren’t we also guilty?
In fact,
the truth is that we never bother to read God’s words at all because we feel it
is incapable of putting food on our table. We would rather read five different
newspapers despite their tiny letterings but we never have time for the Bible.
And when we manage to hear God’s word read to us in Church, we simply amuse
ourselves with it. The preaching goes into one ear and comes out of the other
and even before we leave the Church, we have already made plans on what we
would do completely contrary to the word of God we have just heard.
Of course,
fishes do not come out during the day, not even when there are so many people
in the shore but that is precisely the time Jesus is giving the command. Of
course, people who do business tell lies to succeed, but Jesus is saying: “Be
truthful.” When the world gives a recipe for success, we always find God’s word
at the other end saying the direct opposite. When the world is facing a sexual
revolution, God’s word insists our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. When
the world speaks about aiming high and making others worship you, God’s word
says, the greatest must be the least. When our society today celebrates stealing
and corruption, God’s word is saying: “be content with only that which is
rightfully yours.”
It takes
trust to even listen to God, not to mention obeying because it doesn’t often make
sense. But the choice is ours! Either to trust God and obey or we follow what
the world says and continue our toiling! It is either we actually let down our
nets for a catch or we fold up our nets and tell Jesus that he doesn’t know
what he is saying. Come to think of it, what is the point toiling and toiling
for nothing when God has a better option for us? Check out what God says to us
in Psalm 127, verses 1 to 2: Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build
it labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays
awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating
the bread of anxious toil; while he showers gifts on his beloved while they
sleep.”
Peter
replied Jesus, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word
I will let down the nets.” Mark these words: AT YOUR WORD I WILL.... Let it
become your personal motto. Say to yourself: From this day henceforth, I will
do only that which God’s word demand of me; I will obey God before anything
else; I will keep his commandments; I will do what he tells me. I bet that like
Peter, if only we really obey God’s words, we would be amazed at the outcome. Of
course, God loves us and has given us his word out of his love for our good. No
one who loves you will give you an instruction that can destroy you. But each
time we disobey God, we put his love to question. It is like Peter saying to
Jesus: “You are asking me to put my nets into the deep so that people can laugh
at me, abi?” Every sin is a testimony of our mistrust. How do you feel when
someone you love so much disobeys you?
Last
Sunday, our first reading was about how God called of Jeremiah, today we are
reading about the call of Isaiah. For each of these two great prophets, there
was a sense of unworthiness for the mission. Jeremiah complained about his
youthful age, Isaiah complained about having unclean lips and living among
people of unclean lips. Even Peter today complained about being a sinner and
Paul in our second reading considered himself the smallest of the apostles
because he was once a persecutor of the Church. The summary of it all is that
God does not call the qualified, rather he qualifies (completes, adds to and
betters) the called.
You do not
need to be perfect to become a fisher of men but the moment you say “Yes” to
the call by obeying the word, God fills you with something extra. An angel
touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal and granted him absolution of his
sins. In the case of Jeremiah, God gave him a courageous heart and he spoke
doom fearlessly even in the face of persecution. Paul was empowered by a visit
of our Lord as he noted: “Last of all he (Jesus) appeared to me… by the GRACE
of God, I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain. Peter left
fishing and became the First Pope, even to this very day, he continues fishing
for men through the church.
This is
what obedience to the word does. It makes us do the impossible! A man with unclean
lips became the greatest prophet to announce the coming Messiah such that in
the life of Jesus, we see a word-for-word fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecies. No
amount of toiling would have achieved this. Because Paul agreed to obey God’s
word, he who was so unqualified by virtue of his past became the greatest
achiever among the apostles as he said in the second reading, “I worked harder
than any of them…” So true, more than half of the entire New Testament comes
from Paul’s own handwriting.
So much
happens when we obey the word. If only we would listen to God today and agree
to put down our nets for a catch, we would see that all our toiling in life is
useless.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, may I obey rather than amuse myself with your word. Even when it does
not make sense to me, help me to drop reason and believe. Even when the world
says the opposite, help me to listen only to you. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you. Happy Sunday.
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