Fifth Sunday ordinary time C Luke 5,1-11

Jesus says not only to Simon on the Lake of Gennesaret, but also to us today: “Pull in the deep and let down your nets to fish” (Luke 5:4)!

The Evangelist St. Luke describes the event during which Jesus performed the miracle we call “the miraculous fishing.” Still, he especially points to the calling of Simon Peter and his companions when he tells Peter: “Do not be afraid, from now on, you will no longer fish for men” (Lk 5:10). It is a familiar incident from the Gospel, yet the text needs to be carefully analyzed because it shows how to find and believe in God. One must first believe in oneself, no one’s possibilities, and accept them as one’s own. After a time of rejoicing in his achievements, he must experience the bitterness of difficulties. He must lose hope in himself and know how limited his powers are. Peter was a good fisherman, but an unsuccessful night made him understand how little he could do. Fruitless labor is often an hour of self-knowledge. Only when a man has personally experienced faith’s stages and disappointment in himself can he embark on the third – of absolute faith in God. At the word of Jesus, Peter casts down the net. He catches several fish, but then he realizes that it is no longer about the fish but about his faith. He has set himself on the path of believing in God, and from that moment on, he will do everything he can not stray from that path. Yes, he will experience a moment of stumbling, but he will not leave the course. The word of the Master Jesus Christ will be decisive for him, especially since the Master will announce his threefold denial. People most typically identify their faith in God with faith in themselves. They conclude that faith is a doping agent, and he who experiences it personally will overcome it. At that point, the believer knows where he stands. And he recognizes the limits of his capabilities, but equally, from this, he acknowledges the help of Almighty God, for whom there are no impossible things. Man gains the certainty that it is not he but God who is working in him. Peter knew that it was not his success that many fish were caught, though he held the nets in his hands. He realized that this was the work of Jesus. Only faith will enable a person to participate in the works of God. A man remains weak, but he can cooperate with God. He does everything to stay obedient to God. “But at your word, I will let down my nets” (Luke 5:5). To identify belief in God with faith in oneself, and to take credit for one’s works, which are especially acutely manifested in the moment of self-doubt, is understood as doubting God. It happens that the doubter finds no meaning in life and reaches for suicide. Then self-belief becomes an invitation to believe in God. It is then that one embarks on the path of faith mediated by the Church or retreats from that faith and finds oneself in a state of even greater despair and hopelessness. If we want to participate in the miraculous fishing, there must be days during which our nets are empty. Still, God is not after full nets but to reveal the power of faith.

We will have many opportunities in life to test whether we trust God more than we trust other people or ourselves. John was offered a business. It was incredibly tempting because of the excellent return. In reviewing the materials, he found that it was against his morals. He didn’t question it. He did not accept the offer. Others paid the price. He became convinced that God was trusted more than others or himself.
The texts of today’s readings reveal to us the gift of vocation. We realize that behind the word “vocation,” we must not only understand the priestly or religious vocation but that every baptized person has received the gift of a vocation; even every person receives the assistance of a work to fulfill their human role. The Creator has endowed us with an immortal soul and called man to carry out the mission He has entrusted explicitly to man. True, man can reject this gift with his reason and free will. In so doing, however, he decides his reward or punishment. The fulfillment of this task depends on the degree of our openness to the voice of conscience in the events and decisions of each day. The more significant and sincere our inner relationship with God, the more quickly we will find the place and manner of responding to God’s address. The personalities in today’s readings are an example. We see a particular calling in the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. He sees the Lord seated on his throne in his glory and surrounded by a multitude that calls out to him: “Holy, holy, holy…” (Is. 6:3). Then Isaiah realizes, “Woe is me, yes, I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Is. 6:5). Every vocation begins with realizing the absolute gulf separating us from God and a sense of personal unworthiness. The prophet, however, has an experience. He writes: “And one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the altar, and touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips, your guilt is gone, and your sin is removed.” (Is. 6:6). The prophet realizes that he cannot say no to God.

On the contrary, the prophet responds to the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send, who will go for us?” And I said, “Behold, here am I; send me.” (Is. 6:8)! The prophet no longer hesitates whether he is worthy or not, but answers as God expects him to. In prayer, we too are to learn to give God a solution to our address to fulfill our vocation as a prophet, Christian, man, father… We are no longer to worry about whether we are worthy or not. Let our response conform with the will of God. We see similar behavior to that of Isaiah in the apostle Peter. No vocation can do without realizing how great the gulf is between us and God, the realization of our unworthiness. God will provide the strength to convince us. But our eyes must be open. Peter had them while working with the net. God will also give us signs, events, encounters… …when we can recognize that God has a mission for us, that he wants to entrust us with a task, admonish someone through us, guide us, educate us, to form us… We can also see an example in the Virgin Mary. She, too, does not feel worthy of a mission; she asks for an explanation from the angel. Only then does she say: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38). And we are to rejoice in this mission. Mary cries out in the hymn: “For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Lk 1,49).

Today we should choose or learn to do the will of God. It is suitable and beneficial for our souls to do so. We want to fulfill our mission in humility, for this is the first sign of faithfulness to God. Our model is St. Paul, who wrote: “For I am the least of the apostles. I am not worthy of being called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace was not in vain in me.” (1 Cor. 15:9-10). The apostle is aware of his grace on the road to Damascus. He lost his sight to regain it later, but at the same time to make his relationship with God have pretty different, qualitatively different values. The persecutor became the greatest of the apostles. This is also our memento. When we say “yes” to God, we can expect difficulties and crosses, but all this is what God wants us to accomplish his mission. What we do in union with God is meaningful. Peter and the apostles on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret left everything and followed him, and so each of us was given the example that we too are to leave everything that does not conform to his will for Christ’s sake. We are called according to God’s will.
That is how Dante Alighieri understood it. He made a lot of offense with his Comedy, to which he only later added the Divine, but he still had one goal. This poet, a strange theologian, felt called to seek the lost way for himself and others. He warned his contemporaries, “Seek, for you do not know when your Lord will come,” though, in several places, he did not take the suitable stand with the Church. In him, too, we see the duty of vocation. However, we must cooperate with God, and we can do this in various ways.
The minister said he faulted that he often thundered, shouted, and did much harm when dealing with the people. This angered him, and so he decided to fight against this evil. He wrote himself a card, “Dr. Impatient,” and asked his secretary to bring it to him as soon as he heard that he was impolite to a visitor. This made an impression. Whenever there was too much noise in the adjoining room, the secretary would get up, walk into the room, and hand the card to the minister. The latter read “Dr. Impatient” and immediately calmed down.
The same bank manager heard about it and was easily angry and scolded them. “Excellent idea!” He thought, “I’ll write myself a card like that too.” And since he went to church, he wrote down something spiritual: “Your brother.”
It helped him, too. Let us consider what we will do to stand in our calling.