Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men

he Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C 

Collect 

Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Is 6:1-2a, 3-8

Here I am! Send me.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah

In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
   with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above.

They cried one to the other.
   “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
   and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
   living among a people of unclean lips;
   yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
   holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it.
   “See, now that this has touched your lips,
   your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
   “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

R. :

℟. (1c) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
   for you have heard the words of my mouth;
   in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name.

℟. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Because of your kindness and your truth;
   for you have made great above all things
   your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
   you built up strength within me.

℟. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
   when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
   “Great is the glory of the LORD”

℟. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Your right hand saves me.
   The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
   forsake not the work of your hands.

℟. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Second Reading
1 Cor 15:1-22 or 15:3-8, 11

So we preached and so you believe.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
   of the gospel I preached to you,
   which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
   if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
   unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
   that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
   that he was buried;
   that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;
   that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
   most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
   then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
   he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles,
   not fit to be called an apostle,
   because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
   and his grace to me has not been ineffective
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
   not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
   so we preach and so you believed.

Or: [Shorter Form]

Brothers and sisters,
I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
   that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
   that he was buried;
   that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;
   that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
   most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
   then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
   he appeared to me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
   so we preach and so you believed.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 4:19

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come after me
and I will make you fishers of men.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Lk 5:1-11

They left everything and followed Jesus.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

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 they 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.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

Ordinary time invites us to celebrate the call Jesus makes for us to follow him. Jesus seeks us where we are at, in our daily lives, sometimes when we are tired and struggling in the sea of life. Jesus found Simon and the other fishermen at the Lake of Gennesaret, cleaning their nets after toiling throughout the night without catching anything. After Jesus climbed into Simon’s boat, He asked Simon to put the boat out a little way from the shore so He could teach the people from the boat. Similar to Jesus’ time, today there is also hunger for a Word that sustains the soul, that consoles and inspires the heart. In our day, Jesus also needs generous hearts to continue to spread His message. Do you have room for Jesus in your boat? Are you prepared to disconnect from the noise of this world and allow Him to work in you and prepare you for the mission he has planned for you? 

If we truly accept Jesus into our lives and surrender ourselves to Him, He will do great things with us and through us. For Simon, the first step was when he welcomed Jesus into his boat. From that moment, his day and, to a greater extent, his whole life changed overnight. Simon’s next step was to obey and trust despite the fact that what Jesus had asked of him did not make sense: “But if you say so, I will let down the nets” (v. 5). This time on the boat, Simon has Jesus with him, and this time Jesus is the Teacher and Simon is the disciple, and this is what made all the difference. The Evangelist tells us, “When they had done this, they caught such a great number of fish that their nets were beginning to tear” (v. 6). It is undeniably true that when we open our hearts to Jesus, He leads us faithfully and supplies us in abundance! 

Being faced with a large catch of fish, Simon recognised his nothingness and his weakness, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (v. 8). But Jesus reaches out to him through His love and mercy, saying, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men” (v. 10). How greatly Jesus trusts us and what courage do His words give us: “Do not be afraid: Put out into deep water …” Every Christian has a mission to accomplish, and, although we are sinners, we are called to draw hearts to Him through His Word. Jesus entered the lives of Simon Peter, James and John through the large catch of fish: from there they left everything and followed Him. It could be that you have been hearing about Jesus and seeking to learn about Him, but you have not encountered Him. What is keeping you from seriously deciding to follow Him? What is it that you need to free yourself from to follow Him? Be generous, welcome Jesus into your boat and do not be afraid to put out into deep waters … The Lord has a mission for you also! 

Prayer 

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, 
  but you have made my ears receptive.  
Burnt offerings and sin offerings 
  you did not demand. 
Then I said, “Behold I come; 
  it is written of me in the scroll of the book. 
To do your will, O God, is my delight; 
  your law is in my heart.”  

(Psalm 40:7-9) 

 

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