The disciples ‘were happy to follow Jesus without looking back.’
Father Joseph Brando
Feb. 7, fifth Sunday
of ordinary time
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138:1-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Simon had worked hard all night. He probably thought having Jesus use his boat to preach from would be a good excuse to delay cleaning the nets. He and his partners had been “skunked,” catching nothing at all. They had to be disappointed, distressed, and disillusioned. At times like that, anyone would think hard about leaving it all behind and looking for an easier way to make a living.
Jesus did not take advantage of the situation. He wanted to offer them a new way of life but not at the time they were so vulnerable. So after he preached to the crowd, Jesus gave Peter, James, John, and probably Peter’s brother, Andrew, a new view of life. He simply asked them to go back to fish some more. They were sick and tired of fishing. Yet they complied.
This time they caught two boatloads of fish. Catching that much fish is impossible and therefore miraculous. Such a mess of fish would net them several months’ income. But then the soon-to-be apostles did something strange. According to Luke, “when they brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Leaving all those fish and the boats on the shore was outrageous. The investment they were walking away from was, by their standard, enormous. Yet they reacted to the miraculous catch of fish as though they had nothing. As they compared what they had been doing all their lives with the words and personality of Jesus, the fish and the boats meant nothing. They were happy to follow Jesus without looking back.
In the first reading Isaiah had a vision of God, complete with angels. Even though he was a member of the royal family, he was willing to be sent out by God as a lowly prophet. He didn’t look back either.
In the second reading Paul wrote to the Corinthians about his own conversion. The same Jesus who had died, been buried, and had risen on the third day had appeared to him—as he did to the Twelve and to many others. That one event made him reverse the direction of his life.
Maybe we need a mid-life correction. If we are living only to catch fish, perhaps we should check out the alternative. If we choose the Lord, we won’t look back either.
Jumping for joy
Christ brings happiness that the worldly cannot imagine.
Feb. 14, sixth Sunday
of ordinary time
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Luke 6:17, 20-26
When most people think of “jumping for joy,” they think about their favorite team winning the Super Bowl or our troops marching in a parade after coming home from war. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us an unusual reason to jump for joy. His people do this when others hate them, exclude them, insult them and consider them evil, all on account of the Son of Man.
It seems absurd that Jesus should say this. Yet these words are as true now as they ever were. Check out what the world, as it is now, demands of its adherents. If you are a member of the “in” crowd, you should buy the most costly vehicle to attract attention. You should have only the latest electronic devices. You should indulge yourself by wearing extravagant clothing, going to all the latest movies, despite their messages, seeking the admiration and company of friends by drinking alcohol, and laughing at all those who don’t conform to such a lifestyle. Those ideas come from watching the TV advertisements shown during a single quarter of a Sunday football game.
On the other hand, there are those who get laughed at. On Sundays they would rather be seen at Mass than at tailgate parties. They spend much of their expendable income on family projects and helping the poor. They are the parents of more than the average number of children. They are the ones being laughed at by those who conform to the world—the ones who should be jumping for joy.
They do not show this enthusiasm because they are any better creatures than those who are laughing at them. We are all sinners. But they know how to find forgiveness. They experience in their hearts the presence of the risen Lord. They know what it means that Christ died for them and through his resurrection lives in their souls. That is a happiness you can’t imagine if you seek joy only through products advertised on television.
Thus, Jesus begins his great sermon on the Christian life with the Beatitudes. He begins by telling us how we can be sure we’re on the right track. If the world of temporal fancies ridicules us, we can be pretty sure we’re on the right track. For that realization, we can “jump for joy.”
WEEKDAY READINGS
Monday, Feb. 8: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13; Psalm 132:6-10; Mark 6:53-56
Tuesday, Feb. 9: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84:3-5, 10-11; Mark 7:1-13
Wednesday, Feb. 10: Memorial, Scholastica, virgin, 1 Kings 10:1-10; Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40; Mark 7:14-23
Thursday, Feb. 11: 1 Kings 11:4-13; Psalm 106:3-4, 35-37, 40; Mark 7:24-30
Friday, Feb. 12: 1 Kings 11:29-32 and 12:19; Psalm 81:10-15; Mark 7:31-37
Saturday, Feb. 13: 1 Kings 12:26-32 and 13:33-34; Psalm 106:6-7, 19-22; Mark 8:1-10
Monday, Feb. 15: James 1:1-11; Psalm 119:67-68, 71-72, 75-76; Mark 8:11-13
Tuesday, Feb. 16: James 1:12-18; Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19; Mark 8:14-21
Wednesday, Feb. 17: Ash Wednesday, Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Thursday, Feb. 18: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1:1-4, 6; Luke 9:22-25
Friday, Feb. 19: Isaiah 58:1-9; Psalm 51:3-6, 18-19; Matthew 9:14-15
Saturday, Feb. 20: Isaiah 58:9-14; Psalm 86:1-6; Luke 5:27-32
Father Brando is the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg.
Tags: Living the readings 2010
