Reading 1 1 Cor 3:18-23
Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Alleluia Mt 4:19
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 5:1-11
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 the boats 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.
SINNER-FRIENDLY
"I am a sinful man." –Luke 5:8
After the miraculous catch of fish, "Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me, Lord. I am a sinful man' " (Lk 5:8). For Simon Peter, this was a flash of light in the midst of a life of self-deception. Peter was indeed a sinful man. He proved it by denying Christ three times (Lk 22:61) after boasting that he would die for Christ (Lk 22:33).
Peter was a sinful man. Nonetheless, Christ chose him to be the rock on which He would build the Church (Mt 16:18), the first apostle to meet the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:5), the preacher at the first Christian Pentecost, the birthday of the Church (Acts 2:14), and the head of the apostles (see Lk 22:31-32).
Why would Jesus choose a sinful man to lead His Church? Why does He choose sinners – some repentant and others not – to lead His Church today? Why did He choose you or me, even with all our sins? The Lord replies: "As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways above your ways and My thoughts above your thoughts" (Is 55:9). "He chose the world's lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were something; so that mankind can do no boasting before God" (1 Cor 1:28-29). "God's folly is wiser than men" (1 Cor 1:25).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I hate sin because I love sinners and because I love You. |
| PROMISE: | "If any one of you thinks he is wise in a worldly way, he had better become a fool." –1 Cor 3:18 |
| PRAISE: | It was often through a cantankerous neighbor that Randy heard God speak. |
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