Epiphany 5 Yr C
Do not be afraid
Raphael, 1483-1520. Miraculous Draught of Fishes, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Original source.
Published date 2/3/2022
Introduction
So many times in the Bible, when there is a meeting between heavenly bodies and mere mortals, the first words from the heavenly body is "Do not be afraid" (reference shepherds, Joseph, Mary, and many others). But this time it was a bit different. Simon Peter recognizes how small he is by comparison to Jesus. Further, Peter doesn't want to contaminate Jesus by Peter's less than perfect self. How much comfort must it have been for Jesus to gently say, "Do not be afraid . . ."? Jesus was, in essence, embracing Peter in his arms, and assuring Peter that their relationship was going to be really good. Have you had times when you felt God's call but just couldn't muster the courage to accept it? I think most of us have. I hope we always find the strength to say, "Here I am." Comments welcome.
Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, . . . . He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” . . . Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” . . .
sermons4kids: “What did Jesus mean when he told them they would be fishing for men and women? Obviously, he didn’t mean that they would go out and throw a net over them. What he meant was that just as they had been bringing the fish into their boats, they would now be bringing people into the Kingdom of God. Jesus wants you and me to be fishers of people too. That means that we will tell the people we meet about Jesus so that they can know him and become his followers too.”
Scripture: February 6, 2022—Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13] (image); Psalm 138 (image); 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (image); and Luke 5:1-11 (image). A video/audio journey through the scripture.
Collect: Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection: Sometimes we are afraid to tell others about our experiences of the holy and about God’s call in our lives, because we don’t want to annoy or oppress others. There is a difference between witnessing through indoctrination and witnessing through acts of compassion. How do you witness to others about your faith?
The disciples had already fished all night without catching anything; what quality or characteristic in Peter might have helped him “give it another try” when Jesus invited him to cast his net again? What quality or characteristic within you helps you to keep trying, to start again, after disappointment or even failure?
(excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press)
Eye Candy: “Miraculous Draught of Fishes” by Jacopo Bossano; and by Raphael; and yet another by Carl Witz.
Ear Worm: “Sing hey for the carpenter” by Nancy Zimmerman; “They cast their nets in Galilee“, hymn; “Ye servants of God“, hymn
Brain Food: Commentary from “Hitchhiking the Word” website; “Come as you are“, by Peter Woods;
Going Fishing
Lord I’m going fishing today
So give me spiritual bait
To help this living dying race
Before it’s all too late
Let me cast a hopeful heart
Upon a lost and lonely soul
Give me peace and understanding
As I fiercely grip my pole
As Your Word becomes the light
My tackle box is full
And my rod is bending downward
From a sinner I feel the pull
Give me strength to reel him in
And take him off the hook
Then place him in Your loving arms
With his hand around Your book
Lord let my catch be bountiful
For it remains to be seen
That You will help me bring them in
But they are Yours to clean
©Kathleen Higham
Parables: “Signs” (2002), a spiritual shiver story; “At first sight” (1999), first seeing after sight restored to blind man; “A simple plan“, (1998), do you have to lose everything to find happiness
For families: Study guide and activities (old guide); group activities; snacks, kid video.
For children: activity—use guide/activities above (another); bulletin games; craft;
For middlers: activity—use guide/activities above (another); bulletin games; craft.
For youth: Have you ever had something happen to you that truly scared you? How about going to do some work you had postponed and finding it had been done by some unknown person? Or getting an unexpected generous gift? Just imagine these fishermen, out all night trying to catch enough fish to sustain them another day—and caught nothing. When they follow the directions that Jesus gives, they are overcome by the number of fish they catch. Our dear Peter is afraid and doesn't want someone of Jesus' ability to be near him. Jesus says, "Do not be afraid." Sometimes that's a pretty tall order but we have it within us to put aside our fears and follow Jesus. Comments welcome.
As Jesus began the work in which he was manifested as God’s Son, he called and commissioned others to join him. In Luke’s account of the calling of the first disciples, Jesus joins them on what had been up until then an unsuccessful day of fishing. When Peter sees the catch he says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Jesus says in return, “From now on you will be fishing for people.” Then Peter, along with James and John, followed him.
Our first reading gives us a parallel to the call of the disciples and Peter’s confession of unworthiness. This is God’s call of Isaiah to be the prophet of God’s judgment and of hope. Isaiah, like Peter, at first confesses himself unworthy to be called. Nevertheless, God, like Jesus, will be the means by which the prophet is made worthy.
As Paul nears the end of the first letter to the church in Corinth, he reminds his readers of the message he preaches: that Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day and appeared to Cephas (Peter) and the other Apostles. Finally, he appeared to Paul, who had been an opponent of the gospel. Paul’s own qualifications, then, are based on God working in him.
We—like Isaiah and Paul and Peter—are called into sharing with God in carrying out God’s plan. It is because of God and God’s call to us in Jesus that we are who we are, the holy people of God. We gather in Eucharist to hear and respond anew to God’s call and to go forth in the power of God to draw all people into God’s family in our ministry and our communion with God in the Holy Spirit.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.