Luke 5:1-11
Jesus Calls His Disciples
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus Says that Jesus is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
John 18:25-27
Peter Denies Jesus for the Third Time
25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said, “I am not!”
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.
We can sin and still have faith...We can sin and still go to heaven, by believing in God and Jesus and by God's Grace...
I like to read about Simon Peter...He often acted compulsively...He acted with his heart on his sleeve...He reacted, it seems, instead of thinking sometimes...He gave us many emotions to look at and to love...He was authentic, an authentic man who had his failures and he knew this...He admitted to Jesus, when He called and chose His Disciples, that he was a sinner...But at the same time Peter had this great capacity to follow Jesus through his faithfulness and belief...He saw who Jesus was and that He was the Messiah that was to come...And at the same time he was swayed by the situations he was in like the Great Transformation, and sadly in his denial of His Master...
We all stumble and fall and fail and fall short of the Glory of God and His Son...We are hamstrung by our sinful nature...Yet, Peter kept coming back to his faith and belief in Jesus because he knew that He was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God...With all his failings, I am greatly inspired by St. Peter...