5th sunday of the ordinary time
Fabruary 6th 20226
Reflection about the Gospel of Luck 5, 1-11
Nowadays, we are all bombarded with advertisements or
offers that invite us to buy a product, to join a club or an organization, etc.
From experience, we have developed a mechanism of protection that make us
cautious and then lead us to ask ourselves this question: “What is the ‘trap’
in this call to buy, to join, to follow…?”. The talkers, the sellers of dreams,
the proponents of miracle solutions are constantly on the lookout for our
attention.
Peter and his fishing companions, James and John, are not idle men waiting for time to pass. They work to live and are probably responsible for their families. Nice talkers, interesting men, they certainly see them every day, but they are happy with their situation and are cautious. If Peter lets Jesus get into his boat and agrees to move away from the shore so that the people present can all see him and listen to him, it is because Jesus inspires confidence in them by his behavior and his words. When a person presents himself well and makes intelligent remarks, we are, like Peter, James and John, naturally inclined to give him the chance to tell them something.
The words of Jesus at this time are not revealed to us in the Gospel of Luke. However, the rest of the story reveals two things to us: on the one hand, Peter and his companions did not bring him back to shore saying to him: “You are wasting our time! “Or” you talk nonsense! ". On the other hand, they agree to go back to fishing as Jesus asks because he has won their trust by the way he behaves and by the interest his words arouse. Once trust is established, Jesus then reveals to them, by means of a miraculous catch, a second call: the commitment to follow him and to carry out a great mission.
Peter, James and John are then ready to go further than trust because they have also witnessed the power that dwells in Jesus and his respect for their abilities. They then realize that if Jesus is capable of making extraordinary fishers out of them, he is also capable of making them fishers capable of finding those men and women who need to meet Jesus, to hear his words and let his saving power work in them. Jesus then brings them the last argument so that they answer without hesitation: “Do not be afraid” he will say to Peter and his companions. Today, the call of Jesus is still relevant. His way of doing things has not changed. He asks us to welcome him with confidence, to listen with openness to his words and to let him carry out, without fear while using our skills, his great project for the Church.
Charles Fournier, s.m.
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