February 5, 2010
Sunday Scripture
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
Luke begins with a significant sentence: “The people pressed upon him (Jesus) to hear the word of God.” Eager to hear a homily? A homily true to its name is an explanation of the “Word of God.” It is not a report on recent adventures or personal experiences of the homilist. People crowded around Jesus because they knew that they would hear the word of God. He never disappointed them. Too many people have left our churches because they did not hear the word of God. Instead they were subjected to stories and jokes instead of “The Greatest Story ever told.”
Jesus is on the Lake of Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. His headquarters are at the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew on the northwest shore of the lake. Fishing was a thriving industry on the lake. Close to Capernaum was the town of Magdala (home of Mary Magdalene). With its fish-drying tower, Magdala was central to the fishing industry. Among the professional fisherman operating out of Capernaum were the brothers Simon and Andrew, sons of John. They would therefore be known in our language as the Johnson brothers. Partnering with the Johnsons were the brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee. We recall once more that Luke has before him a scroll of the Gospel of Mark. In Mark he found the call of Jesus’ first four disciples — the four mentioned above.
Luke deletes Andrew from the story, while James and John are barely mentioned. Andrew is there only implicitly when Jesus speaks in the plural to Simon Peter. Luke’s version becomes chiefly the call of Simon Peter. Significant for Luke is the sentence that Jesus sat in the boat of Simon (Peter) from which he taught the people on the shore. By the time Luke writes his gospel in the eighties of the first Christian century, the traditions, the force, the teachings of Simon Peter were a controlling element of orthodoxy in the Christian communities. Therefore Jesus teaches from the boat of Simon Peter.
After Jesus has completed his homily on the word of God, he commands Simon to move to deeper water and cast their nets. They enclosed a huge catch of fish to the point that their nets could not contain all of them. They signaled their partners, the Zebedees, for help. Both boats were filled with fish. The boat was the boat of Simon Peter, but the catch of fish occurred only by the power of a commanding Jesus. Simon recognizes that he is experiencing a divine manifestation and falls to his knees with an admission of unworthiness, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Jesus gives the standard biblical assurance to a human being frightened by a divine manifestation, “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus sanctifies Simon Peter’s vocation as a fisherman by lifting it to an even higher level, “From now on you will be catching humankind.” Luke clearly intends to teach the pre-eminent role of Simon Peter in the Church. Jesus knew what he was doing when he placed this conservative businessman, this self-admitted sinful man with all his weakness, in charge of his own enterprise, the Church. As the catch of fish was miraculous, even more miraculous would be the transformation of this fisherman into Jesus’ chief representative in the Church. Therefore Jesus, at the Last Supper, once again recognizing Simon’s sinful weakness, says, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan demanded to have you (plural), but I have prayed for you (singular) that your (singular) faith may not fail, and when you have turned again (repented), you must strengthen your brethren.”
In this Sunday’s gospel we hear the call of Simon Peter as spokesman for Jesus, in this first reading we hear the call of the prophet Isaiah as spokesman for God. The prophet’s call takes place in a vision in the year 742 B.C. Notable is the chant of angels surrounding the throne of God, the “Holy, holy, holy” which is echoed by us at every Mass. Isaiah reacts to the vision like Simon Peter reacted to Jesus in the boat. The prophet recognizes his sinfulness, the sinfulness of his environment, the unworthiness of his having seen what he saw in the vision. He says, “I am a man of unclean lips. I live in the middle of a people with unclean lips.” One of the seraphim (angels) has a cure. He sears the lips of Isaiah with a burning ember from the fire of the heavenly altar. (Not to be tried at home! Repentance has the same effect and may be less painful.) Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” The prophet answers, “Here I am. Send me!”
The fifteenth chapter of Paul’s letter is dedicated to his teaching of the resurrection. Paul reminds them of his recent preaching to them on this matter. The content of his preaching: “I handed on to you what I also received.” From whom? From Jesus! After listing those who had had seen Jesus after his resurrection, “He appeared also to me.” As we note the call of Simon Peter in today’s gospel, we recall the role of Peter in Paul’s teaching. In Galatians Paul recalls that he stayed with Peter 15 days, and later, “I laid before them the gospel I preach, so that I might be running on empty.”