by Fr. Tommy Lane
Peter had been catching fish but from the moment of the miraculous catch of fish in today’s Gospel, Jesus told him he would be catching people (Luke 5:1-11). Peter had been catching fish to let them die but from then and especially from Pentecost, he would be catching people to give them new life in Jesus.
The Gospel of John reports another miraculous catch of fish, after Jesus’ resurrection (John 21). Once again, the apostles had been fishing by night and caught nothing. At dawn, Jesus was on the shore and told them to cast the net over the right side of the boat. They got a huge catch, and when ashore they counted them: 153 fish. St. Jerome tells us that zoologists at that time had catalogued 153 species of fish so the miracle in John suggests Jesus wants all people in his net. The Lord has given us freedom, and everyone has to make the decision for himself or herself to answer the Lord’s invitation, but the Lord is constantly inviting us to share his offer of life. In our beautiful Gaelic hymn, Ag Críost an Síol (Christ’s is the seed), we sing, “ag Críost an t-iasc, i líonta Dé go gcastar sinn,” “Christ’s is the fish, in God’s nets may we be caught.” We are indeed Christ’s since baptism, and may we be in Christ’s nets. The Lord’s wish for us is that we be his!
Peter himself was caught in Jesus’ net at the moment of that miraculous catch of fish. We can see this in the way Peter changed the way he addressed Jesus. Before the catch of fish, Peter called Jesus, “Master” (Luke 5:5) but after the catch of fish he called him, “Lord.” (Luke 5:8) Peter now belonged to Jesus. Peter was also now aware of the state of his soul before God as he said, “Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man.” Isaiah also in our first reading was aware of his need of God’s mercy after his vision of God (Isa 6:5). Peter would have to work on himself before he would go fishing for Jesus. Jesus has just caught Peter in Jesus’ own net. Luke wrote his Gospel in Greek and in his Greek, the word Luke uses for Peter catching people is very different to the word used for catching fish. For Peter catching people, Luke used a word that means catching something to save its life (Luke 5:10). Peter would not be catching to let die, but catching to save lives, to save people spiritually.
Jesus wants people in his net to offer them his life. Many times, Jesus said he wants to share his life with us: “the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51), “if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53), “anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life” (John 8:12), “I have come so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Life is better with Jesus than without. It is better to walk in the light of Jesus than not, “i líonta Dé go gcastar sinn.”
In our second reading, Paul listed a number of appearances of the risen Jesus (1 Cor 15:5-8). Jesus wants to share his risen life with us now, not just in the next life. We receive a share of Jesus’ life when we meet the Lord in prayer, reading the Bible, at Mass, in Holy Communion, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Prayer every day, for a significant amount of time, is crucial for anyone trying to live the Christian life now. As well as saying prayers, we can pray to the Lord in our own words. We can share with the Lord what is in our heart and on our mind. Just look at some of the Psalms and how the Jewish people poured out their souls to God in them. The Psalms were the prayerbook of the Jewish people. In a sense they are a model for us because when they prayed, they did not hide behind a veneer or varnish, but they were who they were. They did not put on airs and graces when they prayed. They prayed as they were. That is also the way for us to come before God, just as we are. As we come to Jesus to receive his offer of life, we can come as we are and pray with our heart. The Lord meets us where we are but invites us closer to himself so that we can grow ever more from saying, “Master” to saying “Lord.”
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifth Sunday of Year C
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