Bible Study, Prayer, and Homily Resources
by Fr. Tommy Lane
It was Peter’s obedience to Jesus that set in motion the miracle in today’s Gospel (Luke 5:1-11). Peter and the others had worked hard all night and caught no fish. They were already back on land again and were washing their nets. Nighttime was the best time to go fishing there but Jesus said to go out to deep water and lower their nets for a catch. Peter and the others must have been exhausted after working all night but despite their exhaustion and it not being the best time to catch fish, because Jesus asked them to fish again, they did. They were rewarded with such a huge catch of fish that the fish would not all fit in one boat and they filled two boats. This was because of obedience to Jesus.
Being obedient to God is the way to live. Disobedience to God can never be expected to bring a blessing. If we love God, we will be obedient to God. If we love God, it affects how we live, how we live all our lives, every day of the week. Looking at the world today, one could easily get the impression that there are many who do not love God. Is it because people do not know God that they do not love God? Do we give God a chance in our lives? Do we spend time with God or only go to God when we want something? Give God time, get to know God and love God. Being obedient to God is the way to live. A number of times in the Gospels we read Jesus’ words encouraging obedience to God and to love God: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
Disobedience to God can never be expected to bring a blessing. There are some unfortunate examples of disobedience in Sacred Scripture and the consequences for those who were disobedient. The Hebrews grumbled and complained against God many times in the desert on the way from Egypt to Canaan and as a result they had to spend forty years wandering in the desert and none of them entered Canaan except Joshua and Caleb (Num 14:30); instead their children entered Canaan. Moses also did not enter Canaan because of an act of disobedience to God even though he had been specially called by God to lead the people from Egypt. However God was merciful and allowed Moses to see the land from Pisgah on top of Mount Nebo before he died (Deut 34:1-3). Perhaps we could say the most astounding act of disobedience to God is Jonah. We regard it as something like a parable, but the disobedience of Jonah is shocking. When God called him to go east to preach in Nineveh asking for their conversion, since Jonah did not want the Ninevites to convert and be spared, instead of going east he got on a ship going west. The sailors threw him overboard and he was swallowed by a whale who could not stomach him and threw him up on a beach in Israel. God called him a second time and this time he did go east to preach in Nineveh.
We also see examples in Scripture of obedience bringing a blessing. In the Old Testament we see Noah building the ark when we can imagine everyone thought he was crazy (Gen 7). Abraham, in obedience to God, left Haran and went south with his family to Canaan not knowing where they would end up (Gen 12) and became our “father in faith” as we call him. We see the obedience of Isaiah in today’s first reading (Isa 6). He was a man of unclean lips and felt unable to answer God’s call to him but did answer after God cleansed him. In the New Testament, Joseph was instructed four times by an angel to protect Mary and Jesus and each time he obeyed immediately (Matt 1:24; 2:14, 21, 22); when he was told of the danger to the baby Jesus, they left that very night to go south to Egypt (Matt 2:14). Our Lady’s obedience is a model. Although immaculately conceived, she still had the freedom to say no to the angel when asked to become the mother of Jesus, but she said, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) At Cana, we see Our Lady advising obedience to Jesus when she instructed the servers to do whatever Jesus told them. (John 2:5) In today’s Gospel, we see the obedience of those who were fishing and left their career to follow Jesus after the miracle (Luke 5:11). Above all, we see the obedience of Jesus in Gethsemane as he said to the Father before suffering his passion and death, “Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will” (Mark 14:36). The Letter to the Hebrews tells us the Father heard his cry (Heb 5:7). “How?” we might ask. Jesus’ resurrection was the answer to his cry in Gethsemane.
It was Peter’s obedience to Jesus that set in motion the miracle in today’s Gospel. We see many times in Scripture that disobedience to God does not lead to anything good while obedience to God brings a blessing. If we love God, we will be obedient to God. Give God time, get to know God and love God. Being obedient to God is the way to live.
© 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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If Jesus could use the Twelve Apostles with their weaknesses, he can also use us
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