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02/04/2007 |
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FR. OLMAN’S HOMILY February 4, 2007 God is consistent. We can depend on God. The Scriptures reveal the actions and the
words of God in the past. What God has
done in the past is what God does today.
What God has said in the past is what God says to us today. What happened to Peter in this Sunday’s
Gospel has happened to all of us in our own way. Peter was a fisherman,
not for sport, but for his livelihood.
He was a professional. He and his mates had worked hard all night, at
just the best time for fishing in those waters, but they had caught
nothing. Then Jesus the carpenter told
Peter the fisherman to lower his nets again.
The big problem was that it was now the worst time for fishing. We can
hear the protest in Peter’s voice: “Master, we have been hard at it all night
and have caught nothing”. He was at the
point of telling Jesus to forget it, when he suddenly realized to whom he was
speaking. After a pause, perhaps while
looking at Jesus and seeing the insistence in his eyes, Peter said “but if you
say so, I will lower the nets”. Peter’s
faith was like an infant, far from maturity, but it was strong enough to move
him to put his emphasis on the “you” when he said “of you say so, I will lower
the nets”. The result of Peter’s trust
in the Lord was an astonishing catch of fish.
Peter thought his way was best but he learned that the Lord’s way is
best. Last week we heard the
call of Jeremiah; this week we listen to the call and mission of the prophet
Isaiah. Isaiah had learned the same lesson before Peter did. At first Isaiah did not want to accept the
mission of being a prophet to God’s people.
He felt unworthy. He described
himself as a man of unclean lips. He
would gladly have walked away to follow some other way of life. But God wanted him. One of the seraphim touched Isaiah’s lips, a
symbol of God’s grace. To this grace
Isaiah responded “Here I am” he said “send me”.
He became one of the greatest of all the prophets because he followed
God’s way. Upon reflection can we
not see that something similar has happened to us? Perhaps you had your heart set on a person
whom you wanted to marry. It did not
work out. Another person entered your
life and now you thank God for your spouse who is the right person for you.
Maybe you had a job which you liked. You
seemed to have a future with a particular company. But then during a recession there were
layoffs. You lost your job. Then a great opportunity suddenly opened for
you and you became involved in a wonderful career you never thought possible. These examples may not
fit you. Every one of us must take time
to reflect on how God has acted in our lives in a way far beyond what we had
planned or expected. Sometimes we do not get
the great catch of fish. Thing seem to
go wrong for us. Then we must be patient
and give? God acclamation: “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory” that expression of God’s magnificence
should remind us that God is far above us.
His ways are not our ways but his ways are always best. |
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