Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
5th SUN ORDINARY TIME
A certain foreman told his workers to stay in one place and watch over the hollow blocks while he was out. It took him a while to return. And when he finally returned, the workers were gone but hollow blocks were in the same place. The foreman uttered in dismay, “It is better to work with hollow blocks than with men. At least the hollow blocks stay but the men they wander away.”
In today’s gospel Jesus told Peter that from that day forward, after seeing the miraculous catch of fish, he need not worry for he’d stop catching fish and instead start catching men. Later one even after seeing Jesus risen from the dead, Peter as well as Andrew, James, and John returned to fishing. Why so? Did they find catching fish much easier than catching men?
Men are hard to teach. As they grow in years they become complicated, believing less in anything or anyone except maybe themselves. In the church we witness a falling away of many from the church teachings they once believed in. Men have consequently stopped praying, going to church, receiving the sacraments.
There was a druglord who got rich selling drugs to his young neighbors. His neighbors questioned God: “When will justice overtake him?”
Soon enough he had a hear attack that left him half-paralized. They were happy. But then the man repented and started as extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. His neighbors again asked: “Why is he still alive? Serving the church at that?”
We also might have asked God the same question” “Why is the sinner serving the Lord?”
The answer is simple: It is God’s will that He uses sinners. After all it is His work and not the work of these sinners.
Isaiah says in the First Reading: “I am a man of unclean lips.” And yet he saw God with his eyes.
Paul says in his letter to Corinth: “I am the least of the apostles.” And yet Jesus appeared to him.
In the gospel Peter says: “Depart from me for I am a sinner.” And yet Jesus replied: “From now on you will be fishing men.”
This has always been God’s manner to choose people whom the world considers the least to make it evident that the wonderful things that happen is not the result of any human effort but solely God’s providence.