FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
1st Reading: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1–11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Gospel: Luke 5:1–11
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. 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.
A PURIFIED SERVANT: God’s messenger must be a person who is close to God. Only when a messenger is close to God can the Spirit of God accompany this individual on divine missions. For a person to be close to God, there is need for purification, and only God purifies. Once purified this new being is ready to be sent to do God’s work (Isaiah 6:6-8). This is because a purified being is ready to listen to God’s word and implement it. This being is ready to leave everything and dedicate all strengths towards God’s mission. Nothing can come in between this person and the Will of God. Simon Peter and his companions were close to Jesus (God). This enabled them to catch a lot of fish, but they left all the fish in order to be closer to Jesus (Luke 5:11), and to do His work. God uses Mother Church to purify us during Baptism. Later, whenever we fall back into sin, Mother Church has given us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to continue the purification and remain close to God. This Sacrament reminds us that Love of God is paramount, followed by love of neighbour. These two commandments surpass any other engagement. Only then are we able to experience and practice real Love of and for God. May we take every advantage to be close to God.
Prayer: Purify your people Lord so that they may give you a worthy service.
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WORKERS WITH THE LORD: At Baptism, Jesus purified us, took away our sins, and made us his co- workers. We became messengers of God. We made ourselves available for the service of God. The messenger cannot send himself, he is always sent! The messenger has to do what the master sends him to do. Jesus calls us to carry out his work of “fishing” people out of sin so that they may experience God’s salvation. To do this we have to be ready to be sent by Jesus. It is wonderful to give generous response like this: “Here I am, send me” (Isaiah 6:8). All of us, by virtue of our baptism have been sent to this mission. Readiness must be accompanied by faithfulness to Christ. Being faithful to Christ implies that we must be ready to be a sacrifice. This total donation of oneself makes a perfect messenger.
DAILY GOSPEL 