＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Colossians 1:9-14

 Because of this,

From the day we received news of you, we have not ceased praying to God for you, that you may attain the full knowledge of his will through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual understanding.

 May your lifestyle be worthy of the Lord and completely pleasing to him. May you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.  May you become strong in everything by a sharing of the Glory of God, so that you may have great endurance and persevere in joy.

 Constantly give thanks to the Father who has empowered us to receive our share in the in­heritance of the saints in his kingdom of light. 13 He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. In him we are redeemed and forgiven.

 

Ps 98:2-3ab, 4, 5-6

The Lord has made known his salvation.

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊      

Luke 5:1-11

One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God,   he caught sight of two boats left at the water’s edge by the fishermen now washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore.

There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.  When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”  Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing.

But if you say so, I will lower the nets.”  This they did and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

 Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”   For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made  and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebe­dee’s sons.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.”  So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

 

Gospel Reflection：

 Sometimes, the Lord comes to us in the ordinariness of life. There is no angel, extra-ordinary fanfare or blinding lights. The gospel today tells us that Simon and his companions were caught unawares when Jesus passed by.

It was an ordinary day for them. They were fishing but did not catch anything. They were disappointed not to have anything to bring back to their families, but were resigned to their lot. It happens that way from time to time.

But little did they know that on that particular day it was they themselves who were going to be caught by the Lord. Jesus subtly casts his net and they get entangled. Simon Peter tries to put up a half-hearted resistance but to no avail.

He already knows deep down that he cannot escape no matter what. God prevails every time he dances with people. God is free to pursue those He anoints, and the anointed are free to escape as much as possible. But God is the stronger one. He will weather all resistance and prevail.

And so, with the assurance that he has nothing to fear, Simon Peter and his companions form the core of Jesus' closest collaborators.