5th Sunday Ordinary Year C.Don't Give up! Change your life
Don’t Give Up: Jesus is there to Help You
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
We find Simon Peter, the fisherman in today’s gospel account in a moment of failure. Many of us do know the feeling; many of us have had moments of such profound doubt that we’ve been ready to give up.
We note first that after Christ had commanded them to let down their nets once again, Peter, who was certainly an expert in fishing, disputed the possibility that any fish would be caught. They had fished all night and caught nothing. His mastery of his occupation told him that to lower the nets again would be a waste of time. Nevertheless, Christ commanded that he do it, and he did. Christ was teaching his followers that they must put their trust in Him, even when it seemed a waste of time, even when it seemed foolish, even if they thought they knew better. The obedience of these men to Christ command was rewarded by a huge catch of fish. Christ commands us, equally strongly, to put our trust in Him and to obey His commands. Sometimes that seems illogical to us, and yet that we must do. When, for example, illness overtakes us and puts us through pain and suffering and doubt about our future, we must still look to Him, place our trust unconditionally in Him, and believe that in our obedience, we shall eventually find our reward.
There is a true story of little Andrew and his father. One day when Andrew’s was father arrived back home from the work his building was covered with the firemen and the crowed. They were trying to save the life of little Andrew, but it was not easy and the fire was swallowing the building and for the worse it was covered with smoke. Little Andrew was in the 10th floor of the building. Andrew’s father shouted to his top calling Andrew. Andrew came to the window and called daddy. There was no way to save the life of Andrew. The fire fighters all came back thinking there were no more lives to save. Andrews’s father called again and asked Andrew to jump down. Andrew cried out “dad I can not see you it is all dark”. But Andrews’s father was crying out to the top of his voice. “Andrew even though you can not see me I can see you; jump down I will catch you down”. Andrew jump down and they saved his life.
Yes my dear brothers and sisters, when we feel everything is over and I have no ways to get out of it there is one person there to help you from your depressed life. But you may not see Him because of the darkness that covers you but He can see you clearly. If you are not ready to jump down then no one can help you other than Jesus who sees us all.
The second message is that though we try in our lives to accomplish certain things, and fail, we must never cease trying, we must never give up. Peter, after working all night, was ready to give up, to surrender to failure. But he did not. Those who struggle on, despite all, can only triumph at the end.
Peter was offered a window of opportunity that came to him when he would have least expected it, after a night of failure. He took the chance, gave God what he did have, namely hope and trust, and suddenly defeat was transformed into victory.
Winners never quit and quitters never win. If we try to limit God by our own limitations we will only succeed in limiting ourselves. In today’s first reading we find the prophet Isaiah in such a state of mind. His soul was heavy; he was in near defeat. No one was listening to him; some wanted to get rid of him by killing him. Isaiah was very conscious of his failures and limitations. The great Jewish prophet Isaiah, like Simon Peter, was given a window of opportunity in the midst of failure. He took the opportunity and said: “Here I am Lord, send me.” Peter, having confessed that he was sinner, heard Jesus respond: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men.” Peter responded to the challenge, the opportunity, and became the chief of the apostles. Believe that “with God, everything is possible,” and then live our lives depending on Him.
As I see it, there’s one word which unites all three of today’s Scripture readings—the word "change."
"Life is a series of changes," To make it easy to remember how to make positive change, let us use an acronym. The six letter word CHANGE: “c” is for choice; “h” is for humility; “a” is for assistance; “n” is for now; “g” is for goal; and “e” is for effort!"
The "c" in change stands for choice. Every positive change requires a conscious, deliberate choice. If the change you’re seeking is a deeper prayer life, you must choose to spend time alone with the Lord each day; if the change you’re seeking is to get rid of a sinful habit, you must choose to avoid the near occasion of the sin.
The "h" in change stands for humility. Lasting, positive changes don’t happen until we are humble enough to admit that they need to happen! Notice the humility of Isaiah: when the Lord appeared to him, his first response was "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips . . . " He recognized his unworthiness. So did St. Paul. And so does Peter in this Gospel scene, when he falls to his knees in front of Jesus and says, "Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" If we don’t recognize our need to change, we never will. That’s why the first step in AA is for a person to admit that they’re powerless over alcohol. Without that expression of humility, they will continue on their destructive path.
The "A" in change stands for assistance. If we are truly humble, we will not only admit that we need to change, we will also realize that we need the help to change!—help from God and from others.
Which brings us to the "N." The "N" in change stands for now. Notice—Isaiah didn’t wait to accept the Lord’s call; he said, "Here I am, send me!" Peter, James and John abandoned their fishing business on the spot and followed Jesus as his disciples. If we say, "I’ll go to Confession one of these days” and we know “one of these days” will probably never arrive.
And all positive change must have a goal, which is what the "G" in CHANGE stands for. And what should be the ultimate goal of every positive change was expressed beautifully by St. Paul when he wrote in Philippians 3:12-14 "I do not think of myself as having reached the finish line or made perfect. One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"
But none of this comes without effort on our part, which is what the "E" in CHANGE stands for. The daily effort Paul expended in living a holy life is illustrated powerfully in that same passage.
Choice, humility, assistance, now, goal, effort—that’s what might be called "the Biblical formula for lasting change."
Sometimes we, like St. Peter and his companions, have empty nets. Do not give up but just ask: "Lord, look my net is empty." And He will tell you "cast out again," and if you trust Him, He will fill you up.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
We find Simon Peter, the fisherman in today’s gospel account in a moment of failure. Many of us do know the feeling; many of us have had moments of such profound doubt that we’ve been ready to give up.
We note first that after Christ had commanded them to let down their nets once again, Peter, who was certainly an expert in fishing, disputed the possibility that any fish would be caught. They had fished all night and caught nothing. His mastery of his occupation told him that to lower the nets again would be a waste of time. Nevertheless, Christ commanded that he do it, and he did. Christ was teaching his followers that they must put their trust in Him, even when it seemed a waste of time, even when it seemed foolish, even if they thought they knew better. The obedience of these men to Christ command was rewarded by a huge catch of fish. Christ commands us, equally strongly, to put our trust in Him and to obey His commands. Sometimes that seems illogical to us, and yet that we must do. When, for example, illness overtakes us and puts us through pain and suffering and doubt about our future, we must still look to Him, place our trust unconditionally in Him, and believe that in our obedience, we shall eventually find our reward.
There is a true story of little Andrew and his father. One day when Andrew’s was father arrived back home from the work his building was covered with the firemen and the crowed. They were trying to save the life of little Andrew, but it was not easy and the fire was swallowing the building and for the worse it was covered with smoke. Little Andrew was in the 10th floor of the building. Andrew’s father shouted to his top calling Andrew. Andrew came to the window and called daddy. There was no way to save the life of Andrew. The fire fighters all came back thinking there were no more lives to save. Andrews’s father called again and asked Andrew to jump down. Andrew cried out “dad I can not see you it is all dark”. But Andrews’s father was crying out to the top of his voice. “Andrew even though you can not see me I can see you; jump down I will catch you down”. Andrew jump down and they saved his life.
Yes my dear brothers and sisters, when we feel everything is over and I have no ways to get out of it there is one person there to help you from your depressed life. But you may not see Him because of the darkness that covers you but He can see you clearly. If you are not ready to jump down then no one can help you other than Jesus who sees us all.
The second message is that though we try in our lives to accomplish certain things, and fail, we must never cease trying, we must never give up. Peter, after working all night, was ready to give up, to surrender to failure. But he did not. Those who struggle on, despite all, can only triumph at the end.
Peter was offered a window of opportunity that came to him when he would have least expected it, after a night of failure. He took the chance, gave God what he did have, namely hope and trust, and suddenly defeat was transformed into victory.
Winners never quit and quitters never win. If we try to limit God by our own limitations we will only succeed in limiting ourselves. In today’s first reading we find the prophet Isaiah in such a state of mind. His soul was heavy; he was in near defeat. No one was listening to him; some wanted to get rid of him by killing him. Isaiah was very conscious of his failures and limitations. The great Jewish prophet Isaiah, like Simon Peter, was given a window of opportunity in the midst of failure. He took the opportunity and said: “Here I am Lord, send me.” Peter, having confessed that he was sinner, heard Jesus respond: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men.” Peter responded to the challenge, the opportunity, and became the chief of the apostles. Believe that “with God, everything is possible,” and then live our lives depending on Him.
As I see it, there’s one word which unites all three of today’s Scripture readings—the word "change."
"Life is a series of changes," To make it easy to remember how to make positive change, let us use an acronym. The six letter word CHANGE: “c” is for choice; “h” is for humility; “a” is for assistance; “n” is for now; “g” is for goal; and “e” is for effort!"
The "c" in change stands for choice. Every positive change requires a conscious, deliberate choice. If the change you’re seeking is a deeper prayer life, you must choose to spend time alone with the Lord each day; if the change you’re seeking is to get rid of a sinful habit, you must choose to avoid the near occasion of the sin.
The "h" in change stands for humility. Lasting, positive changes don’t happen until we are humble enough to admit that they need to happen! Notice the humility of Isaiah: when the Lord appeared to him, his first response was "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips . . . " He recognized his unworthiness. So did St. Paul. And so does Peter in this Gospel scene, when he falls to his knees in front of Jesus and says, "Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" If we don’t recognize our need to change, we never will. That’s why the first step in AA is for a person to admit that they’re powerless over alcohol. Without that expression of humility, they will continue on their destructive path.
The "A" in change stands for assistance. If we are truly humble, we will not only admit that we need to change, we will also realize that we need the help to change!—help from God and from others.
Which brings us to the "N." The "N" in change stands for now. Notice—Isaiah didn’t wait to accept the Lord’s call; he said, "Here I am, send me!" Peter, James and John abandoned their fishing business on the spot and followed Jesus as his disciples. If we say, "I’ll go to Confession one of these days” and we know “one of these days” will probably never arrive.
And all positive change must have a goal, which is what the "G" in CHANGE stands for. And what should be the ultimate goal of every positive change was expressed beautifully by St. Paul when he wrote in Philippians 3:12-14 "I do not think of myself as having reached the finish line or made perfect. One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"
But none of this comes without effort on our part, which is what the "E" in CHANGE stands for. The daily effort Paul expended in living a holy life is illustrated powerfully in that same passage.
Choice, humility, assistance, now, goal, effort—that’s what might be called "the Biblical formula for lasting change."
Sometimes we, like St. Peter and his companions, have empty nets. Do not give up but just ask: "Lord, look my net is empty." And He will tell you "cast out again," and if you trust Him, He will fill you up.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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