Homily: Twenty-third Thursday of Ordinary Time

Twenty-third Thursday of Ordinary Time (Luke 5:1-11) “Sinful or Foolish?”

There is one line in the story about the miraculous catch of fish that can be a wonderful sentence to pray about. Peter falls at the feet of Jesus saying, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man.”

I have heard this statement translated a couple of other ways. Sometimes Peter is quoted as saying, “Forgive me Lord for I am a foolish man.” Another translation says, “Leave me Lord for I am a stupid man.

All of this shows that New Testament Greek can have a variety of meaning. The Greek vocabulary was very small, maybe a couple of thousand words. Modern English has tens of thousands of words.

I often hear people say when they examine their conscience that they really have not done anything sinful or that do not know if what they have done is sinful. People might feel that if they are sinful that somehow this makes them evil. And few people can believe that they are evil.

On the other hand, all of us will probably say that we have been foolish at times. If we are hard on ourselves, we say that we are stupid. Does such a delineation make much difference. Probably not.

Peter was probably both foolish in this story and maybe even sinful in that he was being arrogant. He was the fisherman. Jesus was a carpenter. Peter probably felt like telling Jesus to stay in his own lane.

The good news for us is that Peter’s attitude or sinfulness did not disqualify him from being an apostle in Jesus’ mind. Peter might have had a moment where he felt he was unworthy, but that one moment did not define his life in Jesus’ opinion.

Jesus did not look for perfect people to be his apostles. He looked for people who could be humble. He wanted people who would be willing to ask for help and would be able to bounce back from failure by forgiving themselves and trusting in the mercy of God.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Is it easier to say I have been sinful, or I have been foolish? Why?

2.   Does the way the apostles are depicted reassure me? Why or why not?

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Dear Parishioners,

          A Cursillo weekend has been a wonderful experience for a lot of men and women. Cursillo is called a short course in Christianity. Most often it is said to make good Christians better. If you meet someone who is very active in parish life you might ask them if they have ever made a Cursillo. You might be surprised by the number of people who say yes.

          These renewal weekends take place at Christ the King’s Believers Together Center. The retreat begins on Thursday night and lasts through Sunday. Deacon Matt Martell is one of the spiritual directors for Cursillo.

          The Cursillo weekend is an experience of living in Christian community. If you feel like you want something more out of your faith life, I encourage you to attend. A men’s Cursillo will be held on October 19-22nd. To get more information you can ask Deacon Matt or myself.

          May Our Lady pray for us,

          Fr. Mark