Thursday November 16, 2023
Theme: “Victory by faith”
Text: Luke 5:1-11
1. When Jesus was near the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowds were crowding around him to hear the word of God, 2. he saw two boats on the shore of the lake, from which the fishermen had come down to wash their nets . 3. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and begged him to go a little way from the land. Then he sat down, and from the boat he taught the crowd. 4. When he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, Go out into the open water, and cast down your nets to fish. 5. Simon answered him, Master, we have worked all night and have taken nothing; but at your word I will cast the net. 6. Having cast it, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their net broke. 7. They signaled to their companions who were in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled the two boats so that they sank. 8. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus, and said, Lord, depart from me, because I am a sinful man. 9. For fear had seized him and all who were with him, because of the fishing they had done. 10. So it was with James and John, sons of Zebedee, Simon's associates. Then Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; from now on you will be a fisher of men. 11. And having brought the boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.
Let's remember:
The mystery of faith is so great that it pushes those who have faith to abandon everything for the benefit of Jesus. Peter agreed to cast the net where Jesus had told him, and he caught a very large number of fish; but he refused to enrich himself financially by selling these fish. He preferred to follow Jesus, abandon fish and be financially poor, knowing that true wealth is heavenly. Faith does not see the riches of this world as a priority to follow. When we successfully develop our faith, we become partners with God; we team up with Him; we work for our own salvation but also for that of others. This is true victory by faith; it is knowing how to make choices informed by faith in God. Certain reflexes develop through contact with God and his Word like that of Peter who nevertheless agreed to cast the net even though Jesus who told him to do so had no experience in fishing. But Peter's flair for faith prompted him to cast the net out of respect for Jesus and to exercise his faith in Jesus. It is obvious that Peter wanted to challenge the words of Jesus but it is also obvious that he dared to do what a Son of God, the foundation of faith, asked of him. Peter's faith triumphed because he believed in the Word of Jesus. He took action by throwing the net. Having faith is good but we must always take action because it is the next step that must not be neglected so that victory through faith can be achieved. Have a great Thursday. AmenAlain Louz.-