Luke 5:1-11
“So it was that the multitude pressed about Him to hear the Word of God, that he stood by the Lake Genesareth.”
I must confess that I was going to write about a “fishing” theme. But as I read my notes over and over to write this reflection, my mind’s eye kept coming back to the beginning of the Gospel: “So it was that the multitude pressed about Him to hear the Word of God.”
The Word of God...the multitude pressed about him...to hear the Word of God.
We often complain about how long the Mass is, or how long the priest/deacon’s homily will be. We complain that the church is ‘empty’ or how people are dressed, etc. but here in the Gospel the people - a multitude of them - were so eager to hear God’s Word, that they crowded Him so He had to go on Peter’s boat to preach.
The Word of God: the Gospel. As you read this reflection, can you recall without checking back in your Missal, the entire Gospel selection this Sunday? Do you remember the sermon and your take-away from it?
Without judging, but with an encouraging nudge, perhaps we can become more enthusiastic about hearing the Word of God and its explanation in a Mass setting.
When Jesus finished preaching, He tells Peter to “Launch out to the deep and let your nets down.” Not catching any fish all night, Peter (probably thinking it is useless) however, said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing, nevertheless, at Your WORD, I will let the net down.” And the result was two boats full of fish that the boats began to sink.
The Word of God makes things happen. Peter listened and was overwhelmed with the catch of fish.
Are we eager and willing to spend some time listening to the Word of God whether at Mass, in a Bible Group, online religious sites, books on Scripture and much more?
And so it was that John, Alice, Ted, Dorothy, you, reader, me, all of Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, etc. pressed about Him to hear the Word of God.
Sister Celeste Hupert, CSFN
