First Reading - 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Gospel - Luke 5:1-11
In the first reading, St Paul challenges the Corinthians not to depend too much on what the world considers wisdom. “Let no one deceive himself,” he says. The wisdom of this world can become foolishness before God. Paul is not telling us to reject human knowledge or intelligence. Rather, he reminds us that human wisdom has its limits. We cannot understand everything through our own calculations.
This is exactly what we see in the Gospel.
Peter and the other fishermen have worked throughout the night and have caught nothing. They are experienced fishermen. They know the lake, they know their work, and they know that the night has not produced any result. They are tired and ready to return to shore.
Then Jesus says to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
From a human perspective, it does not make much sense. Peter's experience tells him that the effort will probably be useless. Yet he says something that becomes the turning point of the story: “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”
Peter chooses to trust the word of Jesus more than his own experience.
And the result is extraordinary. They catch so many fish that their nets begin to tear.
The miracle, however, is not simply about catching fish. Jesus is preparing Peter for a much greater mission. He says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
Peter came to Jesus as a tired fisherman who had experienced failure. He leaves the encounter as a person called to become an apostle.
This is the way God often works. He does not wait until everything in our lives is perfect before calling us. He calls us in the middle of our weakness, our failures, our uncertainty, and sometimes even our disappointment.
Peter's response is also important. When he sees the miracle, he falls at Jesus' knees and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter suddenly becomes aware of his own unworthiness.
But Jesus does not reject him. He says, “Do not be afraid.”
God does not call perfect people. He calls people who are willing to trust him.
Perhaps this is something we need to hear today. We may sometimes look at our failures and conclude that we are not capable of doing anything meaningful for God. We may say, “I have tried before. It did not work. Why should I try again?”
Jesus says, “Put out into the deep.”
The deep water can represent whatever challenges us beyond our comfort zone. It may be a difficult relationship, a responsibility we are afraid to accept, a vocation, a ministry, forgiveness, or simply the next step God is asking us to take.
We often want God to show us the entire journey before we begin. But Jesus usually gives us only the next step: lower the nets.
Faith means trusting enough to take that step.
The first reading reminds us that everything ultimately belongs to Christ. Paul says, “All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” This changes the way we see our abilities, our work, and even our failures. We are not alone. Our lives belong to Christ.
The fishermen thought their night had been wasted. But Jesus transformed their empty nets into the beginning of their vocation.
Perhaps some of us are carrying empty nets today. We have prayed but nothing seems to change. We have worked hard but have little to show for it. We have tried to repair something but failed. We may feel tired and discouraged.
The Gospel tells us: do not give up simply because the first attempt produced nothing. If Christ is asking you to lower the nets again, trust his word.
But there is one important condition: we must allow Jesus into our boat.
Jesus first gets into Peter's boat. Before he changes Peter's work, he enters his ordinary life. This is where discipleship begins. We do not have to leave everything behind before Christ can begin working in us. We first have to let him into our boat—into our work, our relationships, our struggles, and our plans.
Then he can lead us into deeper waters.
Today, let us not be afraid of the deep. Let us not allow our past failures to determine our future. Let us trust the word of Christ even when our own experience tells us otherwise.
The question is not whether our nets are empty today. The question is whether we are willing to lower them again at the word of Jesus.
May we have the faith of Peter to say, “At your command I will lower the nets.” And may we discover that when we place our weakness, our work, and our failures in the hands of Christ, he can transform them into something far greater than we could accomplish by ourselves.
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