Sunday, February 6, 2022

Obey Nonetheless


The WORD today reminds me that we should obey God even if we have our doubts, apprehensions and concerns. 

We are all subject to authority - be it at work, in school, in business, in our family, and in other aspects of our life. And sometimes, we do not agree with the decisions or orders of people in authority. However, we often find ourselves obeying them - either out of fear, respect or obligation. This is what Jesus wants from us. 

God wants us to obey him despite our doubts, apprehensions and concerns. 

In the gospel, we see Jesus preaching, and eventually making miracles. He told Simon to lower his nets so he can get some fish. at first, Simon was apprehensive, saying that they worked all night and caught nothing. Probably he was thinking that – who is this guy, he is not even a fisherman. And it shows, because he asked me to just lower my nets, but this is not a spot where we usually catch fish. but he did not let these thoughts win. He eventually obeyed the carpenter – we have worked hard all night but caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets. Because of his faith and obedience, he was blessed.

God wants us to obey him. 

In the second reading, we see something similar. Paul was not with God from the beginning. He was actually persecuting Christ’s followers. However, when God called him, he obeyed. And he never looked back. When he calls us, he just asks that we obey him despite all our concerns - even if we feel unworthy. The first reading tells us that he can clean us instantly. We just have to obey and let him. 

God rewards those who obey him. 

A lot of times, we experience what Simon did. However, not all of us get past the initial apprehension phase. We are all carrying problems, burdens and concerns. There may be times we feel what Simon felt – working hard all our lives and still accomplishing nothing, still the same problems, concerns and worries. Tired. Frustrated. However, we should not let these things overpower us. We should not let these things prevent God from working in our lives.

Had Simon told Jesus that he was too tired from working all night, even if Jesus had the power to bless him, Simon won’t be blessed because he did not cooperate and refused God's blessings. If Simon gave in to the temptation to say “Hey, we worked all night and did what you are telling us to do, and we got nothing. So please, give me a break” or something like that, he would really not catch anything. We need to do our part so we can experience God's blessings. 

God’s wisdom is beyond our understanding, and his goodness is never ending.

We don’t need to understand why he is asking us to do things, or it does not need to make sense what he is asking us to do. Sometimes, he just wants us to obey, have faith and be humble. Then he can bless us.

In what areas of my life do I have apprehensions? How do I cope with seemingly impossible situations? Do I have faith in God, even if his words seem to not make sense? Do I still obey him no matter how I feel?

May we always have faith in God and obey him no matter what we feel about it. 

Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for giving me another day to live. Thank you for another Sunday. Thank you for the reminder. Lord, sorry for not having faith in you. Sorry for doubting and for ignoring you when situations are challenging. Lord, I ask for the gift of faith. I ask for the gift of humility. Lord, there are a lot of times I get tired or frustrated in life. My efforts seem to get me nowhere. Same problems, same concerns, same everything. But Lord, may these things not make me lose focus on you, may these things not make me lose my faith in you. Lord, I pray that I always be humble and obedient to you. may my faith always be bigger than my concerns. And may I always be ready and willing to obey, despite of all that are preventing me from it. Amen.

Blessed Sunday!

In Christ,
-g-


Daily Readings

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 75

In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above.

They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Responsorial Psalm

R. (1c) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
            for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
            I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
            for you have made great above all things
            your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
            you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
            when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
            “Great is the glory of the LORD.”
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Your right hand saves me.
            The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
            forsake not the work of your hands.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Reading II

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, Christ appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.

OR:

1 Cor 15:3-8, 11

Brothers and sisters,
I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures; 
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one abnormally born,
he appeared to me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed. 

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening
to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. 
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him

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