Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – Feb 10, 2013. The readings for today can be found at https://usccb.org/bible/readings/021013.cfm . Thanks as always for reading, sharing these posts and for all your comments and feedback.Fr. Jim
HOMILY
Not too long ago, there was a repeat of one of my favorite episodes of Everybody Love Raymond on… I probably say that a lot and have a bunch of favorites because it’s easy to relate to a show about an Italian Mammas-boy being one myself.
This episode was even more relatable than most. Ray (who for those of you don’t know the show is the middle-aged father of three) is trying to get his oldest daughter to continue taking piano lessons. The little girl, Allie, has gotten bored with them, which isn’t surprising. Especially early on, the lessons are all about how to hold your fingers, playing scales up and down the keys. It can be tedious, and for the little girl of 6, she doesn’t seem interested in it at all, so Ray figures if he can demonstrate him playing for her, she’ll be excited and want to do the same. Problem is, Ray hasn’t touched the keyboard in years. Realizing he needs a “refresher” he asks his teacher, his mother Marie to help him . Overjoyed at this, she pulls out the piano bench and the music and very quickly realizes how badly out of practice Ray is. Far from being able to play the “theme from Love Story”; Ray can’t even find middle C on the keyboard. So she digs out those dreaded practice books that piano students have to use when learning how to play. He forgot the basics.
Like I said, the show is relatable. Having taken piano lessons growing up- and sadly not having a piano around – I haven’t played for a pretty long time. At least 7 years… And remembering the last time I started playing after a long absence, I realize that more than likely I’d have to spend some considerable time practicing, remembering the basics before I would want anyone to hear me try to pluck out a tune.
Same thing is true for Baseball players. For example, when Derek Jeter, an All-star hitter, Captain of the Yankees goes into a batting slump – which happens from time to time – what does he need to do? He has to dig out a “Batting T” – something you see those little guys and girls use when they are first learning how to play baseball or softball – where the ball sits nice and steady on a pole just waiting for their swing. When Jeter (or any ball player for that matter) is in a slump, they need to get their groove back. He needs to re-learn how to swing his bat. He needs practice, because he forgot the basics.
That’s true not only for people wanting to master musical instruments or sports – but in the spiritual life as well. In today’s Gospel, we hear about St. Peter – before he was either a Saint or named Peter. At this point in the Gospel, he’s the fisherman who has seen and heard Jesus for some time and was probably pretty intrigued by the man. Well Peter’s been hard at work all night trying to catch some fish, and has not been successful at all. Probably tired and frustrated, the last thing Peter wants to do is put out again into the water at the suggestion of the charismatic carpenter. Yet something about Jesus compels Peter to listen and do so, and they catch this massive, unexpected number of fish that almost sinks his boat and a second one.
So often I had looked at this Gospel as yet another miraculous experience of Christ that just blows the crowds away. But look at Peter’s response. He doesn’t just respond in awe, or amazement or thanks to the Lord. He says “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” What was Peter’s sin? I think that he forgot the basics. Not in fishing, but in life. Namely
– That God is at charge, not man
– That yes we need to work hard, but we need to trust and have faith even harder
– That ultimately we are much better off if we can move from arrogance to humility, listening to what it is Jesus is trying to say to us and then following it.
We can recognize all this because Simon Peter was hesitant when Jesus first suggested going back out, even though by now he knew there was something incredibly special about Jesus that he was already calling him “Master.” Yes Simon Peter was probably a master-fisherman… and for the moment he let that go to his head forgetting that who was it that made him the master fisherman? Who was it that gifted him with the patience the skills needed? Who was it that brought the people into his life that had honed the craft in Peter? Who was it who made the fish in the first place?
He forgot the basics… when he remembers them and practices them: When Peter is obedient, submissive to God speaking to him – then he finds that his hard work is multiplied in an amazingly abundant way.
No matter how long we’ve been living this Christian life, from time to time we can forget those basics. A guy once shared in a testimonial how he was struggling with being promiscuous with many different partners (none of whom were his girlfriend…) He tried desperately to just “stop doing that” and would go through periods of time where he felt strong to resist that temptation but eventually would fail again. Until he realized he had not been to confession in years because he was so embarrassed, so ashamed about this sin. When he finally did, he said he realized that he wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed to confess this to a priest in the confessional, but ultimately to allow Jesus into this struggle, this painful experience. It wasn’t until he did that he started to begin to turn away from that sin. As he summed up to this group of guys he was sharing this story with “There was a bunch of things I knew – like Jesus always loves me, that he wants me to have a full life, that he wants to save me from my sins; and that this sin was something bigger than me…. yet for some reason in the midst of my own struggle, for whatever reason – I had forgotten that…It wasn’t until I recognized that, that this wasn’t something I could just stop on my own, that He had to save me from this sin and I had to let Him that I was finally free.
He forgot the basics.
As we prepare to enter into the season of Lent this Wednesday, the proclamation of this Gospel invites us to look at our lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ in a new way. So often we can let our pride and ego get in the way of realizing I need those practice books, I need that batter’s T – I need to remember the basics. If we can just stop. Be honest with ourselves and with Him. In what areas in our lives do we feel alone, do we feel we’re struggling, do we recognize needs to be changed or transformed? May we come to recognize, like Simon Peter, after our long days and nights how Jesus is there on the shore looking at us, constantly awaiting our welcoming him into our boats and listening to His commands.
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