Thursday of 22nd Week of Ordinary Time
Col 1: 9-14; Lk 5: 1-11
Dc. Larry Brockman
Imagine the Apostles Peter, James, and John’s reaction. Here were three seasoned fisherman who had labored all night in vain. And now, this stranger orders them to pull out from shore and lower their nets. It was the wrong time of day; the tides were not right; and they were weary from working all night. But despite their objections and cynicism, they made an incredible catch. In fact, it was just plain mind boggling to them, so much so that they dropped everything and followed Jesus.
These three apostles saw miracles like this over and over again. They listened to all that Jesus taught them, yes; but they came to believe in Jesus through these mighty deeds. The case was so compelling- between the authority of Jesus’ teaching and the impact of the miracles, that they came to believe, with certainty, that this man was the Messiah; and that motivated them to ponder in the depths of their hearts what Jesus teaching was and to reorient their lives to follow him accordingly. They walked away from what was comfortable and what they knew. There was just no way that they could not follow Jesus after all that they experienced first-hand.
What a contrast to the Colossians that Paul is talking to in our first reading. You see, the Colossians had to accept on faith what they heard second and even third hand. They weren’t privy to the miracles and the personal contact with Jesus. That is why Paul’s prayer in our first reading is so incredibly beautiful, because Paul recognizes first that the Colossians had real faith. They had come to believe on their own, without all the advantages that the apostles had. And so, Paul’s first thought is to give thanks for their faith.
But then, Paul prays that God would bless them. Notice that he doesn’t pray that they would love one another and keep all of Jesus’ commandments. Rather, he prays that they “would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. That was the very first item on Paul’s prayer agenda. He is praying that they would do what the Apostles did. Ponder the message in the depths of their hearts and find out what God’s will was for them.
We are in the same boat as the Colossians. We have come to believe on the basis of faith alone. And Paul’s good words of Thanksgiving apply to us as well. But we need to move on from there, and before we can go out and just obey God’s commandments, we have a higher priority to establish first. We need to discern God’s will for us so that we can “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord so as to be fully pleasing in every good work bearing fruit.” Paul goes on to say that if we do that “We will be strengthened with every power in accord with his glorious might.” Wow!
There’s a lot of times when people suffer consequences for making wrong decisions that are counter to God’s way. For example, we are subject to civil penalties if we steal or hurt someone. But there are more subtle consequences as well. If we choose our careers; choose our mates, and choose any number of other things without God’s blessing, all kinds of things can and do go wrong.
This, however, is a different teaching. It says that we will be strengthened when we make good decisions about how to live our lives that are in harmony with what God has in mind for us. We will even bear fruit accordingly.
So, if you are unsure where you are going in life, And if you are just trying to get by in life by keeping God’s commandments, why not read Paul’s prayer about the Colossians especially carefully and go off and follow Paul’s advice? You might even find that a miracle of abundance will surface in your life if you do.
Tags: Real Faith; Knowledge of God; Being Strengthened by Faith