Thursday, April 14, 2005

Lectionary readings for 4/14/05

Luke 5:1-11

Verse 8 - Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. "Master, leave. I'm a sinner and can't handle this holiness. Leave me to myself." (The Message)

This was Peter's reaction to having his boat filled with fish at the command of Jesus, after having been fishing all night without a catch. Peter was aware of the holiness of Jesus and responded accordingly by falling to his knees.

There is quite a difference between the response of Peter and the actions of many in todays church let alone the whole world. Peter immediately fell to his knees. We try to rationalize our behavior. Peter's focus was on Jesus, but our focus is often on ourselves. Instead of "Master I'm a sinner", we say "I'm OK the way I am".

I think it is time to again recognize the holiness of Jesus. He is not "the man upstairs". He is the Word made flesh, the eternal Son of God. And in response say, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."

Holy God
Holy and Mighty
Holy Immortal One
Have mercy on us.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The source of so many of our current troubles is the orientation of the individual. If you are oriented on God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, you will see your life and the world around you from the perspective of transcendance. On the other hand, if you filter your life through the prism of humanism, or materialism, you will see your life and the world around you from the perspective of the subjective, i.e. the immediate, the hear and now.