In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Glory forever. How we perceive the world around
us affects how we live. How we view life and
reality impacts our thoughts and our actions.
When we have the right facts, we can make right
decisions. There is one central fact that brings
all of us here together today, and that is that
God exists. Many people don't believe that. They
somehow have believed an untruth that God does
not exist, and so they make wrong choices. God
exists, and a second fact is that God created
everything else that does exist. including you
and me. Today's epistle reading said, For it
is God who commanded light to shine out of the
darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give
the light of knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ. God exists, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and created the world we
live in, and created each one of us. And here
is a third fact. God loves us, everyone, and
wants what is best for us. Properly understood,
knowing these three facts helps us to make right
decisions. We actually will trust God, and we
will do things that are good for our souls, for
our souls and for our bodies. God exists. God
created everything else that exists. God loves
us, everyone, and wants what is best for us.
And yet, even knowing these three facts, and
even acknowledging that we know them right now,
somehow we still make mistakes. Why? Because
of the simple, selfish pride that each one of
us has. Even when we acknowledge these three
facts, knowing and believing God is the creator
and that we are the created, we think we know
better than God. We justify our pride in our
minds and make a wrong choice and we sin. And
the vice of pride has tricked us. But every vice
has a corresponding virtue. And for pride, the
corresponding virtue is humility. And fortunately
for me and for you, we can learn to be humble
and to have that humility that God wants us to
have. Fact three, God loves us, everyone, and
wants what is best for us, means that God desires
to teach us humility if we would only learn.
In today's gospel reading, St. Peter gives an
example of this faith and this humility. For
Peter was a fisherman by trade. He knew fishing.
He knew that he'd been out in a boat. He knew
that no fish had been caught all night. His knowledge
and experience told him to set out again was
foolishness. And yet, Christ called him to do
it. And he said one word that each one of us
needs to learn. Nevertheless. He knew he was
right, but he listened to the Lord Jesus and
said, Nevertheless, I will do as you say. May
we learn that lesson. Peter said, Master, we
have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless,
at your word, I will let down the net. He humbled
himself, not giving in to his pride as a fisherman,
and he was obedient to Christ our Lord. And because
of that, a miracle happened. We know that the
fishing nets were filled to the point of breaking.
and Peter's humility is demonstrated in his words
after experiencing this miracle. He said, Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Sometimes
we think we know better than God about a given
situation, like Peter, who was an expert at fishing.
But what if Peter had said no? The miracle would
not have happened. So let us say yes to God and
watch God work miracles in our lives. And let
us diminish our self -focused pride and grow
in our humility because of who God is and his
love for us. Archbishop Andre of Novo de Vivo
says, Only take the gospel in your hands. Only
try to apply it to your life. Take everything
which the Holy Church gives us. Then a miracle
will happen to you too, a greater miracle than
the wonderful catch. Christ himself will be revealed
to you as he was revealed to Peter. Then you
too will say deep in your heart, I am a sinful
man, O Lord. And if you are a sinner, it means
that you are sick and need a physician. And if
a physician, then who is the physician of the
heart? Christ alone. And we would come in humility
before him. God exists. God created everything
else that exists. God loves us, everyone, and
wants what is best for us. Let us learn humility
following God's commandments and expecting miracles
to follow. Glory to Jesus Christ.