Reflection for Thursday September 5, 2019: 22nd Week in Ordinary Time.

Abstract

|These early days in the month of September can be filled with changes. Here in the Midwest, the weather is starting to change from the warm summer months to the cooler days of fall. The gardens, trees and flowers begin to show that change before we are even aware of the shift. The beginning of the school year brings changes in routine and responsibilities for teachers, students and families. This is a time of shifting focus.|Change can be energizing but it can also be unsettling. Today's first reading from Paul's letter to the Colossians is filled with joyful encouragement. Paul reminds the Colossians of God's abiding love as "He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Paul's words remind me to slow down in times of unsettling change and become grounded in God's love. During these busy, and sometimes trying days, I continue to pray to "be filled with the knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord."|In today's Gospel from Luke, the disciples Simon Peter, James and John experience a dramatic demonstration of the wisdom of Jesus and a consequent change in identity. Jesus asks them to make a leap of faith by dropping their fishing nets in waters that had not yet yielded a good catch. The bountiful catch humbles the men and deepens their faith. Jesus uses this powerful experience to help the men understand that they are now fishers of people to invite them to know God. The humility they experienced on the water helps them be more available to those they encounter who are questioning Jesus. |I wonder how I would hear such an invitation. I reflect upon my daily routines and choices to look for ways to better live in the manner worthy of the Lord. I am reminded that with God all things are possible. In times of change and in times of stability I remember the refrain from today's Psalm, the Lord has made known his salvation.