Depart from me, Lord

for I am a sinful man.

Jesus said to Simon,
“Do not be afraid;
from now on, you will be catching men.”

Christ chose Simon, the self-confessed sinful man, to lead His Church.

Sin is bad.
It is not good to be sinful.
Virtuous people set better examples.

The fact that Christ chose a sinner to lead His Church does not change any of that.

As we hear in today's Gospel, Peter knew well that he was sinful, that he was imperfect, that he was unworthy even to kneel in the presence of the Lord.

However, that honest consciousness of sinfulness helped show Simon to be a good choice.

We cannot attain the infinite, eternal God by our own efforts and merits alone. We need God’s help. By our own efforts alone, we cannot even overcome completely the brokenness of our fallen human nature in our lives on this earth. We need God’s grace. We are all sinners, one way or another (God knows that I am). We need God’s forgiveness.

Some people think they are perfect. Some people think they do not need God. These people are deluded.

Only the one who is conscious of his imperfections can properly ask God’s forgiveness. Only the one who knows God’s forgiveness can extend it to others.

The world ridicules those “who have fallen yet strive to rise again” and seeks to chase them from the public square.

Christ chose Simon, who fell and rose and fell again many times in his life. Simon would give witness to Christ in the heart of the public square, in words and deeds and power all the way to his death.

Christ chooses you and me.

We repent and confess our sin. We strive by God’s grace to rise again and to spread His grace to those around us. We do not despair. We do not let the world stop us. We listen to Christ.

“Do not be afraid;
from now on, you will be catching men.”