Concern for ones salvation and apostolic service should be the main duty of Orthodox Christians
True disciples of Jesus
"Once when the people were crowding around him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two ships standing by the shore; the fishermen had come out of them and were washing their nets. He entered one of those ships; it was Šimun's, so ask Šimun to print a little from the end. They sat down and taught the multitude from the ship. When he had finished the lesson, he said to Simon: 'Put out to sea and cast the nets for hunting'. Šimun answered: 'Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast the nets.' They did so and caught very many fish; their nets were almost tearing apart. They waved to their comrades on the other ship to come help them. They came and filled both ships, they almost sank. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the feet of Jesus, saying: 'Go away from me! I am a sinful man, Lord!' He and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that he had caught, as well as Jacob and Ivan, sons of Zebedee, friends of Simon. Jesus said to Simon: 'Do not be afraid! From now on you will hunt people!' They pulled the ships ashore, left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:1-11) .
From this part of the Gospel, it is evident that the Lord Jesus Christ is by the Lake of Gennesaret where the people gather around him and push to hear his words. Entering Peter's ship, the Lord asked the apostle Peter to push it a little from the end so that he could teach the people who were on the shore from it. That people, who by their pushing show great eagerness to hear the divine word, give us a beautiful example that we should listen to the word of God, which is announced from the altar every Sunday and holiday, willingly and eagerly.
God's word is food for the soul as bread is food for the body, and if we do not listen to it regularly, we sin greatly and are on the road to eternal destruction. Therefore, we need to listen fervently to the word of God and live by it in order to nourish our soul for eternal life.
Furthermore, it can be seen that the Lord teaches the people precisely from Peter's nave, which here represents the holy Church, to which the Lord gave his Apostles and their successors, the bishops, as the supreme head.
Therefore, if a person wants to hear the true divine teaching, he should exclusively and only go to the holy Church, which is the bearer and protector of God's word on earth, while everything else around it is a delusion and a lie that leads to eternal ruin.
When he finished the lesson, the Lord commanded the apostle Peter: "Put out to sea and cast the nets for hunting" (Lk 5:4). Apostle Peter answered: "Teacher, we toiled all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast the nets" (Lk 5:5).
It is known that man knows how to work long hours and put in a lot of effort, but in most cases his pain is in vain! The question arises, why is this so? Well, that's exactly why she very often does his evil intentions, because she wants to do everything with her human powers. In his affairs, he only thinks of earthly considerations, and does not look up to God and does not recommend his efforts to Him. That is why the Lord withholds his blessing because he is doing his human will, not God's will. As such, he works in vain for eternity and will therefore have no wages in Heaven.
We should recommend our work and endeavors to the Lord and do everything out of love for him to be blessed for time and eternity. And, that this is true is proven by the fishermen with the apostle Peter at the head, because just when they were working in the name of Jesus, they caught such a large amount of fish that their nets almost tore and both ships almost sank. The rich catch of fish is just a picture of the great conversion of people that will happen in the name of Jesus through Peter and the other apostles.
So, when we go to our work in the name of God, then everything turns out well for us and every day, and what is most important, we are richer in merits that will one day earn us a great salary in Heaven.
"Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the feet of Jesus, saying: 'Go away from me! I am a sinful man, Lord!'' (Lk 5:8)
Apostle Peter was an honest and God-fearing man who completely humbled himself before the Lord and did not consider himself worthy to associate with such a great miracle worker. He realized and with this act showed that we should not be proud, but that we should humble ourselves and thank God for everything we have and what we are , not ourselves.
Furthermore, at the end of this part of the Gospel, the Lord said to the apostle Peter: "Do not be afraid! From now on you will hunt people!" (Lk 5:10).
With these words, the Lord called Peter to apostolic service, telling him that he would hunt people in his name, that is, that he would convert Israelis and Gentiles to the holy Christian faith, letting him know that apostolic service is ahead of every other human earthly service.
That the apostolic service is ahead of every other human service here on earth is confirmed by the words of the Gospel: "They pulled the ships to land, left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11).
It is evident from these words that the apostles realized their high calling and that is why they pulled their ships out to the land to follow the Lord readily. As true disciples of Jesus, they left the temporal in order to gain the eternal. They understood that concern for their salvation and apostolic service should be their main or basic duty, because the Lord says: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his life?" (Mt 16:26).
It is precisely for this reason that we should believe everything that God has revealed, keep all the commandments that he has instructed us to receive and receive all the means of grace that he has determined for our salvation in order to achieve the purpose of our existence, which is eternal life . Amen!
True disciples of Jesus
"Once when the people were crowding around him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two ships standing by the shore; the fishermen had come out of them and were washing their nets. He entered one of those ships; it was Šimun's, so ask Šimun to print a little from the end. They sat down and taught the multitude from the ship. When he had finished the lesson, he said to Simon: 'Put out to sea and cast the nets for hunting'. Šimun answered: 'Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast the nets.' They did so and caught very many fish; their nets were almost tearing apart. They waved to their comrades on the other ship to come help them. They came and filled both ships, they almost sank. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the feet of Jesus, saying: 'Go away from me! I am a sinful man, Lord!' He and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that he had caught, as well as Jacob and Ivan, sons of Zebedee, friends of Simon. Jesus said to Simon: 'Do not be afraid! From now on you will hunt people!' They pulled the ships ashore, left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:1-11) .
From this part of the Gospel, it is evident that the Lord Jesus Christ is by the Lake of Gennesaret where the people gather around him and push to hear his words. Entering Peter's ship, the Lord asked the apostle Peter to push it a little from the end so that he could teach the people who were on the shore from it. That people, who by their pushing show great eagerness to hear the divine word, give us a beautiful example that we should listen to the word of God, which is announced from the altar every Sunday and holiday, willingly and eagerly.
God's word is food for the soul as bread is food for the body, and if we do not listen to it regularly, we sin greatly and are on the road to eternal destruction. Therefore, we need to listen fervently to the word of God and live by it in order to nourish our soul for eternal life.
Furthermore, it can be seen that the Lord teaches the people precisely from Peter's nave, which here represents the holy Church, to which the Lord gave his Apostles and their successors, the bishops, as the supreme head.
Therefore, if a person wants to hear the true divine teaching, he should exclusively and only go to the holy Church, which is the bearer and protector of God's word on earth, while everything else around it is a delusion and a lie that leads to eternal ruin.
When he finished the lesson, the Lord commanded the apostle Peter: "Put out to sea and cast the nets for hunting" (Lk 5:4). Apostle Peter answered: "Teacher, we toiled all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast the nets" (Lk 5:5).
It is known that man knows how to work long hours and put in a lot of effort, but in most cases his pain is in vain! The question arises, why is this so? Well, that's exactly why she very often does his evil intentions, because she wants to do everything with her human powers. In his affairs, he only thinks of earthly considerations, and does not look up to God and does not recommend his efforts to Him. That is why the Lord withholds his blessing because he is doing his human will, not God's will. As such, he works in vain for eternity and will therefore have no wages in Heaven.
We should recommend our work and endeavors to the Lord and do everything out of love for him to be blessed for time and eternity. And, that this is true is proven by the fishermen with the apostle Peter at the head, because just when they were working in the name of Jesus, they caught such a large amount of fish that their nets almost tore and both ships almost sank. The rich catch of fish is just a picture of the great conversion of people that will happen in the name of Jesus through Peter and the other apostles.
So, when we go to our work in the name of God, then everything turns out well for us and every day, and what is most important, we are richer in merits that will one day earn us a great salary in Heaven.
"Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at the feet of Jesus, saying: 'Go away from me! I am a sinful man, Lord!'' (Lk 5:8)
Apostle Peter was an honest and God-fearing man who completely humbled himself before the Lord and did not consider himself worthy to associate with such a great miracle worker. He realized and with this act showed that we should not be proud, but that we should humble ourselves and thank God for everything we have and what we are , not ourselves.
Furthermore, at the end of this part of the Gospel, the Lord said to the apostle Peter: "Do not be afraid! From now on you will hunt people!" (Lk 5:10).
With these words, the Lord called Peter to apostolic service, telling him that he would hunt people in his name, that is, that he would convert Israelis and Gentiles to the holy Christian faith, letting him know that apostolic service is ahead of every other human earthly service.
That the apostolic service is ahead of every other human service here on earth is confirmed by the words of the Gospel: "They pulled the ships to land, left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11).
It is evident from these words that the apostles realized their high calling and that is why they pulled their ships out to the land to follow the Lord readily. As true disciples of Jesus, they left the temporal in order to gain the eternal. They understood that concern for their salvation and apostolic service should be their main or basic duty, because the Lord says: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his life?" (Mt 16:26).
It is precisely for this reason that we should believe everything that God has revealed, keep all the commandments that he has instructed us to receive and receive all the means of grace that he has determined for our salvation in order to achieve the purpose of our existence, which is eternal life . Amen!
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