Warts and All

God loves imperfect people! This is the good news for us in today’s gospel. As we heard, Simon Peter had witnessed a miraculous catch of fish. But then he told Jesus to go away, because Peter knew that he was a sinner. But Jesus didn’t go away. Instead, he called Peter to himself, told him not to be afraid, and made him a fisher of men.

Like Peter, we too can sometimes fear Jesus because of our sins and imperfections. They can lead us to think that we’re not worthy to be Jesus’ disciple. At times like this, we need to remember the experience of Peter. As one old slogan puts it: “God doesn’t call the perfect. But he does perfect the called!”

At other times we’re so deeply ashamed of our sins that we fear Jesus will reject us or punish us. But that’s not the Jesus who hung on the cross. When we’re sorry for our sins, the only punishment we need fear is the one we inflict on ourselves when we don’t seek Jesus’ forgiveness, and when we don’t forgive ourselves.

You see, Jesus loved Peter in spite of his imperfections, and he loves us too. Because of Jesus loved only the perfect, he’d have no one on earth to love.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090111.cfm

Photo Credit: DNisha via Creative Commons