Let's take a closer look at the readings.

Thursday, 9/7/17

Let me say a few words about each reading. Collosai, a town Paul had never visited, was a crossroads in the center of what we now call Turkey. The leading Christians there had written to Paul about a troubling problem.

The Christians there had to put up with followers of a strange branch of Astrology that taught that each of the planets was being governed by separate brand of angel. They had such names as Principalities and Powers. Paul in this letter, instead of arguing against the existence of such angels, chose to present Jesus as more glorious and powerful than any angels could be.

The Gospel presents the brothers Simon and Andrew as the fishing partners of

James and John. It seemed that they manned long seining nets together.

When I was little, our old Irish pastor used to have us twelve-year-olds sit around him as he explained the secrets of the Bible. I remember him telling us that when Peter said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man," he really just wanted Jesus to go away while he sold all those fishes for a huge sum.