Issue 68 October 2026

Parish life

Bible Study Rewards

Congratulations to all our children who have faithfully completed ten weeks of Bible Study! Their commitment, enthusiasm and willingness to learn more about God's Word is something to be celebrated.

As Scripture reminds us:

May the lessons they have learned continue to guide them and strengthen their faith as they grow.

A special thank you to Fr Luke and Fr Elijah for assisting with the award presentations, and to Ebi Ghaly for coordinating the Bible Study program. Thank you also to Mirette Elghetany for presenting the children with their awards and celebrating this wonderful achievement with them.

Well done to all our Bible Study award recipients.

From the pulpit

More than we ask for

Fr Elijah · The miraculous catch of fish, Luke 5

The Gospel of this morning is the famous catch of fish. I'd like to think about this story from the perspective of Simon Peter, because if we put ourselves in his shoes, we can learn a great deal about asking from God, waiting, not receiving what we expected, and ultimately trusting Him.

In Luke 4, the chapter before the Gospel we read this morning, we hear about Simon Peter's mother-in-law being sick with a high fever, and Jesus healing her. So there had already been an encounter between Jesus and Simon Peter. This miraculous healing would have left Simon thinking, "Wow, I've never seen this before. This is something quite unusual."

The next night, Simon Peter returned to his work as a fisherman. It was quite an enterprise, with his business partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, in another boat. They fished all night, as was their custom, but caught nothing.

The following morning, Simon Peter was probably exhausted and discouraged when he saw Jesus. No doubt the memory of the evening before was fresh in his mind: this was the Jesus who had miraculously healed his mother-in-law, and now He had turned up at his workplace after a very bad day at the office.

What might Simon Peter have been asking for or thinking about in that moment? Perhaps one simple thing he wanted was a word of comfort and consolation: "It's a hard day. It's okay. One day at a time. Tomorrow will be better."

The Gospel opens with the multitude pressing around Jesus by the lake. Jesus asks Simon Peter to borrow his boat and put out a little from the land so that He can stand in the boat and teach the people. Perhaps Simon Peter was simply waiting for a word of consolation, a word of comfort, or a word of encouragement.

Now imagine if, after hearing Jesus teach, Simon Peter had simply said, "Okay, thank you. That's enough," and gone home. "I got what I wanted. I got what I asked for. I'm comforted."

But he didn't.

He stayed.

Then Jesus stopped speaking and said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

Simon Peter was very honest. This is a model for us in our prayer. We don't need to say to the Lord what we think He wants to hear. He can see what is in our hearts anyway. We can simply speak freely:

As we know, there was an enormous catch of fish. The nets began to break, their boat was about to sink, and they had to call their partners in the other boat, which was also about to sink.

Imagine if the story had ended there. Simon Peter could have thought, "I was disappointed. I came for consolation, I got consolation, and I got fish, more fish than I know what to do with."

He could have sold the fish and returned to that same lake the very next day, searching for more.

But the Lord wanted to give him more.

Not just consolation and comfort. Not just fish. He wanted to give him more.

When Simon Peter saw the miracle, he became deeply aware of his own unholiness and weakness in the presence of Almighty God. He said:

He was overwhelmed, perhaps even despairing.

Sometimes this thought can cross our minds: "I don't belong here in the church. All these people are doing the right thing. That's not me. If only they knew. If only they knew what was going through my mind. If only they knew the reality of what happens in my home, or in my heart, or on the screen of my device." "If only they knew… Depart from me, O Lord, I am a sinful man."

Imagine if Jesus had then given Simon Peter what he asked for and said, "Okay, fine."

But instead of accepting his request, instead of saying, "I will depart from you," the Lord does the exact opposite.

He says, "Follow Me."

"You want Me to depart from you? I want the exact opposite. I want you to follow Me. And from now on, you will become fishers of men."

This is a theme we see throughout the Gospels.

This morning, in the Matins Gospel, we read the account of the Resurrection and the disciples looking for our Lord. If you remember Mary Magdalene, she saw Jesus but supposed Him to be the gardener. She said to Him, "If you know where they have laid Him, just let me know."

But we can say to Mary Magdalene: You don't know who you're talking to. That's not the gardener. That's Jesus Himself.

You want Him simply to tell you where the body is? He wants to give you so much more than that. He wants you to encounter the risen Lord.

So the reminder for us today is this. If you go to Him seeking consolation, just wait. He also wants to give you fish. If you receive the fish, just wait. He also wants to give you transformation.

Whatever request we have from the Lord, let us be patient and be ready and willing to accept what He gives us, from His hand, in His time.

It might not be exactly what we want, when we want it. But He is the good Giver, and He gives us what we need.

There is nothing greater than receiving a timely gift from the Lord which refines us, restores us, and brings us closer to Him.

So, during the rest of the Liturgy, let us pray for one another: that we may learn from Saint Peter to be patient and to come to the Lord ready to receive from Him what He offers us, in His time.

We bow to His name.