Positive response to God’s initiative despite weaknesses and predicaments
Readings: (1st: Is 6,
1-8; Ps: 137; 2nd: I Cor 15, 1-11; Gos: Lk
5, 1-11)
Dear friends in Christ, the message of the
readings of today is a continuation of the message of the readings of last
Sunday. Last Sunday, the church informed us that God has chosen us to carry His
message to our friends, families, societies, and the entire world. The Church
also informed us to be ready to face persecutions, rejections, insults, and all
types of negative reactions from our audience with the courage of a prophet as
we speak in the name of God. This Sunday, the church invites us to reflect on
those things that make us feel unready of the mission to speak in the name God
to our audience, those past experiences that make us feel unworthy to serve God,
those shortcomings that make us feel ashamed or shy of speaking in the name of
God to our friends, those past misdeeds that make it difficult for us to stand
in the presence of our friends and proclaim the glory of our God, and those
weaknesses that make us give excuses whenever we are called to serve God and
humanity.
Isaiah, Paul, and Peter that were mentioned in
the three readings of today have some important messages for us as regards our approach
to past misdeeds. They teach us how best to answer the call of God, especially
when we feel unworthy of such call, and how to deal with the weaknesses that
lead us to make excuses whenever we are called to perform a duty for God and
humanity.
The first reading opens to us the call of the
prophet Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah was called to speak to the kingdom of Judah
that was about to be destroyed by the Babylonians. A journey in the book of
Isaiah will tell us that it was the sinful lifestyle of the people of Judah the
attracted the wrath of God. From the exclamation of Isaiah when he saw the
glory of God as we read today, he was not free from the sinful practices of his
time. He said, “there is no hope for me, I am doomed because every word that
passes my lips is sinful, and I live among sinful people.” (Is 6:5) However,
with the acknowledgment of his sinfulness, God cleansed him and, immediately,
he accepted the mission of God to proclaim His Word to house of Judah.
We also saw the same line of story in the life
of St Paul from the second reading of today. In this reading, St Paul informed
us that if all he did before he was called by Christ were to be counted for him,
he would not have been worthy to answer an apostle. As we know, St Paul was a
famous persecutor of the disciples of Christ, but when the hand of Christ
touched him, he submitted himself whole and entire to Christ and, then,
accepted the mission to preach in the name of Jesus to the nations.
So, the lives of Isaiah and Paul challenge anyone
who is being hunted by his past misdeeds. They are challenging anyone whose
past and present misdeeds are preventing from drawing close to God; they
challenge those who feel unworthy to serve God because of the way they have
lived their lives in the past. Actually, our God is Holy, before Him we are all
imperfect beings, before Him we stand no chance to be called holy. But the
examples of Isaiah and Paul tell us that we have a God who will not despise a
broken and a contrite heart. A God who is full of mercy and ready to forgive
and accept us. Therefore, they tell us to open our hearts to God and He will
make us clean, and also make us worthy to proclaim His message. Dear friends, I
don’t know your past experiences; I don’t know if there are things that make
you feel unworthy of bearing the sacred message of God; I don’t know if there
are things that at making you feel unworthy of serving God; but what I know is
that if you open yourself for a divine touch today, God will cleanse you and make
you worthy of His mission.
While we saw the same line of the acknowledgment
of unworthiness in carrying the divine message in the call of Peter in the
gospel of today, Peter’s encounter with Christ showed us another challenge we
do face when calls to serve God and humanity come to us. In the gospel, the
call of Jesus came to Peter to offer His boat for service to God and Humanity.
Ordinarily, since Peter had toiled all night without catching any fish, he
would have been angry to be bothered again by the request of Christ to offer
his boat. He would have angrily told Christ to look for another boat. He would
have given excuses why his boat should not be used by Christ. But, dear
friends, Peter refused to give excuses to the call of Christ to allow his
resources to be used to promote the kingdom of God and the wellbeing of
humanity despite the predicaments he faced all night in the sea.
Dear friends, Peter challenges all of us who
give countless reasons for not accepting the call to serve God and humanity,
those who have ready-made answers to refuse any initiative that invites them either
to serve God and humanity or to allow their resources to be used to help the
needy or to promote the kingdom of God. The gospel tells us to always say ‘Yes’
to God’s initiative to use us, our time, our talents and our resources for the
wellbeing of others and for the establishment of His kingdom on earth despite
the discomfort that we may face. So, to
those who are thinking that their resources will not be enough to be shared
with others, Christ is assuring you that He will show you where to make a deep
catch, and that He will make you not just a good fisher man, but a fisher of
men.
Dear friends, let us not be afraid to open
ourselves to God to be cleansed of our misdeeds. Let us not feel unworthy of
the call to speak in God’s name. Let us not give excuses to the divine
initiative that calls us to use our resources to foster the wellbeing of others
and to help in the promotion and edification of God’s kingdom on earth.
Happy Sunday
Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima.
#5thSundayYearC #FifthSundayYearC #RespondingPositivelyToGod’sCall
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