5^th Sunday, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: Positive response to God’s initiative despite weaknesses and predicaments.

Readings: Is 6:1-2a,3-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

Dear friends in Christ, this Sunday, the church invites us to reflect on those things that make us feel unworthy of the mission to speak in God's name to our audience, those past experiences that make us feel unworthy to serve God, those flaws that make us feel ashamed or shy of speaking to our friends about God, and those weaknesses/failures that cause us to make excuses whenever we are called to serve God and humanity.

Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, who were mentioned in today's three readings, have vital lessons for us about how we should deal with past wrongdoings. They teach us how to best respond to God's call, even when we feel undeserving of it, and how to deal with the flaws that frequently cause us to create excuses anytime we are asked to do anything for God and mankind.

The first reading talks about 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 that attracted the wrath of God upon them. 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 to proclaim God’s Word to the 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 those whose past and present misdeeds are preventing them from drawing closer to God; they challenge those who feel unworthy to serve God because of the way they lived their lives in the past. Our God is holy, and 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 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 are making you feel unworthy and unwilling to serve 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 the call of Peter in today’s gospel also showed us the same line of acknowledgment of unworthiness in carrying the divine message, Peter’s encounter with Christ tells us of another kind of challenge that we often 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 should be angry with the request of Christ to offer Him his boat. He would have angrily told Christ to look for another boat. Many people in such situations would have given excuses why their boats 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 well-being of humanity despite the predicaments he faced all night in the sea.

Therefore, 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 well-being of others and for the establishment of His kingdom on earth despite the discomfort that we may face. The example of Peter in today’s gospel challenges us to use our resources, our money, to help the Church and her ministers in their mission of preaching the Good News and helping of the poor. By doing this, we render help to Christ in His mission of establishing the kingdom of God.

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 help/support the Church and her ministers in the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

Happy Sunday and God bless you.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima.

 5^th SUNDAY, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: HUMAN LABOUR AND DIVINE FAVOUR

(Luke 5:1-11)

The Gospel Reading challenges us to take a look at the limitations of our efforts as humans. It invites us to appreciate the wondrous turnaround that comes with divine involvement in the human environment. It reminds us that we cannot do without God. It seems to address the issue of 'omemara ma Chi ekweghi': meaning by that, that one can hustle and struggle without God and end up fruitless. It becomes a serious reminder of the fact that God's approval is very necessary for our human endeavours to yield abundantly. To realize a perfect merge of human labour and divine favour the following steps from the scriptural insights of Today's Gospel must be looked into:

LEAVE THE BOAT FOR JESUS

The fishermen were already washing their nets, thereby calling it a day. A day of nothingness, a day of disappointment, a day of futility, a day of wasted effort. The normal thing should be to be angry with oneself, God, and everyone around. Jesus asked to take over the boat. Imagine this. Put yourself in the condition of these frustrated guys. What would actually be your reaction? He didn't use it to do anything but to preach. Patience with God strikes an interesting chord here. It was only after His preaching that Jesus did something concerning the situation at hand. Self-abandonment to Jesus as the master and captain of our lives matters so much. Allow Jesus to preach on and to that situation.  That situation may be a lesson to you and to people around you.

BE OPEN TO DIVINE DIRECTIVES

Simple instructions are not simply easy to take. It was quite normal for Simon, the expert fisherman, to look down on the instruction of an ordinary carpenter who lacked even the layman's knowledge of fishing. Besides, he knew the best time to fish. But Jesus was rather addressing him based on God's time. He obeyed. May God give you the humility to accept simple instructions that would catapult you to greatness.

LOOK BEYOND THE PRESENT TOIL

Most of the time, we rely on our past bad experiences, hold tight our present sorrows, plunge ourselves into the ocean of self-pity and ignore what the Lord is up to and lose sight of where He's taking us to. The bad past experience of Simon tells him loudly that they had worked and caught nothing. But thanks to God that He went beyond his humaneness to embrace the Divine instruction. Mark his words, "If you say so..."That is faith in action. Faith defiles sight and might. Faith proves to us that it is not by strength nor by might but by the Spirit. When he followed the directions, the mountain of frustration, of poverty, of effort in futility, of near-success syndrome was destroyed. May God give you the grace to look beyond your present negative experience to follow Him to a successful nearest future.

CATCH AND INVITE OTHERS TO CATCH

Having experienced the manifestation of Jesus, the unexpected blessing was so much that they couldn't gather the fish alone. God will surprise you with many blessings. When you are blessed, bless others too. Don't keep only to yourself. May God make you a channel of blessing to your family, friends, and community.

REMAIN IN DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Seeing how much Jesus had loved him, how unworthy he was to receive such great favour from God, Simon fell and begged Jesus to depart from him. But Jesus drew them closer, to be confident in approaching Him.

Some people, when they get what they want, put God aside, run away from God, and keep off from divinity. That's a temptation from the devil   to bite the finger that fed you. Remain in connection with the Divine and be elevated favourably.

BLESSINGS

May God bless you with Divine Favours, may He crown your human effort with unspeakable success through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday to You. (5th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr.C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh