FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
10 FEBRUARY 2019
The
prophet Isaiah remembers well the event that changed his life. It happened in 742, the year King Uzziah
died. Isaiah is doing what priests do in
the Temple. He is praying. All of a sudden, he is given a vision of God. Because such visions are impossible to put
into human terms, Isaiah uses images:
the train of the Lord’s garment fills the Temple, Seraphim stationed
above, and the smoke and earthquake (reminiscent of his ancestors’ encounter
with God at Mount Sinai). Overwhelmed by
this incredible experience, Isaiah realizes that he is a sinner. The Lord purifies him with the burning coal
and sends him to be his prophet.
Simon Peter
also remembers the event that changed his life.
It happened at the Sea of Galilee.
He is doing what fishermen do, even when they have caught nothing. He is cleaning his nets. Jesus asks him to use his boat as a
pulpit. Because Simon had been drawn to
Jesus and was grateful that he had healed his mother-in-law, he gladly
obliges. But then, Jesus tells him to go
back out to the deep water to lower his nets for a catch. Simon Peter must be thinking: what does this landlubber from Nazareth know
about fishing, especially after we professionals have failed all night? However, he obeys. In catching that huge amount of fish, he
encounters the divine, much as Isaiah had encountered the divine in the Temple
centuries before. Like Isaiah, Simon
recognizes that he is a sinner who cannot come near the holiness of the Son of
God. But Jesus tells him not to be
afraid and calls him to catch people through the net of the Gospel. Peter and his companions are so affected by
this encounter that they leave their nets and everything to follow Jesus and
eventually become the leader of his Church.
The Lord
continues to grace us with his presence.
He has already called each of us to follow him when we passed through
the waters of Baptism. As we continue to
walk as his disciples, there are occasions when we encounter the Lord’s
presence and find it difficult to put that experience into words. Maybe it happened to you at your marriage, or
at the birth of your first child, or on a weekend retreat. It happened to me when I was ordained a
Deacon in Cincinnati in 1973. I had
spent months agonizing over whether or not I should be ordained. I had never had so many doubts in my
life. Is God really calling me to be a
deacon and then a priest? My parents had
moved out of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and lived in the Chicago area. No one in my immediate family lived in this
Diocese any more. I had many doubts
about whether or not I could live the celibate life. Despite all of those doubts, I presented
myself to the Cathedral for ordination.
After Archbishop Bernardin laid hands on me, and as a priest friend was
vesting me in the stole and dalmatic, I had the most overwhelming experience
that has not repeated until the day that Bishop Rhoades dedicated this
church. I still cannot put that
experience into words. But it convinced
me that the Lord was calling me to priestly service, no matter how unworthy and
sinful I may have been.
Saul of
Tarsus had one of those experiences on his way to Damascus to persecute the
followers of Jesus of Nazareth. He
encountered the risen Lord and responded to his call to be the Apostle to the
Gentiles. Saint Paul remained painfully
aware of his sinfulness and murderous intents.
He knew that he was not among the original Twelve. But, his experience of the risen Lord
convinced him that the Lord was calling him to proclaim the Gospel beyond the
confines of God’s Chosen People. The
risen Lord is calling us to do the same.
He chooses us, not because we are good or because we are gifted. He chooses us, because he loves us and wants
us to bring his Good News to our world – not so much by our clever words, but
more by the way we try to live our baptismal promises with trust and without
fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment