First Reading- Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8;
Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11;
Gospel – Luke 5:1-11
God invites each person individually but with a mission. Holy Scriptures tell us about the call of Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Samuel, and others who had to fulfil the mission of God. God calls each one to fulfil a purpose. Thus, the entire Church is said to be in a state of vocation and of mission and therefore each member of the Church, each for his or her own part has their own vocation and mission and every one of us is called to play our unique and individual role in building up the life of the Church.
Today’s readings tell us of the experience of divine presence and the human response of the individual. We have here three important persons mentioned in the Bible: Isaiah, Paul, and Peter. All three persons were most grateful to God for having chosen them and they did make a great effort to answer the calling. This is not to say that they were all perfect persons. The calling of God is always connected with the mission where the individual concerned is called upon to do a particular task. In the first reading of today, we see Isaiah as a privileged person to see the holiness of God. The passage begins with the death of King Uzziah and at the same time Isaiah sees God of Israel seated on a high and lofty throne in the Kingdom of Heaven. Prophet Isaiah wished at times that God would have chosen someone else because the people would not listen to him. He viewed himself as a great sinner among sinners, not worthy of being in the presence of Yahweh. St. Paul started on the wrong track by persecuting the Christians. He having persecuted the Holy Catholic Church instituted by Jesus viewed himself as being unfit of being called an apostle. Peter the first Pope, begged Jesus to get away from him because he was a sinful man. He ran away from his master and denied him during the last twenty- four hours of His life. All of them were weak.
We encounter all three great persons in the Bible: Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, expressing their own worthlessness. A Seraph cleanses Isaiah lips with a burning coal, Paul experiences Jesus in a vision and then is cleansed after three days’ fasting and prayer in physical blindness, and Jesus has a cleansing word for Peter. When Isaiah had his vision, Paul had his and its aftermath, and Peter had his epiphany, each experienced deep humility, fear, respect, and reverence, in short, awe of God. Today’s readings teach us that Christian spirituality is discipleship, which means living out a positive response to God’s call. Discipleship has three steps: 1) The revelation: The miraculous, catch of fish described in today’s Gospel was a revelation to Peter of Jesus’ identity as the One sent from God. 2) The recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy: Peter responded, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” 3) The word of reassurance from Jesus and a call to share in his life-giving mission,” From now on, you will be catching men!” Today’s readings are “epiphany-call stories” which tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers. Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship. When faced with the awesome power of God, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter are all struck dumb by a sense of their own unworthiness. In short, all the three Scripture Readings of today are unusually well-connected in theme: First, all three of these men – Isaiah, Peter, and Paul – were ordinary men, and their extraordinary encounters with God became life-changing events. Second, all three of these men looked at themselves as ‘unworthy’ in relationship to God or the Christ, and recognized their own sinfulness, lowliness, and inadequacies in the face of a Being who was awe-inspiring to them. Third, all three of these men who were humbled, and felt their sinfulness in the face of their God, were cleansed by God and called to do His work. Fourth, Peter, Paul, and Isaiah, – were each called to be apostles [meaning messengers], delegated and sent out to convey a message or carry out a mission on their master’s behalf, not merely to be disciples — following a master. The Good News today is that God can take one who is a very human, fault-filled person, offer one forgiveness, give one a mission, and call one to holiness.
We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Indian poet Tagore wrote this prayer: “I come to take your touch before I begin the day.” The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness — our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God Who gives sinners a new start. It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness. Our response must be modelled on that of the tax collector in the parable: “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13). The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us, if we are to be willing and able to receive transformation through God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest person among us stands in need of conversion. God, who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life-circumstances as He shall direct. (It is probably, their strong awareness of the presence of the Risen Lord in each Christian, which prompted them to greet each other with “Maranatha” [“Come, our Lord.”]