How much can God accomplish in and through you?
The prophet Isaiah is not so sure he is worthy to serve the Lord. When Isaiah has a vision of the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne and seraphim stationed above, he cries out in alarm, Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips…. But in fact, when one of the seraphim touches Isaiah’s mouth with an ember, Isaiah is transformed: your wickedness is removed, your sin purged, the seraphim tells him. Isaiah is now ready to be sent by God. St. Paul similarly recognizes his own unworthiness to serve the Lord: I am the least of the apostles, he tells the Corinthians, not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Yet once called, Paul, by the grace of God, hands on to them as of first importance what he also received, namely, the Truth. Paul knows that God’s grace is not ineffective, because Paul allows the Lord to work in him; in spite of his unworthiness, Paul has faith that God will accomplish great things through him.
Jesus’ disciples must similarly open to all that the Lord can accomplish in and through them. In Luke’s Gospel, although they are exhausted because they have worked hard all night and have yet to clean their nets, Peter and his fellow fishermen follow Jesus’ instructions and put their nets out once again. Where they see impossibility, Jesus sees only possibility. Jesus shows them that, with him, they can do more than they had ever thought possible: the boats are so full of fish that they are in danger of sinking. Peter, too, questions his own worthiness: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, he tells Jesus. But the Lord isn’t concerned about Peter’s unworthiness; so long as Peter and his friends remain open, Jesus can overlook their concerns and fear and sins and failure and see only all that is possible in and through them. Peter and the other fishermen abandon everything in order to follow Jesus, conscious, somehow, that he is preparing them for something radically new. The story is a testimony to the depths of God’s love, which pushes past our brokenness by accepting it and embracing it as part of the whole of who we are. We may not be worthy; indeed, it is more than likely we are not. Yet, like the psalmist in Psalm 138, we know that because of the Lord’s kindness and truth, he will complete what he has done for us, building up strength within us. And so, in the sight of the angels, we too will sing the Lord’s praises, recognizing that with God, all things are indeed possible.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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