Sunday Gospel Reflection, February 9, 2025: Do not be afraid: from now on, you will be catching men...

Do not be afraid;
from now on, you will be catching men…

What does it mean to be called by God? 

   Isaiah, Simon Peter, Paul: three men, each called by the Lord. Why did God choose them, and how did they respond to this call? 

   In the 8th c. BC, the prophet Isaiah has a vision in which he sees the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. God’s presence can barely be contained, and Isaiah is overwhelmed. Yet, although he feels himself to be unworthy and inadequate, Isaiah knows that he has nonetheless been chosen by God. When the ember that one of the seraphim had taken with tongs from the fire touches Isaiah’s mouth, he is transformed, purified of any stain of infidelity, and can respond to God’s invitation, Whom shall I send? with a resounding, Here I am; send me! Would we respond with such alacrity? 

   In Luke's Gospel, when Jesus gets into the boat belonging to Simon, the fisherman is not enthusiastic about throwing out his net after a night during which they have caught nothing. Yet, upon witnessing with astonishment the catch of fish brought in on Jesus’ command, Simon falls at the knees of Jesus, exclaiming, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Jesus’ response is meant to calm Simon’s worries: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. At these reassuring words, Simon and his companions leave everything and follow Jesus. Would we respond as wholeheartedly? 

   Paul reminds the Corinthians that he was not fit to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God, yet the Lord saw fit to appear to him nonetheless. God’s grace is doubly at work in Paul to make up for this brokenness, purifying Paul as God purified Isaiah. Paul’s persecutions of the Church did not lead Paul to this role; God chose him, and Paul allows God to work in him through the grace of God that is with him. As Psalm 138 states, The Lord will complete what he has done for us. Would we respond so humbly? 

   We struggle to imagine that we too might be called by the Lord. Like Isaiah, Simon Peter and Paul, we likely feel unworthy, incapable of earning the forgiveness necessary to serve in such a way. It is an ongoing struggle for us in our own brokenness; we let our brokenness be a barrier standing between ourselves and the Lord. Yet the Lord’s words to Simon – Do not be afraid! – are also there for us as we step out in faith and recognize our call, a call to walk with the Lord and to allow him to work in and through us, every single day. Do not be afraid! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, June 25, 2023: Do not be afraid...

Do not be afraid…

How can God’s great love teach us to live without fear? 

    It’s not by chance that one of the most commonly repeated phrases in the Bible is, Do not be afraid. The prophet Jeremiah knows better than to fear as he prophesies the coming enslavement of the people of Israel in Babylon. Even his friends denounce him, refusing to believe that the terror on every side – the siege of Jerusalem – of which Jeremiah speaks is imminent. But Jeremiah entrusts his cause to the Lord, confident, as Psalm 69 states, that the Lord, in his great love, will answer the prophet’s prayer. The psalmist himself is persecuted because zeal for the Lord’s house consumes him, yet he knows that fidelity to God is the only possible path for one who is committed to a relationship of great love with the Lord. 

    In Matthew’s Gospel, having warned the disciples that they too will need to maintain their courage under persecution, Jesus tells the Twelve to fear no one. The kingdom of God cannot be taken from them, and so all that Jesus says to them in the darkness, they are to speak in the light, without fear. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, Jesus says. It is not fear but love that must be the deciding factor in their life decisions. That love is what Paul, writing to the Romans, calls the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ, a gift of grace that overflows for the many. 

    Our struggle in life is often to turn away from fear and to turn toward the love God has for us, that we might live for God. Jesus makes this possible for us, because his love overflows for the many, and the love of God is the promise of eternal life. Perfect love knows no boundaries, neither of time nor of space. If we truly embrace that love, we can indeed fear no one as we face the trials of the world and even those of our own sinfulness. For, in the eyes of God, we are worth more than many sparrows, and to whom we can always entrust our cause. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, February 6, 2022: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men...

Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men…

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