Scripture Reflection, February 7, 2010: Excuse Me!

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or 15:3-8, 11
Luke 5:1-11

What do Isaiah, Paul and Peter have in common?
In today’s readings the Church invites us to reflect on the way God is calling people to serve him and the way these people respond. I don’t think it will be hard for us to find ourselves in the stories of these three biblical characters.

1. Manifestation of God’s Glory: Holy, holy, holy!
   In all three stories, the authors describe the occurrence of a supernatural event that manifests the splendor of God’s power. Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, surrounded by seraphim, giving praise to the Lord. We all know the story of Paul who encountered the Risen Lord on his way to Damascus: “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” (Acts 9:4) Peter instead witnessed one of Jesus’ miracles when he was asked to throw out his nets one more time and remained stunned when he saw the results and the great number of fish he caught.
   
   God always takes the first step when he enters into our lives. From the very origins of human existence God chose to enter into covenant with women and men. God was always acting to draw us into relationship with himself. God could have stayed far from the world he created and just watched from a distance to see how things were going. But the Scripture tells us that God is Love. We know that a love that is closed in itself will eventually die. Love wants to give. Love wants the best for the other. Because God is Love, God gives himself as one to be known and loved.
    
2. Unexpected call: Who, me? Yes – you!
   None of our three friends expected to receive God’s call. Isaiah most probably attended a religious service in the temple. Peter and the other fisherman were following their normal daily routines, catching fish and cleaning the nets. Paul was on an angry mission against the followers of Jesus, determined to carry out his duty and stop this new “Jesus–Movement” from ruining the tradition. The call to service hit all three of them in unexpected moments.
   
   God’s call can hit us anywhere and at any time. Sometimes we wait for the big moment when we will finally understand God’s call with certainty and clarity. But God’s voice is not in the thunder, not in the storm, not in the fire, but in the gentle whisper. It is up to us to be open and listen to God’s voice in our everyday lives. The Gospel invites us to “be on guard”, because we don’t know about the day or the hour. (Mt 24:36)
    
3. Awareness of one’s own sinfulness: Excuse me, please!
   There is another element that Isaiah, Paul and Peter have in common. They are trying to find excuses, claiming their weakness and unworthiness. Isaiah exclaims: “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.” Paul sees himself as “the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Simon Peter, too, witnessing Jesus’ miracle, becomes aware of his sins: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” And the interesting thing is: Nobody expresses any objection to their statements.
   
   Don’t we want to run away sometimes, when we feel that God is calling us to give more? How many excuses do we have? “I can’t do that!” – “This not my gift.” – “ I’m too shy.” – “I’m too young or too old.” – “I have too many limits; I’m unworthy to be called.” And it is not that we are wrong with this. It is the truth! It’s the truth, but it’s not an excuse! The call from God is not about our strength and worthiness, but about God’s grace and love. God will fill the gaps that we leave; he will cleanse us from our sins so that we can say with Paul, the great apostles of the gentiles: “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
    
4. Responding the Call: Here I am, Lord!
   Despite their fear and their feeling of unworthiness and failure, all three of them respond to God’s call. Isaiah even ends up volunteering for his mission: “Here I am, send me!” After responding to Jesus’ call and going through a time of purification, Paul becomes the great apostle that we know, preaching the Good News to the gentiles and the whole world, with determination and authority. And Peter becomes the first follower of Jesus, together with his partners, James and John. They become fishers of men, leaving everything behind to follow Jesus.
   
   If we look at ourselves, our limits, failures and sinfulness we can get kind of stuck. But if we raise our eyes and look at God’s love and compassion, we can loosen the bonds of our human weakness and find freedom in God, who knows us and loves us, with or despite our sins and shortcomings. We will not only be doing things we’ve never done before, but things that are greater than ourselves, as Jesus assures us in the Gospel of John: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, …. . You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)
    
5. Transformation: Praise be to God!
   Isaiah, Paul and Peter have themselves allowed to be transformed by God. Even though they experienced themselves as weak and fearful human beings they allowed God’s grace to enter their lives and to transform them. Through God’s grace Isaiah became the great prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures and Peter and Paul the principal apostles, foundations of the Church.
   
   Once we are able to make the step past our pride and self-pity, we too can be transformed by God’s grace. Our limits, sins and failures, as real as they are, can become “combustible” for the flame of God’s love in us.

Let us give thanks to God for his transforming presence in our lives and let us ask him for the grace to be burning fires and witnesses of His love for many.

Birgit Oberhofer

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