February 06, 2022, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

All three readings for this weekend have a theme which is so meaningful for all Christians. It is one which concerns our response to God’s call when it comes in our life and how we react according to our own individual circumstances.

In our First Reading (Isa. 6:1-2a, 3-8) we hear about Isaiah, one of the most prominent figures in scripture and our faith tradition. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem in the Southern kingdom of Judah where he seemed to have direct access to the royal court, speaking warnings to kings in outrage for their oppression, injustice, and abandonment of God. It is thus proposed that he may have been a priest or member of a royal family.

Isaiah received his call to prophetic ministry by God in the year of the death of King Uzziah (740BC). Isaiah relates his vision of God sitting on a lofty throne while the angels, Seraphim, sing their praises. Their hymn is one still sung in Jewish worship, as well as the basis for our Sanctus: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” (Isa. 6:3).

The shaking of the building and the smoke indicate the presence of God and we hear Isaiah express his dread and dismay at the vision, thinking he may be struck dead, or at least silenced, for seeing God face to face. After protesting his unworthiness, Isaiah is purged of his sin by an angel who touches his mouth with an ember from the altar. Unlike some of the reluctant prophets of the Old Testament, Isaiah readily responds to God’s call with, “Here I am, send me!” (Isa. 6:8b).

Isaiah would go on to become the most influential prophet during this time and, in fact, throughout the history of Israel as prophecy in his name would extend for several decades, with the later writings of Isaiah believed to be written by an anonymous author or authors given the pseudonyms Second or Deutero-Isaiah and Third or Trito-Isaiah, writing during the Babylonian exile and post-exile periods.

When we come to the Second Reading (1Cor. 15:1-11), we hear from Paul whose call to service by Jesus is a familiar story. Paul was born a Roman citizen to Jewish parents in Tarsus (Southern Turkey) and studied the Torah in Jerusalem where he became a Pharisee under a teacher of the Law known as Gamaliel.

By his own admission, Paul was a staunch persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem and Judea in the years shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. In today’s reading we hear Paul admit his own embarrassment over the role he played before his conversion. He says, “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1Cor. 15:9).

One day on the road to Damascus, where he was headed with papers from Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to arrest Christians, Paul had a vision of Jesus asking him why he was persecuting the members of his Church. After this incident he was blinded, but he received his sight and was baptized a few days later in Damascus by a man of Christ known as Ananias.

Following his conversion, Paul dedicated his life to bringing the news of Jesus to the Gentiles in the surrounding areas of the Roman Empire. He acknowledges that it was only through the grace of God that he received his ability to “toil” harder than most to spread the fundamental message of our faith that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.” (1Cor. 15:3b-4).

Paul’s service to the Church was not an easy one; rather he suffered many trials in the name of Christ. He was beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked. He endured many dangers from robbers and adversaries in his travels through difficult terrain. And in the end, he was beheaded in Rome as a martyr for the faith. Yet during his thirty-year ministry (ca. 33-62AD), Paul is credited with converting thousands of people to Christianity, as well as writing numerous letters which comprise a large part of the New Testament and have become a major component of our liturgies still today.

The Gospel today (Lk. 5:1-11) picks up after Jesus has left his hometown and the unfortunate incident at the synagogue in Nazareth. His fame has spread, and hordes of people are following him to hear him preach and watch him perform miracles. To avoid the pressure of the crowd when he comes to the Lake of Gennesaret he climbs into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and he asks him to pull away from the shore while he continues to teach.

When Jesus is finished speaking, he tells Simon to move into deeper waters and lower his nets for a catch. But Simon protests because he has been fishing all night and caught nothing. Nonetheless he gives into the command of Jesus and catches so many fish that the nets begin to tear, and he requires assistance from his partners, James, and John, in the other boat. At this, Simon recognizes something miraculous, the power of God, in Jesus and with astonishment begs him, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk. 5:8b). But Jesus reassures him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Lk. 5:10).

Once they reach shore, Simon, along with James and John, leave everything to follow Jesus. Like Paul, Simon Peter will go on to become a prominent figure in the history of the Church. He becomes the leader of the Apostles, makes it possible for Gentiles to enter the Church without committing to many of the Jewish laws, and eventually becomes the first bishop of Rome. He also dies as a martyr for the faith, being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.

There is one common aspect to the call and conversion of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter which may also affect the way we feel about serving the Church. All three were hesitant and felt inadequate to be in the presence of the Lord and to carry on any sort of ministry. We might in some way identify with the thinking and feeling of these men of God.

Like Isaiah, we may feel like we are too sinful or unworthy to do the work for the Church that God asks of us. Or we may be like Paul, detached from and skeptical about the doctrines of our faith. We may have no inkling of the truth and vitality of the crucifixion and resurrection and its meaning for the lives of believers. Lastly, we might be like Peter, intimidated by the work to which Jesus calls us, and more interested in maintaining the simplicity of our own occupations and mundaneness of our daily lives.

Well, the one thing we can learn today is that with the presence of Jesus in our lives and the conversion that comes with knowing him intimately we may all in some way have the ability to make great strides and become recognized for a ministry in the name of Christ which brings the good news of his salvation to others. We may even become fishers of men.