5th Sunday Year C
Isaiah 6:1-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
What is God calling me to? Do I feel inadequate? How should I respond?
All of us have duties and callings. Whether we are religious or not, all of us are called to duties in life. In the family, we are called to be good parents, uncles, aunties, siblings, sons and daughters. At our work and in our communities, we are called to give the best at whatever we do. Whether we are called to be educators, volunteers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, we are called to contribute to community and humanity. This applies to our faith life as well. As children of God, we are called to love, to serve and evangelise. However, regardless what we are called to do, we often feel we are inadequate in what we do. For some of us, this also become the excuse we use to not answering to our duties and callings. We say to ourselves, “Let the other person do more, the one who has more time, more money, more talent, etc.” And of course, there are always someone who is has more time, more money and more talent than us. And if all of us take this attitude, then the world will be a colder, poorer place. Isn’t this the problem of our modern world?
So, what should we do instead? The Scripture passages this week give us three examples of people who felt inadequate when they were called by God; and their responses to God’s call.
In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah had a vision of God in heaven. In witnessing the all-loving, all-perfect God, Isaiah immediately realised his own inadequacy. He said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (verse 5) But God knows Isaiah has a sincere heart and accepted Isaiah for his inadequacy. Extending His grace to Isaiah, God cleansed Isaiah of his sins. “Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.'” (verse 6-7) Isaiah took upon God’s commission and went on to become one of the greatest prophets in our faith.
In the Second Reading, we read an account from St Paul. Before his conversion, Paul was an avid persecutor of Christians. But everything changed after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damacus (Acts 9:1-19). Realising the errors of his old ways, St Paul became a fearless and tireless evangeliser. Reflecting on his old ways, in this week’s Second Reading, he wrote, “For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (verse 9) But as we read in the Bible, God didn’t mind Paul’s erroneous ways, but reach out and meet him where he was. In the own words of St Paul, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.” (verse 10)
The Gospel this week tells the story of the calling of the first disciples – Peter, James and John. At this time, Peter was already an accomplished fisherman. But in spite of that, on this instance, Peter and his companion laboured all night and caught nothing. Then, as day broke and as the optimal fishing time had passed, Jesus the carpenter came into Peter’s boat and commanded him, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” (verse 4) Peter knew in his heart he is the better fisherman than this carpenter before him. He knew the best time for fishing has passed. So, with a trace of pride and almost a sense of passive aggression, he said to Jesus, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” (verse 5) And lo and behold, “they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break” (verse 6) Immediately realising his inadequacy, Peter kneeled before the Lord and said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (verse 8) As in the case of Isaiah and St Paul, God did not mind Peter for his inadequacy but met him at where he was and offered His grace. Jesus called Peter, together with James and John, to follow Him and “they left everything and followed him.” (verse 11) They went on to become among the 12 Apostles the Church was founded on; with St Peter as its head.
So, my brothers and sister, let us reflect: What about me? What is God calling me to do? Do I feel inadequate? Do I know God is meeting me where I am? Do I know that God is sending His grace upon me and equipping me? Like Isaiah, St Paul and St Peter in this week’s Scripture, God is coming into my life. He is getting into my proverbial boat. He is calling me to step up and fulfil the plan He has for me. What is my response? Am I still drowning myself in my inadequacy and self-doubt; or am I prepare to leave all these behind and follow Him? Let this be our reflection in the days and weeks ahead. Amen.