Homily for 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2019
Isaiah 6:1-2a,3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Introduction
A week barely goes by without hearing new stories scandals, especially about the sins of our leaders, both political and religious. These stories cause us no small amount of dismay and disillusionment, because we have a reasonable expectation that our leaders will also be models of virtue and goodness. Such stories have perhaps led some of us to be cynical about all political leaders, about all religious leaders. But before we throw the baby out with the bath water, let us reflect on today's readings, which speak to the theme of sin, especially sin in those whom God chooses as his messengers.
Our readings point to three things that happen, when God chooses his messengers from among sinful men. First, they receive an infusion of grace, second they are cleansed and thirdly they are commissioned by God. It is like instead of buying a brand new car for his trip among men, God chooses to buy a used car, perhaps even a broken down car, which he closely examines, painstakingly works on, and then he puts back on the road.
Scripture and Theology
We heard Isaiah declare: "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips." This happened only because God intervened in his life, a necessary first step. No human being, by his own power, can realize his own sinfulness. He does so only by the grace of God. Think of our first parents Adam and Eve; after they had sinned, the weight of what they had done began to dawn on them only "When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden" (Gen. 3:8); that is when they hid from the Lord. For the case of Isaiah, he came to this realization of his sinfulness, during his vision in the Temple, when the Lord came upon him.
Similarly, Simon the fisherman declares: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." But even he says this only after an encounter with Jesus Christ, after the Lord has worked on him as it were, after Jesus has demonstrated his power by the miraculous catch of the fish that Simon was able to accomplish only after following the instructions of Jesus to throw into the deep water.
And so, for both sinful men, Isaiah and Simon, the first step is that God entered their lives and brought them to a realization of their unworthiness; it is like God picks out a particular used car that he wishes to use.
The second step is cleansing. In the case of Isaiah, after finding out that he is a man of unclean lips, we heard that "Then one of the seraphim [that is an angel] flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, 'See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.'" This image of cleansing clearly shows that before Isaiah could take up his mission from God, that obstacle of unclean lips had first to be removed by God.
In the case of Simon, Jesus cleansed him with these words: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." These words coupled with the interaction that Jesus has had with Simon and the others, especially with the miraculous catch of fish, led them to become changed men. Moreover, in this process of being cleansed, Simon had to cooperate with Jesus. Jesus did not force himself upon him; Simon was free to reject or accept this infusion of grace. Simon could, like most self-respecting fishermen of his day and of today have refused to listen to the directives of carpenter; what does a carpenter know about fishing? But he cooperated with this graced moment, allowing the Lord to work on him through the miraculous catch, and allow him to see himself in a new light. It is like now, the used car has been repaired.
Now that they have been cleansed, the third step is that they are given and accept a mission from God. Isaiah tells us that after his lips were cleansed he "heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?'" And he replied: "Here I am send me!" Because his lips had now been cleansed, he could now carry out the work of speaking God's word as a prophet.
Simon and his three colleagues similarly accepted the invitation by Jesus for them to become fishers of men; and "When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him." And as we know, they continued to be his closest collaborators, were witnesses to all Jesus said and did, especially his death and resurrection, and would eventually be charged with passing on this Good News to the rest of the world. The used car, after much work had now been made functional and could now get on the road to the ends of the earth.
Christian Life
The Lord has not stopped calling people in this way. He continues to call sinful men and women to be his messengers; he continues to call unworthy men and women to do his work.
At the seminary where I teach, most of the young men who come there will confess their fear and anxiety, their realization that what they are undertaking is no easy fete; in fact, some of them will leave before they complete their formation; and it seems that the closer they are to ordination, although they are excited, the more they realize their unworthiness. But that is why they come to seminary, for six to eight years of formation, to have their lips are cleansed and their sin removed, so that they can be used by God for his purposes.
But even after ordination, the realization and the reality of unworthiness continues. That is why deacons, priests and bishops have to go to confession, declaring to the confessor like Simon did, "I am a sinful man." You might recall an interview about five and a half years ago, in which Pope Francis was asked: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” And in what has now become a famous answer, he said: "I do not know what might be the most fitting description.... but the best summary, the one that comes more from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”
Like the Lord never gave up on Simon, even when he continued to be unworthy, even when he denied him not once, not twice, but three times, the Lord does not give up on his chosen ministers today, if they are willing to return to him in repentance and seek his continued grace. The Lord never gave up on his used vehicle, regularly changing its oil, regularly making repairs, both minor and major.
Even after all of the Twelve disciples abandoned him at his hour of need, after the resurrection, he received them back. Who of us would do that? Imagine you were the owner of a company, you were falsely imprisoned and your employees had abandoned you; on your release and exoneration, would you hire back that bunch of losers? Probably not; but Jesus did. He took back the Eleven Disciples that repented of their sin and came back to him. The only one that he did not receive back is Judas Iscariot, not because his crime had been extremely heinous, but because Judas refused to return to the Lord, so that he might work on him, lead him to repentance, and cleanse him with his grace.
Conclusion
God does not work in this way, just for deacons, priests or bishops. He does the same thing for all his people. That is why each of you here is invited to follow the example of Simon and Isaiah, in always allowing God's grace into your lives so that you too can realize your own sinfulness and allow God to cleanse you of it. The three steps of grace, cleansing and commissioning are available to us all.
And perhaps as we realize our own unworthiness as disciples, let us never fail to pray for our leaders, that in their weakness, they follow, not the example of Judas Iscariot, but that of Peter, who always kept returning to the Lord for his mercy.
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