Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Februrary 4, 2007

Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8. Psalm 138:1-8. I Cor.15:1-11. Luke 5:1-11.

Holy! Holy! Holy! What a marvelous theophany Isaiah experiences of God in
the Temple at Jerusalem. He hears the Seraphim chant this threefold praise
to the glory of God. His lips are cleansed with a burning coal so that he
would be ready for becoming a prophet of God speaking some of the greatest
prophecies the world has had. As he receives this call from God he cries
out, "Here I am, Lord! Send me! This emphatic and enthusiastic response
from the prophet is complemented by Simon Peter, James , and John in the
Gospel call of the first three disciples of Jesus. They leave their boats
and fishing nets behind them and take up the invitation of Jesus to become
fishermen who bring people into the message of Jesus. Their lives like
that of Isaiah will never be the same. Good News will be brought to the
Gentiles and to the people of Isaiah and Jesus. They will soon be called
Apostles, those who are sent on mission to bring God to people. What a
noble vocation and it is also ours if we are believers in Isaiah and Jesus
and their calls to us. Paul, an Apostle, who also had a powerful theophany
and call, shows us what the message is for those who follow Jesus. In this
excerpt from I Corinthians, we receive the foundational creed or
proclamation of the Gospel: Christ died for our sins in accord with the
Scriptures, he was buried, and rose on the third day according to the
Scriptures. Paul states that he, too, received this from the other
apostles. These events are the Paschal Mysteries that we celebrate in the
Eucharist. They are the heart and formation of the written Gospels. Paul
was convinced that for him to live as an Apostle was to live as another
Christ. He tells us, "This favor of God's to me has not proved fruitless."
We, too, should be so motivated to take up our own call and live it out so
thoroughly in union with Christ. Yes, Jesus is saying to us, "Do not be
afraid. From now on you will be catching people." In union then with
Isaiah, the Apostles, and Paul, may we obey God's summons and work for the
peace and justice that this world needs from those who believe in God. We
will be able to do this more by our behavior and our prayers than by
shouting out and moralizing what has been handed down to us through the
prophets and the apostles. Amen.