Readings: Is. 6:1-2.3-8; Ps.138; 1Cor.15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
WHOM SHALL I SEND? WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S DIVINE CALL FOR Evangelization?
There is something deep and unique about every person, sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. And in the process of discovering this uniqueness, we encounter so many challenges that have become part of our experience in life. So, I don't know if you have ever had an experience that made you realize the emptiness of this life, a kind of experience that turns your pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness? This is the kind of experience that prophet Isaiah and Simon and his companions had in our first reading and in the Gospel passage today.
In the first reading, we heard how the prophet Isaiah saw all the great glory and majesty of God and was terrified at what he had seen. He was struck with great fear because he considered himself a great sinner unworthy to stand before God, but God sent his Seraphim to touch his lips, saying: your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged.’ Then he heard the voice of the Lord saying: ‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’ in response to this invitation Isaiah said, ‘Here I am, send me. And he was chosen to be the bearer of God’s message to his chosen people.
This same experience is what Simon and his companions had with Jesus in our Gospel passage, which made Simon realize his emptiness and fall to the knees of Jesus, confessing his unworthiness. This is because Jesus had said to Simon after preaching on his boat, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’
This very experience brought true conversion in the lives of Simon and his companions, for this encounter changed their destiny from fishermen to fishers of men. For they obeyed the Lord who told them to put out into the deep waters, and as soon as they followed his instructions, they netted so much fish that the whole boat could not take it. This glorious event manifested the power and grace of God at work in us, especially when we humble ourselves in obedience to God’s instructions and acknowledge our unworthiness before him.
Little wonder St. Paul, in our second reading, made us know how he received the Christian faith through the Holy Spirit and through the hands of the Apostles. Paul, who, as Saul, was once the greatest enemy of all Christians, gained great insight into the faith and became one of the greatest evangelizers of the faith he once wished to destroy.
Dear friends, like prophet Isaiah, like Simon and his companions and also like St. Paul, we are called to reflect on our personal experience and encounter with God. How have we personally experienced God? When was our spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that is not based on what people have told us of him? In case we have not personally encountered him, all we need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in our lives. Then, we will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to us through Jesus Christ his Son.
Therefore, today, we are called to look into our lives. Is there any sign of God’s divine presence in our hearts? Are there signs of God’s intervention in some situations around us, calling us to repentance? Are there signs of unworthiness in our hearts that make us feel inferior to carry out some of our responsibilities? Are there voices calling us to embrace a particular apostolate, and we feel unworthy to accept it or take it for granted? Have we ever heard a voice calling us to stop indulging in immortality and wickedness? Have we ever heard the voice calling us to change our ugly attitudes of hatred, corruption, impurity, greediness and unforgiveness?
How often have we rejected the voice calling us to holiness, purity, mercy, kindness, patience and love for God and for one another? How often have we turned down the request to be a special instrument of God’s message of truth and love? How often do we make resolutions and promises to God but have failed to honour and keep them? Today, the Lord is calling us once again; what is he saying to you, and what is your response to his request? O that today you will listen to his voice harden not your hearts.
LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, every day is an opportunity to encounter you through different events that occur in our lives. Grant that we may have a personal experience of you just like Simon and his companion. May we uniquely experience you in our daily activities and, through this experience, discover our purpose in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration.
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