Saturday 5 February 2022

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Isaiah 6:1-8
Ps 137:1-5.7-8
1 Co. 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11

CALLED TO BE MESSENGERS OF GOD

Christian life begins with the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. This encounter brings about change in our lives, because it is the beginning of our faith relationship with God. It also comes with a mission: becoming an apostle or a messenger of God. In effect, Isaiah had a vision of God in the sanctuary. Filled with awe, he acknowledged his sinfulness before the holiness of God. Purged and strengthened by God, he received his call to be God’s messenger.

St Paul also had an encounter with the risen Jesus on his way to Damascus. This experience changed his life. From a persecutor of the Church, he became an apostle of Christ, a witness of the Gospel. He worked and preached with much zeal, conviction and pride in God’s grace.
In the Gospel, St Luke narrates the call of the first disciples. Simon Peter and his companions were fishermen by profession. After a fruitless fishing adventure, in their despair and tiredness, they encountered Jesus. Though with hesitation and protest, Simon trusted and obeyed this itinerant preacher who told him: “Put out into deep water and lower the nets for a cath.” The result was overwhelming and beyond any expectation: their nets could hardly hold the catch, for they caught many fish. This miraculous catch changed their lives. They left everything and followed Jesus. From fishermen they became fishers of men.

There are many such encounters with the Lord in our lives. God continues to call us, for he needs us in order to continue his saving work in our world today. Are we ready to say with Isaiah: Here, I am, Lord, send me? Will we leave everything like Peter and his companions to become witnesses of Christ? Or are we scare and afraid because of the challenges and difficulties that the mission involves?

 Whatever the case may be, let us keep in mind two things. First, when God calls, he equips with what is necessary for the mission. He will never leave us bereft of his grace. Second, he who trusts in the Lord and obey his words does not make mistakes nor gets disappointed. If we allow him to encounter us where we are, if we accept his call to become his messengers, if we trust and obey, our lives will never be the same. Remain blessed! Amen


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