Our readings this weekend present us with similar themes in all three. Each of the readings involves an encounter with the Lord; each demonstrates a feeling or sense of unworthiness or powerlessness of the one encountered; and each entails a mission given by God.
First, in Isaiah, we hear about the famous call of the prophet. Here, we are given a scene of the heavenly court as Isaiah sees the heavens opened and comes before the throne of God. The words we read are foundational elements of our liturgy even today: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” This is no ordinary prophetic vision, and Isaiah knows it. He also knows that there is no way that he is worthy enough to be seeing this! “Woe is me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips.”
Yet, even in his fear and sense of unworthiness, God acts and makes him worthy. After that, the Lord asks who will be His servant in the work that He has to offer? Isaiah, now empowered by God’s healing and loving presence, steps up: “Here I am. Send me.” And the mission begins.
In the Letter to the Corinthians, Paul is describing his own experience of meeting Jesus. First, he asserts the heart of the Gospel message (what we call the kerygma): For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Then, Paul tells us that among those called by Christ, he is the least worthy to be speaking. And yet, he too is transformed by the grace of God and tells us that “by the grace of God I am what I am.” And from that encounter with Jesus, St. Paul went out on his mission.
Finally, in the Gospel, we hear the story of the beginning of Christ’s work with the Apostles. After the incredible draught of fish, St. Peter recognizes that he is in the presence of the Holy One, like Isaiah, and that he is by no means worthy to be there. Of course, Jesus knows this, but He calls him and his friends anyway. There is work to do, a mission to engage, and Christ picks Peter.
“Put out into the deep.” This is what Jesus tells Peter at the shore of the lake. There is so much more to this command than the depth of the water. This is also what Jesus is saying to us. He is saying this right now, to each of us!
“Put out into the deep” means that we are called like Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to be agents of Jesus’ mission and love in the world. As disciples, there is not an option here. Either we do it or we are not disciples. That’s a hard call. And, perhaps, because it is so hard, we might throw up similar objections as the prophet and the apostles. We are certainly not worthy; we are not strong; we are often confused and frustrated; we are so aware of our own powerlessness – especially these days.
Don’t you feel overwhelmed? If not, maybe you’re not watching the news! There is so much hardship in the world – so much suffering and injustice. When we look at all of it, who wouldn’t feel powerless?
Even Mother Teresa knew her limitations and, yes, her powerlessness. However, she once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” There was so much suffering that she encountered; she knew she couldn’t alleviate all of it at once. But she knew that she could love this person. And by doing that, she became Saint Mother Teresa.
Jesus is telling us to put out into the deep. He wants us to be visible signs of hope for others, especially the ones who are hurting the most. That might sound impossible. When we look at the news, we might be tempted to turn it off and just check out. There’s so much doubt and darkness that clouds our futures sometimes. But a better way to capture some sense of control and direction is to get involved in helping someone else. Make of your life and offering of love to improve the world around you. Little by little, these “many ripples” go out and rekindle joy and hope.
I want to suggest that we get involved in the good work that our pastorate does. Here are some opportunities for you to “put out into the deep” right here at Christ the King & St. Bernadette:
· Each week, bring food for our food pantries
· Get involved with our St. Vincent DePaul conference
· Join in our Haiti partnership committee
· Learn about immigration and immigrant rights
· Volunteer as a pastoral visitor to bring Holy Communion to our brothers and sister parishioners
There are many others, but I want to encourage you to see Jesus’ call today to put out into the deep to be a real challenge and see what great things you can do with and for the Lord.
Every time we come here, we also have an encounter with the Lord. Each week, we say together, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…” Each week, Jesus still invites you to this Supper of the Lamb. He makes you worthy to answer His call.
So, put out into the deep.
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