Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8; Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

There is a commmon thread running through the readings for this Sunday concerning the concept of divine calling and grace, of sinful human beings being chosen and elevated by grace to respond to a call from God. In the first reading we hear of the calling of Isaiah to his prophetic mission. Notice that the immediate response of Isaiah to the presence of God is a protestation of fear and unworthiness: "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Isaiah's fear is hardly to be wondered at, since in his account (although this line is left out of the reading) he observes that the seraphim, the angels themselves, were veiling their faces and feet with their wings. However, an angel says to him, after touching an ember to the lips of Isaiah: "Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." Generally speaking in the Old Testament, when something that was clean came in contact with something that was unclean, the clean thing became unclean, not the other way around. However, here we see that through coming in contact with God Isaiah is said to be made clean, and once he is told this he offers himself in response to the call of God.

In the second reading we see another example of someone called by God, yet expressing his own unworthiness. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians that after Christ appeared to so many others, "Last of all, as to one born abnormally, He appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me has not been ineffective." Again, Paul is conscious of his unworthiness and sinfulness, and indeed perceives himself as even less worthy than the other Apostles, but God gave him the grace to fulfill his calling as an Apostle.

The Gospel, which comes from Luke, brings out this theme of human sinfulness and divine grace more clearly than ever. Simon (later Peter, of course), even though he has been fishing all night, obeys Jesus' instructions to go out once more and lower his nets. Simon is presumably discouraged at this point, having done the exact same thing over and over again during the night. He is sure that doing the same thing one more time will not make any difference. However, Simon and his companions are shocked by the enormous catch of fish that they bring in immediately. As a fisherman he obviously knows that what has happened is normally impossible. He perceives that Jesus has brought about this miraculous event, and his reaction is very similar to that of Isaiah to the presence of God, although it is even more blunt and to the point: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." Jesus responds, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." The Gospel then tells us that "they left everything and followed him." This is yet another repetition of the theme of contact with God enabling sinful and unworthy human beings to respond in grace to the call of God. The call of Simon Peter is particularly striking because we know that at one point later in the Gospels Peter will explicitly deny any connection with Jesus. However, far from shrinking from contact with this sinful man who will deny Him at the most crucial moment, Jesus seeks him out and, as we know, ultimately entrusts the leadership of the Church to him.

The point of all these readings, of course, is that we are all called by God, and we are all sinful and completely unworthy of the call. Most of us are not called to the kind of missions to which Isaiah, Paul, and Peter were. However, as important as those things are, they are not meant for everyone, and they are not as central as the universal call that God gives to each one of us in every state in life: the call to a relationship of love with Him. This is a call for which we are truly and infinitely unworthy, but God enters into this relationship despite our unworthiness, and offers His grace to wash away our sinfulness. All we have to do is respond.

So, how do we do respond to God's call to a relationship of love? Well, let us look at the example of Simon. First of all, note that this encounter between Simon and Jesus in involves an act of obedience and faith on the part of Simon toward Jesus. Obeying the words of Jesus, Simon takes his boat out and lowers his nets again after repeated fruitless attempts, even though he has no reason at all to believe that this latest attempt might be any different than the previous ones. Faith is necessary for an authentic response to the call of God, and this faith is expressed through obedience. For us, this involves accepting and following the teachings of the Church, including moral teachings. If we do this, and trust in the healing power of God to wash away our sins, then, as Jesus tells Simon Peter, we need not fear our own unworthiness. Moreover, as we see in the case of Peter, even if we reject God, He does not desert us, but continues to love us even as we fail to love Him in return. We can drive God out of our hearts, but He continues to call us to a relationship with Him. God is always there, waiting to be allowed back in so that He can heal us again. Moreover, as Catholics we are incredibly blessed, because no one can be healed and cleansed of sin except through contact with God, and for us the opportunity for coming into contact with God and receiving His mercy is readily and certainly available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The importance of this gift from God cannot be overestimated, and we should frequently take advantage of this sacrament, so that we can live forever in that loving relationship with God to which He calls each one of us.