October 23, 2016
Holy Wisdom Church
Is 6:1-8,1Cor 15:39-44,47-58, Lk 5:1-11
In pondering the readings for this morning, the response of
Peter and Isaiah to the Holy, to the divine, is insightful. What would our own
reaction be if we came into the presence of something totally mystifying (mind
boggling) and awesome?
Their response
reminded me of a story of two 17 yr olds. The girl was very unsure of herself,
she wondered how she looked to others. In trying to evaluate her appearance,
she wondered if her nose was too big, her mouth too small, her legs too skinny?
How could she know? She also found that in the presence of others, she could
not think of anything to say. She had no confidence in herself.
The boy felt like he was not proportioned very well. He had
to buy extra large clothes for his chest and size small for his hips. It also
worried him that he was never sure of what to say. Others always seemed so much
wiser than he. Since he felt he had no contribution to give, he kept his mouth
shut.
Then the two of them
met. When he saw her he said; “Oh, my -you are so beautiful!” When she saw him,
she said; “You look so strong”. They talked for a bit and he said to her; “You
are so witty.” She said to him, “you are so wise!” After that, he had no doubts
about himself and she became the most confident mother you would ever meet. Notice
what friends, lovers can do for one another.
After hearing Jesus preach from his boat and seeing this
miracle of the catch of fish, Peter was struck with awe by the light and felt
his own smallness and unworthiness in Jesus presence. Jesus encouraged him
though and indicated he would not just fish for fish but his catch now would be
a great many people to whom he would be able to spread the good news of the
light of Christ. Notice Peter’s feeling
of inadequacy change with Jesus encouragement.
When Isaiah saw the Lord, the king of angelic hosts, he too
felt so totally unworthy in the
presence of this light. After being cleansed with a burning coal to his lips,
he was assured of his worthiness. Upon hearing the Lords question of who to
send, he was emboldened enough to cry out; Here I am Lord. Send me.
God’s prophets called Jesus
the light of nations, the light of the world. Jesus knew himself to be that light. A light does not so
much add something new as it provides visibility. We can see what we have not
seen before. The light enables us to see but
also, to do things we have not even thought of before. Jesus enables us to
see who we are, how we are and, what we
can and must do. He has told each of us; You are a child of God. You are my
sister. You are my brother. I am your friend. Notice what Jesus, the light of
the world, our friend and brother, has done for us.
To God’s question St Paul answered, “Here I am, send me” and
was emboldened to preach to the very people he had been punishing for heresy before
he experienced the Light of Christ. His attempt to answer the Corinthian’s
question of how our bodies can enter heaven seems somehow philosophically
poetical.
Paul was assured that
by Jesus rising from the dead with a glorified body, a body many of his
followers saw, that we too, would pass from our earthly, corruptible bodies to
one that is incorruptible. The first person, Adam, was made of the dust of the
earth and the second, Jesus, is from heaven. We all bear the image of the first
person and we bear the image of the second. Our perishable bodies must put on
imperishability. By accepting our own meager virtues as well as our failures we
have a chance to understand the failures of others. We have a chance to realize
we each have plenty of room for growth. We can stop saying, Too bad, that is
just the way I am, and begin to say “There is more that I can be”.
Does our faith in Jesus words give us the confidence we need
to spread the Good news, to live the gospel as the early disciples did? We have the Light that is Christ in our
hearts. It is in this light that we discover ourselves, inding out what are our
possibilities as well as our tasks. Let us answer well and say frequently, Here
I am Lord, Send me.
Christ is in our Midst!
