There is a hunger in the human mind and heart for certainty in every aspect of life. We want to be sure. We want to be safe. We want to be successful. In the midst of this day-by-day struggle, there is also the search for religious truth. Our mind asks about the existence of God, about the meaning of life and death, about life after death. We wonder about the mission of Jesus, about the authenticity of the church, about our role as disciples in the scheme of things.
All three of today's readings have a similar theme. They all recount stories of individuals being called to the service of God. They speak of the different ways in which the loving presence of God changed people’s lives. A burning ember was placed on the lips of Isaiah. Paul was knocked to the ground by a brilliant light. And Peter, James and John had their boats almost sink under the weight of the fish they caught.
The important point common to all three stories is that it’s not the call the counts. It’s how each person reacts to their calling. Each of them accepted the invitation despite their sense of unworthiness. And the truth is, God has called each of us. Maybe we didn’t hear his voice as did Isaiah, or experience some life-changing conversion like Paul, or witness a miraculous sign like the first apostles. But in reality neither do most other people. Sometimes we don’t remember or don’t even recognize God’s invitation.
In a world that is increasingly more fragmented, without trust and torn apart, giving ourselves over into God's hands, learning to follow Christ, to find God in our daily lives and to truly live the life of discipleship is no easy feat. It is only when we allow our own ordinariness and unworthiness to be transformed by the hand of God that we will be able to enter into the grace-filled living to which people of every age have been called. To be a community in witness requires an experience of the surprising, forgiving and overwhelming love of God. Only then can we all say, “Here I am, send me.”
Those who were called in today’s readings faced many difficulties. At times they were under intense pressure. We too are called. We walk the same walk they walked. The pressures and the difficulties we have are real. They knew what it was to be consumed by a cause, a purpose, a force larger and more powerful than themselves. We too are all destined to be consumed in one way or another – consumed by the message, by the mission to love and serve Him and one another.
When life challenges us in a new way, it can frighten us. In each one of these moments when we know that we are too weak or too unprepared, Jesus says to us what he said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid. I will make you what you need to be.” Then it all comes down to us.
Isaiah said “Here I am, send me!” Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am and His grace to me has not been ineffective.” And the reply of Peter, James and John was simple but eloquent. When they brought their boats to the shore, "they left everything and followed Him".
We should too.
