Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

I think it’s true that all human beings want to live lives of greatness. Young people especially, with their enthusiasm and idealism, don’t want to settle for mediocrity; they want to live lives that are extraordinary and remarkable – lives that shape and change the world for the better.

Today’s Gospel makes the invitation to do just that – to “put out into deep water,” as Jesus says, “and lower your nets for a catch.”

So often, our self-doubts and negative attitudes, our fear of humiliation and failure cause us to stay safely on the shore, or to wade only so far into calm, shallow waters. Like Peter, we are convinced that there’s nothing more we can do: we have “worked hard all night, and caught nothing.”

Our three readings today offer us a different way forward. Together they lay out the pattern of all Christian discipleship, and tell us that the invitation to “put out into the deep” is indeed made even to us here today.

Our readings show us that when we experience the presence of Christ, and encounter Him in our lives, we become more aware of our sinfulness. But despite our weakness, we also experience; in a completely unmerited way; Christ’s mercy and grace, and in turn, we are sent on mission to extend His reign.

There is a strand of modern spirituality – and I think it’s especially true in our American culture – that says that all will be right with us, if only we think that all will be right. It’s a sort of self-help gospel that preaches the power of positive thinking and our own ability to control our destiny and be the great people we all want to be.

I think real life proves the emptiness of such a spirituality: if it were that simple, we’d all be fulfilled and happy all the time. So it’s no surprise that this isn’t at all where our readings today begin.

Rather, in our first reading, the prophet Isaiah, experiences a vision of the Lord and exclaims, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips.” In the presence of God he becomes more, not less, aware of the fact that he is not god, but a weak and sinful creature.

St. Paul too, in our second reading, writes to the Corinthians, “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.” Paul recognizes that his sinful past has not earned him any of the gifts he has received from God.

And in today’s Gospel, St. Peter is astonished at the miraculous catch of fish – in humble fear of God’s awesome power he says: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

The lesson of the entirety of the Scriptures is that we cannot make ourselves right, or save ourselves, or fulfill our own destinies – the only one who can make us right, can make us all we were meant to be, and all we hope to be, is God.

It’s true: the more we come into God’s presence – the closer we come to the light of Christ’s truth, the more aware we become of our sinfulness. We become less sure of ourselves, less confident in our own power and control.

And yet all the saints show us that this realization is never crippling. It is not about guilt or self-deprecation, or self-loathing. In fact, the saints show us that quite the opposite is true – this encounter with Christ and acknowledgement of sin is in fact empowering. It teaches us that we cannot rely on ourselves, or on our own power, but rather we must rely solely on God. Only He can empower us and forgive us. And we clearly see in today’s readings just how ready He is to do this.

Immediately after Isaiah confesses his unclip lips an angel comes to him in his vision, and places a burning coal upon his lips. “See,” the angel says, “now your wickedness is removed, and your sins purged.”

St. Paul too, writes in his letter that, “by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace has not been ineffective.”

And in the Gospel, Jesus does not tell Peter that he’s wrong –that he’s not a sinner or that he’s really not all that bad in the end. What Jesus does say, very simply and powerfully is: “Do not be afraid.” In other words, ‘Refuse to be mastered by your sins, Peter – know that I am more powerful than any sin or death.’

All three of our readings also make clear that Christian spirituality never stops with this awareness and forgiveness of our sins. We can always be sure that the final stage of Christian discipleship is that we are sent out on mission. God has a job for each and every on of us to do – to bring the same grace and love we have experienced to the rest of the world. It is only for us to answer that call, to cooperate with the grace we have been given.

And so in Isaiah’s vision, he hears the Lord ask: “Whom shall I send?” And with confidence Isaiah replies immediately: “Here I am, send me.”

And in his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul makes clear that he has not been doing his own bidding, but rather has been sent on mission. He says, “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received.”

Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus calls Peter and the apostles to join Him in mission, promising them that, “from now on you will be catching men.” And St. Luke records that “they left everything and followed Him.”

Friends, these three steps encapsulate the entirety of the Christian life. They show us the pattern that every Christian’s life should take, whether we are called to be a spouse or a parent, a teacher or a doctor, or any other way of life or occupation. What is more, they are the necessary ingredients of a truly great life and vocation, because they are built upon God’s greatness, not our own.

This is perhaps especially true for men and women whom God calls to the consecrated life – to life as a priest, brother or sister in a religious community.

Today the Church in the United States is observing World Day for Consecrated Life: a day inaugurated in 1997, by Venerable John Paul II, to provide an opportunity for all the People of God to come to a greater “knowledge of and esteem for the consecrated life.”

In a world that tends to be focused on the here-and-now, consecrated religious are called to witness to the kingdom that is yet to come in its fullness.
They do so not by any power of their own – not by any grace they have merited – but rather by laying down the entirety of their lives. By the vows they profess, consecrated religious show forth in the Church and the world, “the characteristic features of Jesus – who is the chaste, poor and obedient one.”

This is indeed a remarkable and extraordinary life: to be the presence of Christ in the Church and the world!

Some of the young men and women here today – and others listening or reading on TV or on-line – are even now being invited by the Lord to “put out into the deep, and lower your nets for a catch.” Christ is inviting you to be His presence in the world, and to call others to life with Him, by consecrating all that you have and all that you are to Him.

My advice to you is simple: “Do not be afraid.” Answer with Isaiah, “Here I am, send me.”

Brothers and sisters, may this Eucharist give all of us the courage and strength that is required to “put out into the deep” – and the faith that prepares for an abundant catch.