What does a person with a toothache think about? The answer is rather simple: he or she thinks about the toothache. Pain has a way of centering our attention. When we find ourselves in pain, it is difficult to think of anything else. In a way, this is good because the pain causes us to address the cause of the problem. We go out to the dentist and deal with our defective tooth.<\/p>\n
But what do we do when pain becomes more complex, when we have to face chronic illness, when an illness can threaten our life, when the fear of what is to come overwhelms us? Facing long-standing suffering or pain, we must rally our spirits, lest that pain rule our lives. For pain wants our complete attention. Pain wants to absorb all of our time and energy so that there is nothing left for living.<\/p>\n
In short there are two ways of dealing with suffering: getting rid of it or transcending it so that it does not rule us. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, that we are going to celebrate at this liturgy, pulls in both of those directions. On one hand, those who come forward to receive the anointing will be asking us as a community to pray for them, that their pain, their suffering will be eliminated. Often because of the prayer of the church and the intervention of good medical care sickness is indeed healed. At the same time, however, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick invites us to transcend our suffering. For when we celebrate the sacrament, we realize that God\u2019s love is greater than our pain, greater than our cancer, deeper than our suffering. We recognize that the love of family and friends and community continues to be life-giving even as we cope with our sickness. If we can claim the love of God and the love of others who are around us, we can transcend our sickness and prevent it from dominating our lives.<\/p>\n
So in a few minutes I will be inviting those who wish to come forward to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, to step forward in our midst and claim their need. At the same time, they will be asked to embrace the love of God and the love of the community around them. Coming forward is an act of faith. Therefore, if you hear God calling you to come to receive the sacrament, do not give in to excuses, especially to those of despair or unworthiness. Those are the two excuses that Peter adopts in today\u2019s Gospel. When Jesus says, \u201cGo out into the deep and catch some fish,\u201d Peter first makes the excuse of despair: \u201cMaster, we have fished all night long and have caught nothing.\u201d We\u2019ve tried it, it doesn\u2019t work, and it\u2019s of no use. But because Peter pushes through that despair, he lowers his net and pulls in a great catch. Then he excuses himself out of unworthiness: \u201cDepart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person.\u201d Of course, he\u2019s a sinful person, all of us are, but God\u2019s call does not depend on our worthiness. All that matters is God\u2019s free choice to save us. Neither despair nor unworthiness is an adequate excuse for refusing God\u2019s call.<\/p>\n
So in a few minutes, as you are invited to come forward to receive this anointing, step forward in faith. This is not a time for excuses. It is a time for hope, a time to put all unworthiness aside and to allow the love of God and the love of the community to heal you of sickness or to transcend your pain so you can claim the life that God gives you.<\/p>\n
Two experienced fishermen decided one day to go ice fishing. They walked out on the frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, put worms on their hooks, and lowered their lines into the water. After about three hours they had caught nothing. Then a young boy walked by with some fishing gear. He cut a hole in the ice, put a worm on his hook, lowered the line into the water, and immediately pulled out a fish. He repeated this process over and over until a pile of fish lay on the ice. The two fishermen were amazed. One of them walked over to the boy and said, \u201cYoung man, we have been sitting here for three hours and have caught nothing, and yet you in a few minutes have caught a dozen fish. What is your secret?\u201d The boy looked up and mumbled something that the man could not hear. The man noticed that there was bulge in the boy\u2019s cheek. So he said to him, \u201cYoung man, if you don\u2019t mind, would you spit out that bubble gum so that you could speak clearly and I could understand you.\u201d The young man cupped his hands and spit it out. Then he said, \u201cIt\u2019s not bubble gum. It\u2019s my secret. You need to keep the worms warm.\u201d<\/p>\n
When we see someone doing something that we cannot do, we presume there is a secret. We presume that they know something we do not know, that they have a talent we do not have. Now this might be true about fishing, but it\u2019s not true about being a disciple of Jesus. For we believe that when Christ calls us, he equips us at the same time. The call and the ability to accomplish the call are given together.<\/p>\n
This is the experience we find throughout the scriptures. In today\u2019s first reading, Isaiah is called to be a prophet. He immediately knows that he is inadequate. He is not properly equipped. He is a sinful man. He wants the Lord to find someone else. But the Lord does not find someone else. Instead, the Lord sends an angel to touch his lips, to forgive his sin, to equip him to be a prophet. When Peter is called in today\u2019s gospel, he immediately sees that he lacks what is necessary. He is inadequate to the task. He tells Jesus, \u201cDepart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man.\u201d Find someone else. Jesus does not find someone else. Instead he says to Peter, \u201cDo not be afraid, from now on you will be catching people.\u201d Jesus equips Peter for what his calling will be. Both the call and the ability to accomplish the call are given together.<\/p>\n
Now this is a very important truth because we are called in the same way that Peter was called. We were given faith not just for our benefit but for the benefit of others. There is no such thing as private faith\u2014faith just for me. To the extent that we believe, we believe not only for ourselves but to share what we believe with others. We, like Peter, are called to catch people.\u00a0Now this may cause some of us to be worried. We say, \u201cI don\u2019t know how to share my faith.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not good with words.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t like talking about religion or what I believe.\u201d Fine and good, all of us have different gifts. But if we believe, we are called to share that belief. The God who we experience in our own life is not to be just kept within us. Our faith in God is to be shared with others.<\/p>\n
How we share it can vary. Sharing our faith does not mean imposing our faith on others. It does not require that we stand on a soapbox on Public Square or that we stop people in the supermarket and ask them whether they have accepted Jesus as their personal savior. That is one way to do it. But you can share your faith by using less words and more example. You can share your faith by waiting for the right circumstances.<\/p>\n
Here is where it is important to remember that the call and the ability to accomplish the call are both given together. If you have been called to be a parent or a grandparent, you can be sure that God has equipped you to share your faith with your children. Do not imagine that it is the responsibility of someone who works professionally in the church. Your call involves sharing what you believe, and God has equipped you to accomplish it. You can find your own way to tell your children, \u201cThis is what I believe\u201d. \u201cThis is how I pray.\u201d \u201cI know God loves you.\u201d Whenever we find ourselves dealing with a friend or someone at work who is in need or struggling grief or loss, whenever we find ourselves called to reconcile with someone who has hurt us, that call is an invitation to share what we believe. We should not be reluctant to include our faith in our approach to others. We can say to the person in need, \u201cI believe that God is with you as you deal with this loss or this problem. I will pray for you, because I know God loves you.\u201d We can say to the person with whom we seek reconciliation, \u201cI come and ask for forgiveness not only because I believe it is right, but because I follow the teaching of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
We who have been called to believe are called to share that belief. The call and the ability to accomplish the call come together. There are no secrets, no things that some have and others do not. So the next time you find yourself with someone and you realize that that person\u2019s life could have more meaning and comfort if they knew of a God who loved them and cared for them. Don\u2019t stand there and wait for God to send someone to proclaim that love. Don\u2019t stand there and wait for someone to share that good news. God has already sent someone. That someone is you.<\/p>\n
It might be good for us today to reflect upon worthiness. Are we worthy to have a relationship with God? We believe that God has made us and saved us. We believe that God has given us the status of sons and daughters and is calling us to eternal life. Are we worthy of that status or of that future?<\/p>\n
The simple answer is no. There is no way that we can deserve a relationship with God. In light of God\u2019s action and God\u2019s love for us, none of us are worthy. So that\u2019s the easy part: to understand that we do not deserve God\u2019s love or God\u2019s call. The difficult part is this: what are we to do with this insight? What are the consequences of recognizing our unworthiness? In today\u2019s gospel, Peter has an answer. Peter concludes that, because of his unworthiness, Jesus should walk away from him. Peter sees Jesus\u2019 power in the miraculous catch of fish, and he is overcome by his own sinfulness and inadequacy. So he says to Jesus, \u201cLord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.\u201d Peter concludes that he cannot be a follower of Jesus because he is unworthy.<\/p>\n
Now the remarkable thing about the gospel is that Jesus does not even stop to engage Peter in a discussion about his unworthiness, but immediately sends him out to preach the good news. Peter says, \u201cDepart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.\u201d Jesus says, \u201cDo not be afraid. From now on you be catching people.\u201d Jesus said, \u201cYes, you\u2019re unworthy, but I call you to be an apostle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The situation is not unlike the young man who took a job as a park ranger. And he was given the assignment of supervising one of the big lakes in the national park, where many people came to fish. His job was to ensure that the regulations of the park service were maintained, and he took his job very seriously. He watched the people as they came from day to day to fish. But he couldn\u2019t help but notice that there was one man who brought back at least ten times as many fish as anyone else. And this made him curious and suspicious. So he said to this man, \u201cI noticed the great number of fish that you are catching. Could I come with you one day, because I\u2019d like to see your technique.\u201d The man said, \u201cNo problem. How about tomorrow?\u201d So the next morning the two went out in a boat together. The man drove the boat over into a small cove. Then as the ranger watched, the man reached into his tackle box and pulled out a stick of dynamite. He lit the fuse and watched until it was ready to explode. Then he hurled it into the water. There was a thunderous sound, and the water rose from the bottom of the lake. Soon there were dozens of fish lying on the surface. The man began reaching out and pulling them into the boat.<\/p>\n
The ranger couldn\u2019t believe it. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not legal to fish this way. You\u2019ve broken almost every rule of the park ranger service. If everybody fished this way, there\u2019d be no fish left in the lake. When we get back, I\u2019m going to give you a citation and haul you in for a hearing. I assure you, they\u2019re going to take away your license, and you\u2019ll never be able to come to the park again. This is just unacceptable.\u201d As the ranger rattled on, the man reached again into his tackle box and pulled out another stick of dynamite. He lit the fuse, and just as it was about to explode, he handed it to the ranger. Then he said, \u201cOkay. Are you gonna talk or are you gonna fish?\u201d<\/p>\n
In a way, this is what Jesus and Peter\u2019s conversation is like. Jesus says to Peter, \u201cI know you want to discuss your own unworthiness, but I\u2019m not interested. I want you to go out and preach the good news.\u201d The remarkable thing in Jesus\u2019 answer to Peter is that the solution to our own unworthiness is not to walk away but to walk forward, proclaiming the gospel to others. Sure we are unworthy, but God still needs apostles, those who are sent out to proclaim God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
This insight is an important one, because you and I could take any good thing in our life and become paralyzed by our own unworthiness. Do we deserve the faithful love of a spouse? Do we deserve a new relationship after a painful divorce? Do we deserve to be a parent, entrusted with a new life to shape and mold? Are we worthy of a life-long friendship or a rewarding job? Are we worthy to live in this free country? We are not. They\u2019re all gifts. We could easily point to all of our mistakes and sins, to all of our shortcomings and failures. But the point of the gospel is that, despite our unworthiness, Christ still sends us out, so that others might know God\u2019s love through our witness and through our service.<\/p>\n
So yes, in so many ways we are lacking and unworthy. But the issue is not our deficiencies but God\u2019s mission and God\u2019s kingdom. And so Jesus says to each one of us, \u201cDo you want to focus on your unworthiness or will you go forth and proclaim God\u2019s love to others? Do you want to talk or do you want to fish?\u201d<\/p>\n
When God wants us to do something, God calls us. It might happen through a thought that comes into our minds, through the circumstances in which we find ourselves, or through an act of discernment by which we are trying to decide a direction. But when God wants us to do something, God calls, \u201cHey Gus, Carol, Michael, I want you to do this. Then it\u2019s up to us to decide how we can respond, whether we can do what God asks or not.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Scripture readings we have the call of two famous Biblical characters. In today\u2019s first reading we have the call of the prophet Isaiah, and in today\u2019s Gospel we have the call of the apostle Peter. These characters, like most in the Bible, are called according to a set pattern. The pattern is this. God says, \u201cHey, I want you to do something.\u201d The person being called says, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding!\u201d And then God says, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d We see this pattern repeated over and over again: the call, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding,\u201d \u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
God comes before Isaiah in the first reading, \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts!\u201d Isaiah says, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding! I am a man of unclean lips.\u201d But God says to Isaiah, \u201cI need someone to send and I want you.\u201d Jesus asks Peter to lower his nets and there is a miraculous catch. Peter says, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding! I\u2019m a sinful man.\u201d But Jesus says, \u201cFrom now on, you will be catching men.\u201d<\/p>\n
This Biblical pattern is used in order to tell us what is primary and what is not. God\u2019s call is primary. God\u2019s call is more important than our qualifications. We are all imperfect, we all have shortcomings. Like Isaiah and Peter we are sinful people. But if we focus on those limitations and shortcomings, we will never be able to say \u201cYes.\u201d We can always find someone else who is more gifted or better suited. So when the call comes to us, the Bible says it is perfectly okay for us to think these things, to tell God, \u201cYou know, I\u2019m not the best qualified person here.\u201d But we should also be prepared for God to say \u201cI want you anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are people here this evening who God is calling to be parents of teenagers. When you watch your children growing and changing and becoming more and more adolescent, you say to God, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding! I signed up to have a baby but I\u2019m not ready for this. I don\u2019t have enough patience, enough wisdom, enough strength to be this kind of a parent.\u201d And God says, \u201cI know it. But I\u2019m calling you, and I\u2019ll be with you. Do your best.\u201d<\/p>\n
There might be some of us here God is calling to be reconcilers in our families. We see some in-laws or some other relations who are estranged from others. The thought comes to us, \u201cPerhaps I should speak to one of them in order to bring about reconciliation.\u201d Yet when that call comes, we say, \u201cGod you have to be kidding. I\u2019m not the most diplomatic person. I\u2019m not the one closest to this person. Why would you be asking me to do this?\u201d God says, \u201cI know, but you would have some authority if you reached out. Perhaps they will listen. I\u2019m asking you to try.\u201d<\/p>\n
God might be calling us to do an act of kindness for someone at work who annoys us or to a kid at school with whom no one will associate. You say to God, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding. I don\u2019t want a new friend. I don\u2019t want to hang around with this person. What will people think of me if I reach out?\u201d God says, \u201cI\u2019m not asking you to be their friend. I\u2019m asking you to do a simple act of kindness and to do it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Time and again God can call us to do what is difficult. And let\u2019s be clear. We need to be sure that it is God calling us. At times we form thoughts or suggestions that come out of guilt or out of a warped sense of relationship. God will never be asking us to do what is impossible or to be a part of something that is abusive or hurtful to us. But God is perfectly capable of calling us to do some surprising things.<\/p>\n
Of course, when God calls, we have every right to say, \u201cYou know, this is not my strength. I am not the best qualified. Perhaps you should think of someone else.\u201d But once we have objected, we should also be prepared for God to say \u201cI know all of those things. I am still calling you. And I\u2019m not kidding!\u201d<\/p>\n
A man hails a taxi in front of his office building, gives his destination to the driver, and climbs into the back seat. About ten minutes into the drive, he leans forward and taps the driver on the shoulder. At his touch, the cab driver screams, swerves off the road, careens off a lamppost, and comes to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The astonished passenger apologizes. \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d, he says, \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask a question.\u201d \u201cI know\u201d, said the cab driver, \u201cI\u2019m sorry. But this is my first day driving a cab. For the last twenty-five years, I drove a hearse.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of us have to face transitions in life, and it is often difficult for us to manage them. Today\u2019s scriptures present us with three people in transition: Isaiah, who is moving from a court official to a prophet of God; Paul, who is moving from one who persecutes the church to one of its greatest apostles; and Peter who is moving from catching fish to catching people. These transitions were in many ways exciting and attractive. But we can also be sure that there was doubt and fear.<\/p>\n
Look at our own experience. When we enter a new school, when we begin a new job, when we commit ourselves to someone we love in marriage, we know that our life is going to change. Part of us asks, \u201cCan I handle this? Will I find life in these new places?\u201d When we realize that we will need to raise a child with a learning disability or care for an aging parent, when we make a mistake and our financial situation changes drastically, or when our family is influenced by divorce, it\u2019s natural for us to say, \u201cDo I have the strength to face this? Can I survive in these new circumstances?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter, in today\u2019s gospel, gives us an example to follow. Peter sees the transition in his life as a calling. His move from catching fish to catching people is not simply a change he must negotiate. It is a response to a request by someone he trusts. And Peter trusts Jesus. Even though he had fished all night long without catching anything, when Jesus asks him to lower the nets yet again, he does so.<\/p>\n
Like Peter, we are invited to see the transitions in our life as callings. When we must face something new, either because of our own choice or because it is forced upon us, people of faith understand that the new challenge is connected to a God who loves us. A new job, a changed financial situation, the loss of someone we love in death are not simply random events we must endure. They are changes that God asks us to face. And the one who calls us can be trusted. The one who calls us will not forget us. The one who asks us to lower our nets will give us the strength to pull them up again. We might not catch as many fish as Peter, but faith tells us that our nets will not be empty.<\/p>\n
Years later, as he approached his own death, Peter may have remembered his first meeting with Jesus in this way: \u201cIt was a discouraging day. We had worked all night and caught nothing. I knew that I would never be able to pay off the debt on my new boat with this kind of luck. As I stood there brooding over the empty nets, a man stepped into my boat. I knew who he was\u2014the new Rabbi that everyone was talking about. He wanted to preach from my boat. It was a peculiar request. But since I had no fish to sell and was free that day, I obliged him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I listened to his words, they moved me. I began to wonder whether his promise of a better word could be true. Could God indeed be acting to bring about the kingdom?\u2019 It was the power of his words that led me to agree to his next request: to go in the deep water and lower my nets. I knew there were no fish to be caught in the lake that day. I was a fisherman. If we had worked all night and caught nothing, we certainly were not going to catch anything in the middle of the day. But, as I pulled my net out of the water filled with fish, I looked into his eyes and my heart stopped. Because in that moment, I realized what he wanted. He didn\u2019t want my boat. He didn\u2019t want the fish. He wanted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I couldn\u2019t do it. I was a fisherman. I didn\u2019t know the Torah the way he knew the Torah. I couldn\u2019t speak the way he spoke. I often spoke too soon and embarrassed myself. I was weak and gave up on things when they became difficult. There was no way, no way that I could follow him. And I told him so. \u2018Lord, depart from me for I am a sinful man.\u2019 I am a weak man. I am an unreliable man. And then he said the words that changed my life. \u2018I will make you a fisher of people.\u2019 He was telling me that he would make me what I needed to be. I trusted him, and I left everything and followed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still weak and sinful. I often misunderstood what he was teaching. I even denied him during his suffering. But, he was true to his word, and as often as I failed he was faithful. He made me what I needed to be. And now, as I look forward to my own death, I know that I will die as his disciple.\u201d<\/p>\n
On any particular day, Jesus can step into our boat and ask something new from us. And nine times out of ten, we will feel we can\u2019t do it. We are not ready. The boss comes up to us and gives us two week\u2019s notice. We say, \u201cI can\u2019t be unemployed. I have a mortgage and a family. At my age I can\u2019t begin a new career.\u201d Our spouse suffers a stroke and we become a care provider. We say, \u201cI can\u2019t do this. I\u2019m not patient enough. I\u2019m not strong enough to see the person I love so incapacitated.\u201d We look at our body as it ages, and we realize that in 5, 10, 15 years, we will have to do less and depend more on others. We say, \u201cI can\u2019t do that. I know what it is to be happy being strong and healthy, but I have no idea how to be happy being old and dependent.\u201d<\/p>\n
In each one of these moments when we know that we are too weak, too unprepared, Jesus says to us what he said to Peter, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid. I will make you what you need to be.\u201d Then it all comes down to us. Will we trust him and say, \u201cYes.\u201d If we do, like Peter, the road will not always be smooth, and we will fail often. But also, like Peter, we trust that Jesus will be true to his word and will change us.<\/p>\n
When life turns on us in a new way, it can frighten us. But the good news is this: when Jesus steps into our boat, he does not intend to leave. He will stay with us until he makes us the person we need to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two Approaches to Pain February 8, 2004 Luke 5:1-11 What does a person with a toothache think about? The answer is rather simple: he or she thinks about the toothache. Pain has a way of centering our attention. When we find ourselves in pain, it is difficult to think of anything else. In a way, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5879,"featured_media":0,"parent":583,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3643\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}