CALL WAITING

5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Flying by the Seat of Your Pants

There was once a veteran newspaper photographer who was often given the more difficult assignments in his newsroom. The editor called him into the office one morning and said “There is a forest fire threatening a nearby town. Go to the airport now. There is a small plane waiting for you. Get airborne as fast as you can, take some shots of that fire and get back here. We want those photos for tomorrows paper.” So the photographer drove to the airport as quickly as he could, jumped into a small plane and told the young man at the controls, “Get this plane in the air.” The pilot hesitated for a moment and so the photographer snapped at him, “There’s no time to waste, take off now!” Once they were up in the air he told the pilot, “You have to head east of the city and make a couple of long turns around that forest fire - enough for me to get some good photos.” At which point the young pilot looked very anxious, furrowed his brow and said, “So, does this mean that you’re not the flying instructor?”

We’ve all had times when we felt we were in situations that we couldn’t handle; or when we were expected to do things that we weren’t equipped for. We’ve all been out of our comfort zone. Whether it’s the start of a new job, parents bringing a firstborn home from the hospital, a priest giving his first homily or a teacher walking into a new class. So we should be able to sympathize with three people from today’s readings, the prophet Isaiah, and the apostles Peter and Paul. All of them were given a task; each of them received a sacred call; not one of them felt ready or able.

Who, Me?

Isaiah received his call as a prophet through a heavenly vision and his first words were “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips.” Paul tells the Corinthians that, in spite of all he had done to proclaim the Gospel, he was not fit to be called an apostle, for he had once persecuted the Church of God. As for Peter, when he saw Jesus arrange that miraculous catch of fish, he was overcome with humility: “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Each one received a call from God, but in that encounter with the divine, their inadequacies loomed very large.

But as it turns out, they were called by God in spite of their sinfulness and their weakness. The consistent message in all three readings is that God’s grace is sufficient. The mission never depends on the worthiness of the minister but rather on God’s grace. It’s when Isaiah focuses on God’s holiness that his sins are purged, and he finds the strength to say, “Here I am, send me.” Paul says that in spite of his failings, God’s grace in him has not been in vain; in fact, it has achieved great things. Jesus invites Peter simply to trust in God: first by putting out the nets into the deep, and then by leaving the nets and coming with him to share in a new mission of catching people.

Excusing Ourselves

If people focussed only on their own shortcomings, the work of God would never be accomplished. If we waited until we were saints before living our faith and our mission as disciples, we would wait forever. Parents would not teach their children to pray, parish groups would never get off the ground, the Word of God would not be proclaimed or listened to, the works of mercy would go undone. We have to trust that God’s grace will help us in our mission, imperfect though we are. When we are seized by grace the gifts and skills that we already have are often put to different use under Christ’s direction.

Call to Priesthood

In this Year of Priesthood, perhaps we can spare a thought and prayer for those who have been specially charged to proclaim God’s Word in our time and to share in the mission of Christ the priest. We should also remember those nineteen men who are studying for the priesthood for our diocese. Every priest at times feels like Isaiah and Peter and Paul once did: not worthy of the task we’ve been given and not able to carry it out. It’s why we need your prayers and frequently your understanding. Catholics have high expectations of their priests and so they should. But along with that, people hopefully understand that we serve God as best we can in our weakness and our inadequacy. Most of us are not yet saints, but we still hope to become so - with your prayerful support and often with your good example.

Priestly Poetry

One of the great theologians of the 20^th century, Father Karl Rahner, once wrote this reflection on the priesthood. It seems apropos of the readings today and this Year of the Priest, so let me share it with you:

The Priest is not an angel sent from heaven;

he is a man chosen from among men, and a member of the Church, a Christian.

Remaining human and Christian, he begins to speak to you the Word of God.

This Word is not his own.

No, he comes to you because God has told him to proclaim the Word.

Perhaps he has not entirely understood it himself. Perhaps he adulterates it.

But he believes; and despite his fears, he knows that he must communicate God's Word to you.

For must not some of us say something about God, about eternal life,

about the majesty of grace in our sanctified being?

Must not some of us speak of sin, of judgement and of the mercy of God?

So then, pray for him. Carry him, so that he might be able to sustain others

by bringing them the mystery of God's love, revealed in Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, whatever our vocation within the Church, whatever our state of life and whatever weaknesses we bear, we trust that God’s grace will help us to live the mission that is ours.

Father Dan Miehm

February 7, 2010