Called and Sent

HOMILY: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 5:1-11

6 February 2022 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

I love that lay ministers are now called extra-ordinary ministers of Holy Communion. This emphasises the extraordinary task assigned to these ministers. In other parts of the world, women are also privileged to be extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. In the parish where I served in London, we have more women eucharistic ministers than men.  In the Philippines, the privilege is reserved more for the male faithful. Here in San Roque, I have very few Eucharistic ministers in the parish but they are all very responsible and dependable. We have been campaigning for more men to commit themselves to serving the Church as Eucharistic ministers but our prospects always seem to have very good excuses — “I am too preoccupied.” “I cannot commit myself to regularly take part in the required formation sessions.” “I am not ‘holy’ or ‘good enough’ for such a role.” “I would rather be in the pews.” Although some may indeed have valid reasons, others just make excuses to avoid any commitment to church service. This sure is a missed privilege and opportunity indeed; however, I hope this will not be for long. 

In the Bible, God’s call has always had a repulsive aspect that easily gives one a reason not to agree or cooperate with it.  The ones called always had very good objections to God’s invitations.  Remember the story of Moses?  In an attempt to get out of his mission, Moses told God that he stutters… “I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10). Jeremiah excused himself from God’s prophetic call because he said he was too young. (Jeremiah 1:6) In today’s First Reading, we hear from Isaiah, “woe-is-me”. (Isaiah 6:5) He fears he is doomed because someone as unworthy as he is laid eyes on the most Holy God. In Jewish belief, no one who is unworthy can survive being in God’s awesome holy presence. In the gospel, Peter recognises his unworthiness before Jesus… “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)

If we go over the list of the chosen disciples of Christ, we immediately note that they are not the best and the brightest, nor even the cream of the crop. Then as we go over their less-than-faithful performances, we are all the more unimpressed and disappointed. Peter’s denial, Thomas’ doubts, James and John’s desire for power and honour, and Judas’ betrayal. These slip-ups all remind us that the Lord did not choose men without fault. The readings make us realise that God works through ordinary, feeble and flawed individuals like you and me.  

We only need to open ourselves to God’s transforming grace in our lives to be able to become His instruments of spreading the Good News. In the First Reading Isaiah proclaims, “I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5) Yet, he is healed by God’s power. In a dramatic scenario, Isaiah’s lips were touched by a burning coal from the altar to declare them clean.  For many others, there is no fanfare or marvellous manifestation. What is essential is that we receive the grace of God.  “By the grace of God”, St. Paul became the Christian faith’s most ardent promoter, becoming the apostle to the Gentiles although he definitely was “not fit to be called an apostle” because he once persecuted the Church and even tried to destroy it.  At one point in his life, St. Paul complained about his “thorn in the flesh.” Jesus told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). The grace of God equips those who deem themselves unequipped for the mission. 

Though not stated explicitly, we read in the Bible that the chosen disciples underwent some form of preparation before they were sent forth for the mission. Being with Jesus was a sort of an on-the-job training for them before their missioning. It was necessary that they “be with” Jesus, to spend time watching Him, listening to Him, observing His ways with people, before heading out on mission. First, Jesus makes them His disciples, an expression derived from the Latin word discipulus, meaning “learner”. Then Jesus makes them His apostles, an expression that is rooted in the Greek word apostulus, meaning “to be sent”.    

By virtue of our baptism, we are also called and sent by the Lord to serve others. We all have different gifts that we can use to serve.  That’s why there are different ministries in the parish. If you are a good speaker and are brave enough to stand before the congregation, join the Lecoms! If you are cheerful and friendly, become one of our greeters and collectors. If you cannot get enough of FB, vlogging and creating videos, join the social media ministry. If you can sing, by all means the music ministry will welcome you. If your talent is for helping others, there are many Social Services and Development Ministry (SSDM) organisations in the parish to choose from… Prison Ministry, Migrant’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, etc. Do not be afraid and think of yourself to be unworthy. None of us is truly worthy, especially me. We are all sinners. We are all broken people with bad habits and dark sides to our persona. We all have a long history of mistakes and missteps. We admit this every time we receive communion when we say, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you…” (Luke 7:6) And yet in that moment God comes to us and we receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament!  

In one of the parishes I served, there was a lector who struggled so much during the mass. She was a good lector because she had excellent diction and a loud clear voice, but she was a terrible commentator. She kept missing her cues, forgetting responses, and sometimes saying the old responses. The presiders, including myself were often distracted by all these errors. It seemed like her mind was wandering and she was not fully present at mass.  Many wanted to prompt her and ask: “Hello??? Are you with us?” The lecom head always received complaints about her. People would ask, “Who recruited her?” “Is there nobody else?” But this lecom was persevering. She believed God called her to serve in this ministry for a reason and she believed that He would empower her. She agreed to coaching sessions where she had one-on-one training with one of the senior lecoms. She welcomed feedback from her mentors every time she served at mass. Soon after she started improving. She worked very hard at mastering the parts of the mass and the responses. She is now one of the stronger lecoms in their ministry and the parish is proud to have her. 

Perhaps, you will have the same story? Who knows? Do not wait to hear the voice of God or an angel to appear to you.  Sometimes God calls you through me, your parish priest, your parents, or the “Ates” and “Kuyas” of our parish community.  As Christians, we are reminded that our zeal for the mission should always be coupled with our desire to be with Jesus in prayer.  We, too, need to spend time “being with Jesus” before going out to serve “in His name.” Like the apostles, we are invited to humble ourselves, to submit ourselves to the ways of learning and relearning how best we can serve God. My Superior in London would often remark… “We live and learn.” He simply wants to say that we are all a work in progress.  We should not be discouraged when we fail because the truth is we have yet so much to learn as followers of Christ.  

Isaiah, Paul, Peter and all the other prophets and disciples, were all ordinary people but God chose them to carry out His message of hope and love to all our brothers and sisters. Let us draw strength from the promise that God’s grace will sustain us and empower us. Let us allow God to use us to manifest how great and transformative His power can be. We all have the potential to collaborate with God in His work of redemption. The question is, “Would we respond, when He calls?