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The scene is set. Isaiah
remembers exactly when it was–the year that King Uzziah died. He remembers what
he saw: God on a throne seated in the Temple. He has royal robes on. The train
of his garment is so large that it filled the Temple. There were angels there.
Seraphim called out, Holy, holy holy is
the Lord of hosts. The heaven is filled
with his Glory. They were so loud
that the walls shook, the massive metal door of the Temple shook. And the smoke
from the incense. The smoke filled the House of God[1].
And then the
questions from God Himself. Whom shall we
send? Who will go for us? Here I am,
Isaiah says, Here I am. Send me.
“Here we are,”
we call. “Send us.” And through the
grace of our Baptism brought to completion by our confirmation, we have been
sent out by God Himself. Whatever it is
that we do, we are to do it in the service of God. What does this mean? What
does it mean to say that we are called to serve God in every way possible. Well,
some of you are married, others are hoping some day to marry. Here’s what serving God means: it means that
it is not good enough just to be husbands. You must be the best husband
possible, emptying yourself for your wife, serving God by serving your wife.
Put her first. Women should always come first. They are God’s gift to men. They
are the sacred vessels of life. Love her, and love God by loving her. For you
girls, you women, don’t just be wives. Be the best wife the world has ever
seen. Give yourself not just to your husband, but to your God. Serve God by serving your husband.
Some of you are
parents, or are hoping some day to become parents. It is not enough to give
birth, and to sustain the life of a child. You have been called to serve God
through your children. Be the best parent possible. Give your life for your children. And in this
way serve God who created your children with you and your spouse, endowing them
the unique reflection of his love.
We are called to
serve the King of Kings. We don’t just
perform a job. We are called to serve
the Lord. If we are priests, we must be the best priests possible, using our
particular gifts for Him. If we are auto mechanics, we must be the best
mechanic possible serving God by taking caring of people’s cars, keeping them
safe. Some of you are doctors, and lawyers, and nurses and school teachers,
etc. We don’t just need doctors and
nurses and school teachers, and lawyers and accountants, etc, etc. We need the best doctors and nurses and
school teachers and so forth. Whatever we do in life, we must do it the best
possible way because we are doing it in service to the Lord.
We only have one
shot at life. We only get one life. We need to make the very best of our lives.
We need to serve God in every aspect of our lives. Some of you might be asking
yourselves, as I often ask myself, “Am I good enough?” All three readings this
week answer that question. Isaiah was not good enough at first. Then an angel
touched Isaiah’s mouth with the ember from the fire. He was made clean. In the
second reading Paul reminds us that he started off by persecuting Christians.
He was mean. He would round up men, women and children and bring them to the
Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. He
watched and approved as an innocent and meek Stephen was stoned to death by a
mob. Paul was a spectator at the
lynching, but he cheered on the mob and left excited to find the mob’s next
victims. But despite all this Jesus transformed Paul into an apostle. I am
who I am, St. Paul says, through the
Grace of God. In the Gospel, Peter wants Jesus to leave him because he is
so aware of his own sin. Jesus basically
says, “No way. I have work for you, You
will be catching men.”
And Jesus says
to you and to me, “Stop hiding behind your human failures. How dare you say
that I cannot send you? I am God. I have
work for you to do. I will cleanse
you. I will send you.”
We have work to
do. We have been sent by the same God who sent Isaiah, who empowered Paul, who
made Peter a fisher of men.
We need to stop
limiting ourselves to the here and now. We
need to do the work of God. Every part of creation has its own truth and
goodness and beauty, including the summit of creation, human beings. The
problem is that many of us, many people, refuse the recognize the dependence of
creation on God. Creation without the Creator fades into nothingness. People
who attempt to live separated from God condemn themselves to meaningless lives.
When Jesus said, Blessed are those who
mourn[2],
He was not referring to those who have lost loved ones, He was referring to
those who mourn the waste of life that could be eternal, that could be
spiritual, that is meant for God. So you
hear about a girl or guy who has given up, is controlled by addiction, is
abused by society, and you feel so bad for her or him. You want to do something to help, even if you
can do no more than pray every day. You
are doing a lot. Blessed are you who
mourn.
We are called,
we are sent, to lead people to meaning, to lead people to God. Whatever it is
that we do in life, from something as major as marriage and parenting, to
something as minor as finishing a school worksheet, we do it in service to God.
Every action of our lives has purpose not just for ourselves but as beacons of
hope for those who are seeking the Lord.
We are the light
that is meant to be set on hilltops so all can see. We are the Light of the World[3].
We pray today for the courage to respond to the Lord’s summons with every
action of our lives ■
