The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

What would possess someone to play any musical instrument, let alone an organ?

This was a question that seemed implied often times, especially during my time in seminary. Other seminarians and even visitors often looked at my position that I held as house organist for a number of years as one that was risky. One that was full of potential for things to go wrong. I could call the wrong instruments at the wrong times. I could easily fumble and play the wrong note. Perhaps even bump a key in the middle of a sermon. It seemed, to them, to be a way of life that was fraught with the potential for failure. What possessed me to do it, exactly?

For starters, I never really looked at it from a standpoint of risk. In fact, I looked at it from the positives, and there were a couple of things in that regard that kept me going. First, the challenge. It truly is a difficult instrument to play, let alone to play well. That was something that really invited my attention, and made it more attractive. Yet, the second reason is more so what outweighed the risk: that I had tremendous potential to move people. Whether it was making the organ roar to life, with a magnitude that shook the floor, or subduing it to a volume that was barely a whisper. Whether it was launching into a hymn of triumph or moving someone to tears through a tender passage of music, I just loved the potential. It far outweighs the risks of playing in my mind.

If you look at what we do here in church week in and week out, have you ever considered the risk involved? When you say your prayers before bed. When you implore God in the middle of a hopeless situation. Have you ever thought about the courage that you must have to have the audacity to approach the Lord, or even to follow the particular way of life He is calling you to? That is something that consequential, and it is actually what we reflect upon with the Church this week.

First, let’s look at the passage from Isaiah. This is very, very early in Isaiah’s ministry- even at the very beginning. So, there is a vision that takes place, and we hear the grandeur that is expressed in Isaiah’s vision. Angels crying out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts.” It is a cry that sounds very familiar, because there isn’t a Mass that we attend that doesn’t include this phrase right before we kneel for the Eucharistic prayer. As familiar as we are with this, there are some elements in the passage from Isaiah, that, if they occurred to us, I daresay that we would be terrified. The frame of the door shook- and the house was filled with smoke.

Notice Isaiah’s response: he encounters this manifestation of glory, and all of a sudden, He is filled with fear and with conviction. He recognizes instantly how unworthy he is to behold what is happening there in his midst. So he cries out- and through that cry, an angel comes and purifies his tongue- in other words, he takes away his sin. He removes his wickedness and his sin. There is an underlying purpose here: the voice of the Lord calls out “whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” It is then that Isaiah recognizes his call. Having been purged from sin, he answers the Lord courageously, “Here I am! Send me!” He knows that this call is for him, and he is ready to respond!

Then in the second reading, we are continuing Saint Paul and his first letter to the Corinthians. The overarching message here is that Saint Paul is praising God for the Corinthian’s response of faith. He is telling them about how they have had to be vulnerable- they have had to take risks to follow the Lord- and has encouraged them to do just that! Further on in the reading, this passage closes out again recalling the grace that Saint Paul recognizes as being God given, which has not only allowed him to preach effectively- but to allow the faithful who are listening to believe. So, Saint Paul gives thanks to God that this has happened!

Finally, we arrive at the Gospel of Luke, and this really is a beautiful story of God calling, but also using powerful signs to reaffirm that calling and the faith that are needed to be a disciple. We hear that Jesus is standing by the Lake of Gennesaret- which is the sea of Galilee. There is a crowd pressing upon him, and so He moves into the boat of Simon Peter. He asks Simon to move out a short distance. After Jesus finishes teaching from that point, He does something rather daring. He asks Simon to go to deeper water, and to put out for a catch. Simon’s response is actually very vulnerable- he speaks of being out all night and having caught nothing. However, note the response. Even on the heels of a night fraught with disaster and with dismal failure, Simon says that he will follow the Lord’s request anyways.

What happens as a result? All of a sudden, their nets are filled with so many fish, so much so that their nets were almost not able to handle it. Simon has a very similar response to Isaiah in the first reading. He beholds something majestic- truly awesome in nature. He falls in Jesus’s presence and begs him to depart- for he is a sinful man. Jesus hears what Simon says, and encounters him where he is with a simple phrase: Do not be afraid. You will catch men.” This must’ve given him some peace, because we are told that they return to shore and leave everything else behind. They follow Jesus.

There are a couple of major considerations here that we should spend some time reflecting on. First, notice the call that Jesus gives, and that Isaiah is given. Both are opportunities for tremendous potential, but they require a great deal of faith. Much like when I look at the organ, I see an instrument that is filled with potential, but it does have risks as well. Simon and Isaiah are aware of these risks- they could’ve been embarrassed, called out, and perhaps, even disappointed. However, we know that, through these stories, because they had faith, they are richly rewarded! So, the first point for us to reflect on- do we have that gift of faith?

Second, we should be aware of weakness. If one wants to excel in organ, or in any other instrument, it necessitates an awareness of your shortcomings- so that you can work them out! We sometimes need to be honest with ourselves in our souls, and in our spiritual life. We need to say, honestly, that we do have weakness or failure. If we have no confidence in God’s ability to heal and forgive these things, we can often overlook them, or we won’t undertake the task, much like when we have a project to tackle at home, but we don’t know how to begin, and so we never do. Isaiah and Simon, even with their problems, were willing to ask the Lord for help- and He responded.

Finally, we need to be a people of hope! Simon could’ve easily become hard of heart with Jesus that day. He was out on the water all night, and they caught absolutely nothing. He could’ve scorned Jesus for even asking. How dare he tell me my business!

Yet… he doesn’t! He simply encounters what the Lord is doing- and he hopes that things will be different, and that Christ has the power to change them! And, because he does this, he is rewarded so richly that it almost sinks two boats! He goes from nothing, to more than he could’ve imagined.

That, my brothers and sisters, is the challenge. Jesus Christ calls each of us, not just those of us who live in a religious vocation, such as myself, but He is calling you just as much as me. He calls you and I in spite of our weaknesses, in spite of the things we might not be proud of, or might even try to hide. But, all of that goes to say- are we going to take the risk? Are we willing to respond to Jesus? If we do, if we express that we are willing to follow the Lamb wherever He goes, then we know that we will be richly rewarded. It might cost us some in the short term, but if we truly trust in the goodness of our God- we have tremendous opportunity, much like the way I see playing the organ.

So, my brothers and sisters, Jesus is calling each of you, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

The simple question: are you willing to respond to Jesus? Are you willing to take the risk- and lower your nets for a catch?