HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Feb 10, 2013

3625

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (6:1-2a, 3-8)

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above.

They cried one to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!" At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said, "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!"

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8)

(R) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praise, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. (R)

Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R)

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth; and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord: "Great is the glory of the Lord." (R)

Your right hand saves me. The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (15:1-11)

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

Gospel Acclamation

(R) Alleluia, alleluia!

Come after me and I will make you fishers of men. (R)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (5:1-11)

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Once a married man bumped into three of his old friends, and graciously invited the three men over for dinner. However, he invited them to eat with him without first checking with his wife. When he arrived home, his wife said, "Don't you know we do not have any food in the house? We do not even have any rice or vegetables, nothing at all to cook." The man thinking quickly, grabbed a ladle and a large bowl, then, calmly walked into the dining room where his friends were waiting for dinner. He went around the table, and mimed as if he were actually ladling out hot delicious soup in the bowls of each of his guests. After he had pretended to ladle some hot soup into his own bowl, he set the imaginary pot and ladle down, and sat down to drink it exuberantly. He was blowing on the spoon and making slurping sounds. The men just stared at him in disbelief at first, then one of them finally asked, "Hey, what are you doing? Where is our dinner?" He put down his spoon and got up from his chair. Then he picked up the large soup bowl and said, "Friends, with this huge bowl, I had intended to serve you, both the most delicious soup and good food. However, as we have no rice, meat or vegetables, I have to serve you all imaginary soup from this large bowl. I trust you will all enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine." He then sat down and continued to drink his imaginary soup.

I wonder how many of us have ever truly seen or encountered God, and how many of us live with this kind of "imaginary encounter" with God and say "I enjoy my experience".

Today's first reading is taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah who lived and preached in the eighth century before Christ. The prophet recounts one of his visions in a temple. The vision is filled with improbable creatures and events and things. At the end of the vision, Isaiah is completely transformed and he volunteers to do God's work as a prophet even though God does not ask him to do so directly. I think a few words of introduction to the text will help us understand and see the relevance of the vision.

First, the vision took place in the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah was sixteen when he became the king of Judah and reigned for fifty-two years in the eighth century before Christ. His long reign was said to be one of the most prosperous. He was a good, successful and powerful ruler. In the earlier part of his reign, he was very faithful to God and did things which were right in the eyes of God. His great works spread far and wide and brought more power and glory to him. Apparently, Isaiah also looked up to him with awe and respect. But then, his pride led him to his downfall. He assumed that he could be a king and a priest at the same time. So he entered the temple and burnt incense, which only a priest could do. But God was displeased with what he did and struck him with leprosy and later on, he died. At about the same time, the kingdom of Judah began to feel the threat of the mighty Assyrian empire. Isaiah was therefore living in a period of change. It was the end of a period of peace and prosperity and the beginning of a time of instability and fear. The people were feeling small and vulnerable against the might of the Assyrians. And in this context, God gave Isaiah a vision of who the true and powerful king is. Until then, Isaiah perhaps had no proper view of who God is. So in his vision, he saw God's majesty and holiness and mercy.

Second, the vision takes place in a temple. He is there perhaps to pray alone or to take part in worship like anyone else. He does not say whether he is praying for the revelation of God but his words tell us that the Lord has taken the initiative to reveal to him who God truly is. First, the God who Isaiah sees is Holy and Majestic. The prophet describes everything around God, but not God himself. In other words, he cannot describe who God truly is in human language. All he can say is that the Lord is on a "high and lofty throne; his garment fills the temple; angelic figures around him are singing glory and praises to him; their majestic voices shake the earth and the temple is filled with smoke" (6:1-4). All these remind Isaiah that earthly kings and powers are insignificant before the Mighty and Powerful God. Isaiah has had a profound spiritual experience. He has seen in his vision the awesome and overwhelming power of God. In the New Testament, frequently, in response to a miracle or a healing, we read about people having a sense of awe at the mighty acts of the Lord Jesus. What they see shake them up. One of the times when the disciples saw Jesus as truly God was when he was transfigured on the mountain.

Have you ever had such a feeling or encounter with God? Certainly, most of us have not had such a vision or encounter with God because, in some way, we have domesticated the Lord of the Most High. We have made God like a "loving and kind grandfather" a "Santa Claus figure" who likes to embrace us and hug us and give us sweets / goodies. Let us remember the God we believe in is truly loving and merciful, but also awesome and holy and powerful and who has dominion over our life and the whole of creation. If we want to enter His presence, we had better know who and what He is. Whether we sit in prayer alone or read His Word or take part in community worship, let us remember that we are not going to talk to or hear someone who is an ordinary and earthly being with earthly powers over us but to talk to or hear God who, invisible, immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient, is supremely enthroned in heaven, and holds all things in His hands. Encountering God is not simply a matter of coming into his presence but rather humbling ourselves with deep reverence and fear before His Holy Self / Presence. Why should we be reverent and fearful? Remember how Isaiah responded when he saw God.

The God Isaiah saw in his vision was also a forgiving and merciful God. After he saw the Might of God, he stood before him naked. His experience humbled him and forced him to look deep into his own soul, and he was distressed by what he saw down there. He realized that every thought he ever had and every word he had ever spoken was sinful. Sinful here means more than behaving immorally. It means denying the reality / existence of God. Isaiah had lived his life as if there were no God. He felt he was doomed. He was humiliated by his unworthiness in the presence of God, and yet he felt something. He said, "With my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the angels flew to him and touched his lips with a purifying coal taken from the holy altar and told him that God forgave his sins, and declared him free from guilt. And finally Isaiah also realized that he had to share his experience with others.

When we approach God the Almighty with awe and fear and confidence, we can truly encounter Him; we shall be reminded of our unworthiness; we shall be cleansed and forgiven and we shall also be given the message - to take the experience and share it with others courageously and faithfully. If we do not have true encounter with the Lord then we can only offer the "imaginary encounter" and say to others "I trust you will enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine".

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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