Luke
has presented several different ways to look at Jesus in order to discover who
he is.
Today
Jesus calls his first disciples, collaborators in the mission he has come to
accomplish among us.
The
call will help Peter to acknowledge his indignity, his sin, and at the same
time to learn that our sins do not make the Lord depart from us, on the
contrary he comes closer to us to save us, to give his life so that we may have
life. The Lord does not want our sin,
but he loves us.
Thus
today the Church liturgy invites us to reflect on our own vocation, looking at
the vocation of the first followers.
FIRST READING Is
6:1-2a, 3-8
Ø
Isaiah
tells us about the vision he had of the Majesty of God.
Ø
He
tells us that the vision happened in the year of the death of King Uzziah
around the year 740 or 739 BC.
Ø In the second book of Kings and in
the 2 book of Chronicles this King is also called Azariah (2 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 26)
o
Isaiah
sees God seating on a high throne. Isaiah was an official at the court of the
King, it seems very normal that when God wants to reveal himself to him he uses
images which Isaiah will understand. God is seen as a Monarch, a King.
o
The
description of the celestial liturgy performed by the seraphims makes us think
of the liturgies or worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, the smoke of the incense.
o
Over
the throne Isaiah sees some winged celestial creatures he calls them seraphim, which reminds of the
word “serap” which means “to burn.”
o They cry out to each other “Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts! His glory fills the earth!
o
The
voices are so loud that the place is shaken.
o
This
is an awesome vision in which God is seen as a King of an extraordinary
majesty, surrounded by those creatures which are on fire.
o
In
the presence of God the human being experiences his or her indignity, his or
her sin and becomes conscious of his or her sinfulness.
o
Thus
Isaiah acknowledges that his lips are impure, and also those of his
people.
o
Fear
invades Isaiah, since it was a common belief, that whoever sees God dies.
o But God does not abandon his sinful
people, on the contrary through the incarnation, God comes to live among us.
o
To
purify the lips of Isaiah God sends a Seraphim with a burning coal to touch his
lips.
o And God who always calls us to entrust
a mission to us, seems to speak to himself saying: whom shall I sent? Who will
go in our name?
o
Isaiah
who is burning in divine love responds with enthusiasm “Here I am, send
me!”
Ø
This
is how Isaiah tells us his vocation, his call to be a prophet.
Ø
His
mission will be difficult, since he will speak but they will not listen to him,
they will not understand because they are afraid that if they understand they
will have to change their lives, they will have to allow God to convert
them.
Ø
This
vision of the Majesty of God will help Isaiah all his life long to see the
injustices committed against the poor, the least of society as an idolatry, a
worship of an alien god, the god of selfishness, of money, of power. Injustice
will become an offense against God, before being an offense against another
human being.
RESPONSORIAL
PSALM – Ps 138
IN
THE SIGHT OF THE ANGELS I WILL SING YOUR PRAISES, 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
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
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.”
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.
It is a psalm of
thanksgiving recited by the people and by
the kings as well, all are called to
praise God.
GOSPEL LK 5:1-11
ü Jesus is
preaching, people are around him pressing him because they want to listen to
the fascinating words of the young teacher, Jesus the son of Joseph of
Nazareth.
ü And he gets
into one of the boats, the boat of Peter to be able to speak from the boat. Peter
and his companions are mending their nets.
ü From the boat
he speaks and speaks, and all are pleased listening to him.
ü When he
finishes teaching the people he asks Peter to throw their nets to catch
fish.
ü The fishermen
know that you do not fish at noon when there is so much light, and especially
if they could not catch any fish during the right time at night.
ü Peter who has
been a fisherman for many years knows that, but on the word of Jesus he throws
the nets, and they catch a large number of fish.
ü And Peter,
like Isaiah acknowledges his sinfulness, his unworthiness in the presence of
the God three times holy. He starts discovering that Jesus is more than what her
sees in him.
ü Depart from
me Lord, for I am a sinful man.
ü Isaiah was
purified by a burning coal that a seraphim took from the incense. Peter will
hear the words of Jesus telling him, “Fear not! you will be fisher of
men.”
ü As a
consequence of the vision Isaiah is sent to prophesize to his people. From the
encounter of Peter with Jesus, Peter becomes fisher of men. Both Isaiah and
Peter are called to proclaim among their brothers and sisters the wonderful
works of our amazing God, to discover his presence among us.
ü Isaiah says
“Here I am” Peter and his companions leave their nets and everything else and
follow Jesus.
In this encounter of Jesus with the fishermen
from Galilee there is not fire, no seraphim, no smoke, nothing extraordinary,
everything happens very quietly, peacefully. This is because God has decided to
become incarnate and to live among us. That is the difference between the Old
and the New Testaments.
SECOND
READING 1Cor 15:1-11
Paul reminds his community of Corinth the gospel he
has preached to them. A gospel which Paul in turn received from the community
of the believers, thus Paul is handing over the tradition of the young
church.
What he has handed over to them is
o That Christ
died for our sins
o That he was
buried and
o That he was raised
on the third day. All of this happened in accordance with the Scriptures.
o That he
appeared to Cephas (Peter), to the twelve and to more than five hundred
brothers and sisters.
Finally the risen and glorified Lord appeared to
Paul,
He considers himself the least of the apostles,
because he persecuted the church.
But he says that he has worked harder than any of
them
Although he rectifies and says that it is the grace
of God that has done the work in him.
Paul says that faith has to follow the preaching,
the listening to the word of God.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET,
Antonio María. Autobiografía.
SWEENEY,
Marvin A. The Prophetic Literature.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía.
RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según
las Escrituras – Ciclo C. San Pablo 2006.
SCHÖKEL , Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.
SAGRADA BIBLIA, Versión Oficial de la Conferencia
Episcopal Española.
RINCON CLARETIANO
I had three reasons for not eating. First, because I was able not to--I had
no appetite, especially when I had to do a lot of preaching or had to hear
large numbers of confessions. Second, on certain occasions when I did have some
appetite, I wouldn't eat, especially when I was about to start on a trip, so as
not to be heavy on my feet. Finally, I abstained from eating in order to edify
people because I noticed that they were always watching me. Thus I ate very
little even though I was hungry. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 404
