09 February 2025 - Epiphany 5, Year C

Theme

The past few Sundays have dealt a lot with God’s call on certain people’s lives. Today, our scripture readings deal with Isaiah’s call to become a prophet to God’s people as well as Peter’s call to follow Jesus and become a fisher of men. Paul reminds the people of his powerful call from being a former persecutor of Christians to one of God’s finest, hardest-working apostles.

Scriptures

Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13) - Isaiah receives a call from God through a mighty vision. He sees Yahweh sitting on a throne, surrounded by angels. One of the angels touches Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal and declares that his sins are forgiven. Yahweh asks who to send as a messenger to god’s people and Isaiah responds: “Here I am Lord, send me.”

Psalm 138 - A Psalm of praise and thanksgiving. David praises God, then declares that all kings will praise God. He ends with surety that God will protect him in the midst of troubles.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 - Paul talks about the Gospel of Christ’s life, death and resurrection that was preached by apostles before him as well as by him now. Paul calls himself the least apostle because of the way he persecuted the Church, but because of God’s favour, he has now worked harder than any of the apostles. 

Luke 5:1-11 - Jesus decides to preach from a boat off of shore because of the number of people surrounding him. He then instructs Peter to go out and let down his nets. Peter complains as they have fished all night and caught nothing. But Peter obeys and soon their nets were overflowing. Peter expressed his awe at the events and Jesus tells him to not be afraid, for now he will be fishing for people. 

The Context

Four of Jesus’ twelve disciples were known fishermen. Many of the first hearers of Luke’s Gospel would also have been familiar with the ins and outs of fishing in their context. It is no surprise therefore that the Gospel writers and Jesus used fishing metaphors to describe deeper truths for the reader to understand. For us today who may be less familiar with the fishing process in Jesus’ time, we would do well to try and understand their immediate context when interpreting this text for our modern context today.

Personal Application

Each of our personal calls from God are unique in the sense that we are each called to perform different tasks and go to different places. Some calls are big, life-changing events. Others are smaller leadings where God might be encouraging us to lend a helping hand or offer a service. However, each person’s call does share some similarities. 

• First, a call is usually revealed to us in various ways. For Isaiah, he had a clear vision of being forgiven and then called by God as a prophet. Peter experienced a miraculous event and his eyes were opened to God’s call to become a disciple and to make disciples. Paul met with the risen Christ and realised that he had persecuting those that God was actually calling him to serve. Perhaps your call was revealed to you by opportunities that came your way, a word received from a friend or a relevant Scripture reading that you came across at a precise time. Maybe you need to start looking for signs where God might be calling to you participate in God’s work in the world. 
• Second, Our call requires a response. Isaiah declared, “Here I am Lord, send me.” Peter fell down at Jesus’ feet, realising that he was a sinner in need of help. Paul had to repent of his previous wrongdoings and recommit his life to his call. How is God perhaps leading you to respond to a call on your life? Are you needing to realise your wrongdoing in any way and repent? Or perhaps there is some sort of action that God is leading you to take to step into your call?
• Third, God does not stop calling even those who have been called before. Even after Isaiah, Peter and Paul had originally accepted God’s call on their lives, they continued to be guided and called by God throughout their lives. Maybe you have answered a call on your life in the near or distant past. It is good to remember that God does not stop calling God’s children. Let us not rest on our laurels, but rather let us keep discerning where God might be leading us. Let us look for possible signs of God’s call and respond appropriately.

Communal Application

In a similar fashion to the above, where might God be calling us as a Church and God’s body in the world? What signs can we look out for to determine where God is leading us? How can we best respond to God’s call once we discern it? 

One needs to acknowledge that the process of discerning God’s call is not always easy, whether it is a personal or communal call. In fact, like Peter and Paul, we might be resistant to God’s leading at first. However, we can rest assured that God’s call will always be in line with God’s values and principles. It will always be in line with loving our neighbours, caring for the vulnerable, and speaking truth to power. Or in the words of Micah, “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.”ngdoings and recommit his life to his call. 

How is God perhaps leading you to respond to a call on your life? Are you needing to realise your wrongdoing in any way and repent? Or perhaps there is some sort of action that God is leading you to take to step into your call?