Sisters of St. Mary of Namur

February 7, 2010                                    Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8                                    1 Corinthians 15:1-11                                                      Luke 5:1-11

All three readings for today's Liturgy make reference to the same human and spiritual experience:   a person meets God and is overwhelmed by the awesomeness and holiness of the Divine.  That encounter leads to recognition and even fear  of one's  personal sinfulness.  That is, perhaps, an experience that we all find familiar.

It is, of course, a simple pattern to follow.  What is remarkable in each of the readings is that there is a third step.  What could have ended with fear of the Holy One and despair in one's own sinfulness leads instead to trust and to dependence on the God who initiated the relationship.

In the reading from the prophet Isaiah, the sense of unworthiness is so strong that God offers an experience of purification that is so powerful it seems to be both visible and tangible.  Peter's experience of sinfulness is so great that it literally brings him to his knees.  And Paul's awareness of his
weakness is powerful enough that after years of labor, shipwreck, imprisonment, and suffering, and years of tremendous success as a preacher and witness, he still refers to himself as "the least."

All three figures found what we might call "the believer's balance."  They did not need to hide from either reality.  They were able to balance their awareness of God's indescribable beauty and love with their awareness of their own weakness and sinfulness, and reach that wonderful place of gratitude and love that casts out fear.

May that be our prayer for ourselves and for one another---a prayer so beautifully expressed by Mary Oliver in the first half of her poem "Thirst:"
                                    "Another morning and I wake with thirst
                                    for the goodness I do not have.  I walk
                                    out to the pond and all the way God has
                                    given us such beautiful lessons.  Oh Lord,
                                    I was never a quick scholar but sulked
                                    and hunched over my books past the
                                    hour and the bell;  grant me, in your
                                    mercy, a little more time..."

                                                                        -Sister Elisabeth Buchala