NOTES FOR REFLECTION

February 10                            NOTES FOR REFLECTION

Texts:  Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Theme:  As this is the last Sunday before Lent, we could get ourselves in the mood with something like "Unworthy Though We Are"; but if you think the Season of Lent is quite long enough as it is, you might prefer something more positive, such as "Called, Forgiven and Sent".

Introduction.  This is one of those wonderful Sundays when all three readings seem to be saying the same thing: in one word, Grace; in more words, God does not wait for us to become perfect before calling us into his service.  We do not know much about Isaiah at the time of his vision, but his reaction tells us what he thinks of himself in God's presence.  He not only declares himself to be a "man of unclean lips"; he declares that his people share the same condition.  St Paul reminds himself, the people of Corinth, and us that he was an arch-persecutor of the Church at the time of his encounter with the Divine on the road to Damascus, not exactly an ideal C.V. for someone to be appointed an Apostle.  And Peter the fisherman, in a moment of profound spiritual insight, turns his attention from the biggest catch of his career to the enormity of his sins.  And the outcome is the same in all three cases: not disqualification from office, as each might have supposed, but commissioning for office.  God not only saves sinners, he employs them!

There is, too, I think another common theme to these readings.  Again with the caveat that we do not have direct information about Isaiah, it seems that all three of them were, at the very least, unaware of their true spiritual state until they had these encounters.  My guess is that Isaiah was a good, faithful man, perhaps a bit of a "pew-sitter", religious in an ordinary conventional way.  He needed his vision broadened: he needed to experience the reality of the God whom he worshiped in the proper manner.  When he saw that, he also saw the raw reality of himself; not Isaiah the decent bloke, but Isaiah the man of unclean lips: not Isaiah the good man, relatively speaking, but Isaiah the man who was no better than the common herd.  One man with unclean lips among many with unclean lips.

St Paul (yes, I should be calling him Saul at this point, but it all gets a bit confusing when I do) was a very different person, and therefore needed a very different experience.   By no stretch of the imagination could he ever be described as a pew-sitter, or as being religious in an ordinary conventional way.  Before his conversion he was as zealous in his faith as he was after it.  It was his vision of God that changed.  He always reminds me of a man in one of my former parishes who had had a specific "conversion experience" in the not too-distant past and was quite convinced that the rest of us needed a similar experience to become real Christians.  A man who had known him for years, before and after his conversion, described him to me like this: "Before his conversion he was the biggest bigot in the town: after his conversion he was the biggest Christian bigot in the town!"  Unkind, perhaps, but not entirely untrue.  Much the same could be said of St Paul.

And completing this extraordinary triumvirate of giants of our faith history is the one who is, perhaps, the one most like us, Peter the fisherman.  Can't you just see him in shorts and a black singlet?  Stocky, with strong thighs, and huge upper-body strength.  Put the three of them in an identity parade and we would have no difficulty picking him out.  His language was probably as salty as his skin: personal hygiene was not high on his list of interests.  Nor was naval-gazing: he had probably never been in touch with his feelings, much less his feminine side.  But few could match him when it came to practical matters; above all he knew about fishing.  Never an easy way to make a living, that would have been as true then on Lake Galilee as it is today on any other stretch of water where rapid weather changes are common.  Courage, staunchness, endurance and sheer bloody-mindedness made him the fisherman, and the man, that he was.

And then, in an instant, all that was stripped away.  In an instant everything that he valued, everything that gave him manna in the local community, was revealed to him in a new light.  He discovered that behind his public persona, behind his false self, there was a real self, a vulnerable, needy self, a self that needed healing, forgiveness, acceptance and love.  Without wishing to be too insensitive, I have to say that the image that comes to my mind as I ponder all this is that of Sir Paul Holmes in his last T.V. interview just before his death, underlined as scenes from his "glory days" were interpolated.  Gone were all those attributes out of which he had built his career and reputation; his egotism, his cockiness, his bluster, his bullying, his smarminess – everything we associate with the little man trying to look bigger.  Filmed in his large estate in which he had expected to live many years in luxurious retirement, he allowed us to see him physically weak, and fearful of what lay ahead, his imagined future exposed as mere fantasy.

There before us was the human condition in all its reality – or perhaps that should be, the human condition in the presence of All Reality.  There is something here about losing our life to gain life.  There is some echo here of the words Jesus spoke to Martha at Bethany: "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."  There is something here of Isaiah, of Paul and of Peter.  There is something here of you and of me.

I hope there was someone with Sir Paul who could pronounce the Absolution, who could assure him that, through the cross of Christ, God did have mercy on him, had pardoned him, and had set him free.  That he could be at peace.  Isaiah experienced forgiveness in the most direct way.  With Paul and with Peter it was more like the forgiveness the prodigal son received when he returned to his father, his mumbled confession smothered in his father's joy.  But in all three cases it was the gateway to new life.

And one final lesson, courtesy of Waitangi Day.  If we wish to feed on the manna from heaven we must be willing to sacrifice our own personal mana.

Isaiah.  As noted above, we don't know the background or personal circumstances at the time of Isaiah's call.  It is curious that this story does not appear at the beginning of the book (as it does in the case of Jeremiah and, more or less, in the case of Ezekiel).  One possible inference is that Isaiah was already carrying out some sort of ministry (perhaps as a priest, hence his vision being set in the Temple, or as a "self-appointed" prophet).  Isaiah's experience is a classic "religious experience", both visual and auditory, but it is a little more unusual in that it becomes something of an inter-active narrative.  Initially stunned by the vision, he fears for his life.  In Jewish belief, no one can see God and live: sinful nature will be destroyed when exposed to the holiness of God.  It is interesting that the focus of his sinfulness is his lips – in stark contrast to the obsession many believers have with our sexual organs.  [Isaiah has the Bible on his side on this one: there are far more references to our verbal sins than our sexual ones.  Have a look at the Letter of St James, for example.]  So his lips are cauterised in the vision – a good example of how God meets the individual at his or her point of need.  That done, Isaiah is able to hear God's voice – before that he heard only the seraphs; and, of course, he is able to make the classic response of faith: Here I am – send me.  Notice that God does not order Isaiah to do anything: he volunteers.

Taking It Personally.

·        Surely an invitation to reflect on your own vision of God, and your personal response to God.  If a friend asked you, "what is God like?" what would you say?

·        Have you ever said to God "Here I am - send me"?  Do you feel able to say that, wholeheartedly and unconditionally, today?

·        What might hold you back?

·        Review the last few days.  Has there been an occasion when you have said something you regret saying?  If so, put a finger to your lips, recall the words you spoke, express your sorrow, and ask God to cleanse your lips and take away your guilt.

Corinthians.  Apart from chapter 13 (on love) this chapter 15 is probably the most important, and certainly the most quoted, chapter in this long letter.  St Paul's main topic is the Resurrection, but before he gets into a detailed examination of the "biology" of the resurrected life, he starts with the evidence for the fact of Christ's resurrection.  This takes the form first of a list of the eye-witnesses, people who encountered the Risen Christ, face-to face, so to speak.  He says there were 500 or more.  [Notice that he says that most of them were still alive at the time of writing: subtext, if you don't believe me, ask them.]  Then he adds his own personal testimony, this time not recounting his actual conversion experience, but making a brief reference to his prior life as a persecutor of the faithful.  His unstated point is surely this: to truly encounter Christ (God) is to be completely transformed, inside and out.

Taking It Personally.

·        Do you find this list of eye-witnesses convincing?

·        Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth died, was buried, was raised from the dead, and was seen by over 500 people?

·        What personal evidence do you have that Christ is alive today?

·        What difference has your faith made to your life and to you as a person?

·        Read verse 14. Do you agree?

 

Luke.  A wonderful example of Luke's story-telling genius!  Notice how well it operates at two different levels.  At the literal level it smacks of realism.  It seems likely that Peter must have already met Jesus before, or had a pretty good idea who he was; but even so, Peter was not in the crowd listening to Jesus teach that day.  He was too busy for that: he and the other fishermen had nets to mend.  Nevertheless, when Jesus asked Peter for a favour, Peter obliged.  After he had finished his teaching, he told Peter to move out to deeper water and start fishing again.  Through gritted teeth, and very much under protest, Peter obeyed.  Then comes the huge haul.  Notice what happens next.  The first response is that of the practical fisherman: Peter summons help and together they just manage to land the fish.  Only when that is done do we get the sort of spiritual response that we get instantly with Isaiah and St Paul.  So let's see how the story operates at the symbolic level.  First, the night is over, the day has come.  During the night the professional fishermen did their darnedest but caught nothing.  With Jesus present the night of scarcity gives way to the day of abundance.  Peter has to move from the safe and familiar; he has to go further out, and deeper down.  But notice again, Peter had the choice.  He could have refused: he could have told Jesus to get out of the boat (his life): he could have resented being told by a carpenter how to catch fish (pride).  He could have feared becoming the laughing-stock of the fishing community if he had followed Jesus' directions and caught nothing (fear).  But there was something in Peter that recognised something in Jesus; and neither he nor the world was ever the same again.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

·        Jesus starts with a polite request, and follows with a command.  Peter starts with a courteous response and moves to grudging obedience, a snapshot of spiritual growth.  Whereabouts are you on this spectrum?  Is your attitude towards Christ more polite and courteous, or submissive and obedient?

·        This is a good passage for praying with imagination.  Place yourself in the story.  Watch Peter in particular.  Try to enter into his tiredness, his frustration, his irritation, and so on.  How would you have reacted in his position?

·        At what stage of the story are you?  Has Jesus got into your boat?  Have you agreed to go a little way out with him?  Is he asking you to go out further into deeper waters?  Has he asked you to abandon everything and follow him?

·        What might be holding you back?  Pride?  Fear?  Something else?