5th Sunday of the Year – Cycle C 2010+
Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
Polls of Catholic churches across the United States give a rather alarming statistic. “The average Catholic parish in North America has fewer than ten percent of its registered members involved in various parish activities.” What this means is that when we take all of the people that are actively involved in Faith Formation, those on various active committees, those doing social outreach, those working in liturgy and music, those involved with the day to day ministry of their parish, and those giving of their time and talent in our Catholic Schools, the total amounts to only about 10 percent of the entire Catholic population of America.
While I find this statistic disturbing, I am not at all surprised by it. When I look around at the parishes I have served, the people who do most of the work tend to be a few. While involvement in our parish may be slightly higher than the national average (Midwesterners have the highest rate of parish involvement) it is still an easily provable fact, that a small percentage of people in this parish, are doing most of the ministry to build up our parish and our community.
By our common baptismal calling, each of us has the responsibility to be a disciple of Christ through the ministry we do in our parish, in our family, and in our community. But people have many responses and excuses for why they are not taking a more active role in the life of the parish.
Some will say, “I go to church every Sunday. Why should I do any more?” Attending Mass and celebrating the Eucharist is the central most part of our faith and therefore the most essential thing we do as Catholics. Even so, this mandate by Christ cannot really be seen as “involvement in parish activities.” This is our time to pray together as a community; to nourish and shape our identity as a parish and as Catholics. If the only involvement we have in our parish is showing up for Church on Sunday then we have not really answered God’s call to be his active, living presence in the world. In our parish slightly less than one-third of all registered members actually attend mass here on any given weekend.
Some parents will say, “When my children made their First Communion I went through the book with them.” This is good because parents are to be the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. That is why God gave you children, to shape them into disciples. When, however, was the last time you took an active role in your child’s faith formation? When did you last have a discussion with them about issues of life and faith? When did you last pray with them? When did you last help them and support them to make a decision on an issue of faith? This is the one area that parents ought to be spending most of their time as disciples, in shaping their children into disciples.
I am just too busy with other things. This is true for so many people. And many of the things that people are busy about are truly good for the community; involvement in school activities, leadership in the scout programs, membership in service clubs, working at local soup kitchens and food pantries, and etc, not to mention the many entertainment activities that occupy our time. One must ask the question though, “Why am I doing these things?” Am I really consciously aware of my Christian commitment, promoting Christian values in these areas of my life? Am I allowing my faith to shape the attitudes I have toward others, and the decisions I make? If not, then why am I doing these things?
“I am too old. I’m stepping down to let the young people take my place.” Well this might be a valid excuse for a particular ministry, like teaching Faith Formation. But it is not a “catch-all” excuse to give people a reason to sit back and do nothing. We are never too old to do God’s will. We never “retire” from our Christian call to discipleship. As we age we ought to look at new and different ways that we can serve our community. If Abraham and Sarah had said to the Lord, “No thank you. We are too old.” Isaac would never have been born, and the first covenant between God and his people would never have been established.
“I am too young.” I am often amazed at the wisdom and insight of young people today. Given a chance to reflect on their faith, many young men and women have been truly inspiring to others. If the prophet Jeremiah had clung to this excuse the people of Israel would never have received God’s call to repentance and bright promises of hope.
“I am not qualified. I don’t know enough about the faith.” Well this is no real excuse because there are so many opportunities in our Church to learn more about the faith. In our own parish we have many Adult Faith Formation opportunities. Then there is the blessing of living in a metropolitan area where neighboring parishes and even our Diocese provide many educational opportunities. In our modern world there have been books written on nearly any topic of faith about which you would want to know more. Peter, James and John were fisherman. They had no credentials to be religious leaders. They had no formal education to prepare them to be great teachers. And yet Jesus chose them. From among all the people of Israel, Jesus chose them to be the first disciples, the first apostles of his Church here on earth.
The one over-riding excuse that might at first seem to be valid is the excuse, “I am a sinner. I am not worthy to do your will.” Isaiah, Paul, and Peter all spoke these words when God called them. This in fact though is not an excuse. It is an admission. It is simply acknowledging a fact that plagues us all. We are all sinners in need of God’s healing grace of mercy and forgiveness. To this Jesus had a response when he said, “I have come to call sinners. Not the self-righteous.” In other words Jesus is saying that he has called people of truth; people who are honest with their own limitations and brokenness. In this calling he heals us in our infirmity, he forgives us our sin.
So repentance is our first response on the journey to discipleship. Then having acknowledged our own sinfulness, our own limitation, our own dependence upon the Lord, then and only then are we truly ready to answer his call to be his disciple. Then and only then can we truly express our willingness to follow Christ, wherever he may lead us.
This then leaves us only one excuse that is truly valid. And sadly it is the most deadly excuse we can use. Lord, I am not willing, to be your disciple. This is valid. This is a choice we are free to make, for God always respects our human will. After all, God is the one who gave us this will to choose or not. The choice to not be a disciple, to not do Christ’s work here on this earth, in the end will result in eternal death, not eternal life.
And so God spoke to Jeremiah, and through him speaks to us the question, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I hope and pray that today each one of us will echo the words of Jeremiah,
“Here I am, Lord. Send me!”
