Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 9, 2016 - Saturday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Isa 6:1-8 and Matt 10:24-33]Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!" [Isaiah]
JULY 9 ST. JOHN OF COLOGNE, O.P. AND COMPANIONS, martyrs
Forty-five years ago, when I was ordained to the priesthood, I had a friend [a Jesuit artist!] design some commemorative cards for me to give to friends and family to mark the occasion. I sent him three quotes from scripture, one of which is given above from the call of Isaiah. To this day, the scene of that call and those words still move me. My own call was not so dramatic, but there is something in the scene that is important for everyone who might contemplate fulltime (or even parttime) ministry. It is God who decides whether or not one is worthy for the job. Isaiah's protests about his unworthiness are to no avail. An angel touches his lips with a burning "ember," and tells Isaiah his "wickedness is removed, your sin purged."
That scene and the one from Exodus 3 of the encounter between God (in the burning bush) and Moses remain with me. We can also throw in Jeremiah's call as well because he protests that he is too young and cannot speak well. God pushes aside Moses' and Jeremiah's protests and basically says, "You're the one I want, no matter what. Do what I'm telling you to do." This can be costly. The Dominican Order celebrates today the feast of St. John of Cologne, OP, who was executed by Protestant authorities during the Reformation for bringing communion to imprisoned Catholics.
Yes, this kind of call has to be carefully discerned by the Church. Even in Isaiah and Jeremiah's time, there were false prophets and sometimes the community failed to recognize the genuine call. All things human are subject to human whims and errors, especially if the prophet makes the community uncomfortable! God's judgment requires that the one who is called be aware of his or her own humanity and act in humble service, not in power. Pope Francis leads the way nowadays and all of us should pay attention to his example. AMEN
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