At Your Command!

Is 6:1-2, 3-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

The fifth Sunday highlights the importance of responding positively to God’s Word. 

The three readings show how our repentance and realization are foundational to a positive response to God’s invitation. 

The first reading presents the prophet Isaiah encountering the holiness of God in a vision. The text begins with Isaiah witnessing God’s majestic throne in the temple, surrounded by seraphim, whose continuous worship emphasizes God’s purity. Against the backdrop of the holiness of God, the vision also confronts Isaiah with his own sinfulness and the unworthiness of Israel, as manifested in his cry, ‘Woe is me, I am doomed.’ But the salvaging grace of God redeems the prophet when one of the seraphim touches Isaiah’s lips with coal, purging his guilt. This act of purification represents Isaiah’s commission as a messenger of God. The call of Isaiah reminds us that God calls us to righteousness, often disregarding the fact of our own unworthiness. In addition, we experience the saving intervention of God as forgiveness and reconciliation when our behaviour is marked by humility and repentance.

The second reading emphasizes the foundational truths of the Christian faith, particularly the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The proclamation of Paul was centered around the death and resurrection of Christ. Here, Paul highlights the resurrection of Christ as the cornerstone of Christian hope because it points to our future resurrection. By citing the testimonies of eyewitnesses and his own encounter with the risen Lord, Paul underscores the historical truth of Christ’s resurrection alongside its theological significance. It is important to note that Paul’s account underscores the transforming power of God that changed him from being a ‘torturer of Christ’ into an apostle ‘tortured for Christ.’