Lucina Montague, OP

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8, Psalm 137, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

Today’s readings bring two words to mind: spontaneity and simplicity. You might right say that there is nothing simple about Isaiah’s description of his vision.  It is awesome, frightening, evocative of power, majesty, mystery. But then, a simple question, and a simple, spontaneous answer: “Whom shall I send?”, “Here I am, send me.”

The gospel presents a very different scene, the everyday world of a fishing village. Jesus is standing there, in the midst of a crowd, preaching to them. “He caught sight of two boats”, conveniently near at hand. He got into one of them, sat down, and began to teach.  Simplicity and spontaneity.

Then, after the unexpectedly large catch of fish, Peter, James and John responded instantly to Christ’s words, left everything, and followed him, there and then, on the spot.  No debating, weighing the pros and cons; just did it.

One view of perfection is that everything should be planned, organised, really well thought out. Risk assessment is an essential element of the management world. It is important to read the small print on contracts, especially when dealing with insurance. Is it covered? Terms and conditions….etc. etc. etc. Today’s readings are a far cry from that. Isaiah’s encounter with God, and his quick response, Christ’s use of the handy boat as a place from where he could preach, the quick decision of the first apostles when invited by Christ to follow him, surely encourage us grasp opportunities when given to us, to trust in our God-given instinct for what is right, and to believe Christ when he says “do not be afraid”.