EPIPHANY V 2019

The Prophet Isaiah -- Marc Chagall

• Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13)  • 
• Psalm 138  • 
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-11  • 
• Luke 5:1-11

The readings for this week have greater thematic unity than is true most weeks. They are all about being called to the service of God. Yet within this unity there is also an important diversity.
In the Old Testament passage,  the prophet Isaiah recounts an extraordinary vision in which the majesty of the Divine is powerfully revealed to him. The seraphim cry "holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts" with such intensity, that "the pivots on the thresholds shook . . . and the house filled with smoke". This famous vision strikingly captures the double-sided  nature of the sacred -- its ability to alarm and attract, at one and the same time. Isaiah's "woe is me" is quickly followed by "here am I, send me.

The Epistle is taken from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Its main concern is with preserving the heart of the Gospel, but this leads Paul to mention his own call -- a highly dramatic experience on the road to Damascus.  Jesus Christ, having appeared to all the apostles,  then "appeared also to me". But he did so  "as to one untimely born", which is to say, against Paul's every inclination as he vigorously pursued the persecution of Christ's own church.

Finally Luke's Gospel recounts the call to Simon Peter, James and John. Once again, the double nature of an encounter with the Divine is made evident. Peter cries, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!". Yet, once he and his partners "had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him".

Calling the Disciples -- Domenico Ghirlando

There are three important lessons to be drawn from all this. First, a true call to discipleship runs counter to our wishes and preferences; it must alarm us, while at the same time proving irresistible.  Christian discipleship is not an easy way of life, and when it seems to be, something has gone wrong. Secondly, while a powerful, supernatural vision such as Isaiah experienced is vouchsafed to some, the call may just as readily come, as it did to the first disciples, in the context of ordinary working life. Third, some who are called may, like Isaiah, become enduringly significant as prophets of the Most High. But the vast majority should be content to echo the words of Paul "by the grace of God I am what I am". And in fulfilling their call, they will be content to pray that "his grace toward me has not been in vain".