Catholic Community of Jeffersonville St. Augustine
Parish Website

Catholic Community of Jeffersonville St. Augustine & Sacred Heart

Homily
by
Father Thomas E. Clegg

5 Sunday C                              St. Augustine/Sacred Heart                        2010

Isaiah 6:1-8                                                                             Luke 5:1-11

Several years ago a teacher was assigned by the local public school system

     to work with kids while they were in the hospital.

She received a routine call one day from a classroom teacher to work

   with a young boy in her class who was recently hospitalized.

“We’re studying adjectives and adverbs right now,” she stated,

     “and I just don’t want him to fall behind.”

It wasn’t until the hospital teacher got outside the boy’s room that

    she realized he was in the hospital’s burn unit,

No one had prepared her to find a young boy so horribly burned

   and in great pain.

She thought to herself, “The last thing this boy needs is to work on

     adjectives and adverbs!”

However, she also felt like she just couldn’t walk out on him,

    so she said simply…

      “Hi, I’m the hospital teacher and your teacher sent me to work with you

              on adjectives and adverbs.”

The next morning one of the nurses said to the teacher.

   “What did you do to that boy?”

The teacher started to apologize, realizing that the boy obviously

    sensed her discomfort, but before she could apologize the nurse went on.

       “We’ve been very worried about him, but ever since you were here

            yesterday, his whole attitude has changed.

He’s fighting back; he’s responding to treatment.

   It’s like he’s decided to live.”

The boy later explained it this way.

    “I was sure I was going to die. I had completely given up hope...

        until I saw that teacher.”

Then with tears of joy, he said, “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work

    on adjectives and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?”

That story is a story of hope…

   It is a story of someone believing in someone else

      and it making a difference.

Our scripture readings today contain similar stories.

   Isaiah complains that he is not worthy to be God’s messenger,

      but God believes in him.

God touches his lips and heals him,

  giving Isaiah the courage to say, “Here I am send me!”

Our Gospel reading is more of the same.

   Peter cries out, “Depart from me Lord, I am a sinful man.”

     But God has other plans and tells Peter,

       “From now on, you will be catching people.”

Too often in our lives, I think we hear the beginnings of a call by God

   to do something, but we talk ourselves out of it thinking,

     “I really don’t think I could do that.”

We hear an announcement in Church or we see something in the bulletin

    or read something in the newspaper…

It catches our attention and we think maybe….

   But then we think, “well other people are better at that than I am….

     Or, “I know I could never be as good as….whoever.”

        And so we don’t hear Gods call.

We forget sometimes how often the prophets and leaders

   throughout the years felt the same way.

Moses said, “Not me…I don’t speak well.”

   Jeremiah and Timothy both said they were too young.

      Sarah, Abraham, Elizabeth and Zechariah all thought they were too old.

Peter and Isaiah thought they were too sinful.

    Zacheaus thought he was too wealthy.

And after the time of Jesus, the saints are filled with questions:

    St. Catherine of Siena…St. John Vianney…Mother Teresa…

       All had their reasons for doubting God’s call to them.

            They all felt they weren’t qualified.

One of my favorite sayings goes like this,

   “God doesn’t call the qualified…God qualifies the called.”

In other words, don’t worry if you do not feel you have every gift necessary

   to be the best at something. God is there to help!

If you feel that nudge…If you feel that prompting…

   it might very well be from God.

And God will provide you with what you need to fulfill the call.

We make it too easy to walk away from God’s call…

   To convince ourselves that we aren’t good enough….strong enough…

     faithful enough….smart enough….young enough…or holy enough.

It is much harder to trust that nudging and prompting and say to ourselves,

   If God has called me, God will give me everything I need.

So what is the call that you are running from,

   and what will your response be today?

Will you talk yourself out of God’s call and say, “Lord I can’t do it….”

   Or will you have the faith to say,

     “Here I am Lord, send me.” 

[ Home ]  [ Welcome ]  [ Parish News ]  [ Parish History ]  [ Parish Life ]  [ Faith Formation ]
[ Youth Ministry ]  [ School ]  [ Sister Parish ]  [Prayer Requests ]  [ Contact ]

Catholic Community of Sacred Heart | 1840 East Eighth Street, Jeffersonville, Indiana | 47130
812-282-0423 (Church) | 812-283-3123 (School) | Map & Directions to Sacred Heart Church

Copyright © 2002 - 2010 www.SacredHeart-Church.com. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use