February 10, 2013 Cycle C
If you were asked to elect a world leader, and yours is the deciding vote, think about the candidates for a moment. Here are three with their backgrounds.
A. Candidate A associates with crooked politicians, consults with astrologers, has had two mistresses, is severely disabled, chain smokes and drinks eight to ten martinis a day.
B. Candidate B was kicked out of office twice, he sleeps until noon, uses opium at university, is an undiagnosed manic depressive, and he drinks a bottle of whiskey every day.
C. Candidate C is a decorated war hero, a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke or drink, except for an occasional beer, and has never had an extramarital affair.
Of these three who would you choose? These are all candidates from our history. Candidate A was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Candidate B was Winston Churchhill. And Candidate C was Adolf Hitler.
Sometimes the best candidate on paper is the worse leader in reality. Thank goodness Jesus did not hire a management consultant to help him recruit His earliest disciples. On paper, Peter, James and John, would not have got past expressing interest in the job. But Jesus recognized that they had three things necessary for Christian leadership. Namely, faith, hope and love. Not that they had it immediately. We know they constantly misunderstood Jesus and tried to steer Him in other ways. They made promises they did not keep, and they abandoned Jesus when the going got tough. But in it all they had the one thing that nearly all great leaders have in their formation: a mentor who knows they are not perfect, forgives them of their limitations, tells them the truth, brings them back to what they are actually about, and inspires them by what he says and how he lives.
St. Luke’s Gospel is telling us today to follow Christ is a radical option, and that we have to divest ourselves of anything that stops us from serving the Kingdom of God. St. Luke has made Peter the center of his account of the miraculous catch. After the lowering of the nets, and taking a considerable act of faith on Peter’s part, the results were stunning. And of course, Peter’s reaction is understandable.
For you see it came clear to Peter who Christ really is, and his instinctive reaction is to back away. Peter recognizes his own unworthiness and humbleness in the sight of God, but Jesus assures him that He has not come to drive sinners from His presence, but to bring them back to God – to catch them in the “net” of God’s love.
Like Peter, we often too expect little from our relationship with God. Many of us no doubt have suffered from an inferiority complex when it comes to God. We’re neither good enough, nor wise enough in Church protocol to consider ourselves “religious.” We cannot imagine, as Peter cannot imagine, God loving sinful Godless us. That is the mystery of God: that God loves despite ourselves.
Just as God believes in Isaiah, Paul and Simon Peter; God believes in you and me. God is not interested in our limitations. Rather God is interested in our potential. The Lord asks us to concentrate on His love, mercy and strength, working in and through us. Together, with Him, we can be God’s apostles, God’s messengers. And together, with God, we can do great things.
I need to make one more plea for your response to the Diocesan Ministry Fund by being part of the mission of the Diocese and the Church together we continue to keep the message of God’s love, mercy, and goodness, alive. Would you please again, consider prayerfully your financial support of the Diocese and make your pledge today so we can close our drive soon. Lent begins this Wednesday and I would like to keep the focus on this sacred season ahead, so your response today will make a great difference in helping us reach our goal.
We are assured of God’s love for us and we are challenged by Christ to lower our own nets into the “deep waters” to risk our own security and comfort for the sake of the Gospel values of compassion, justice, and reconciliation. Part of that is to extend yourself by your response to the Diocesan Ministry Fund and show your faith in God’s grace that will sustain us in the days and months ahead.
Finally, St. Francis of Assisi prayed: “Lord make me an instrument of your peace.” That simple prayer describes the vocations not only of Peter, Paul and Isaiah, but also our own. We are called to let Christ do the work. We are called to be humble instruments, or channels, who allow God’s love, peace and mercy to flow in and through us. God believes, that we, along with them, can be instruments of God’s peace in this world for God believes in us. And with that recommendation ringing in our ears this day, let us be sure that we can do great things with, and for, our loving God. Amen. Amen. Msgr. Tom Adrians
Christ the King