The sinful proclaimer

There have been many scandals lately.

The despicable crimes of a few priests, sometimes facilitated de facto by their superiors, have inflicted great harm upon the Church and its people (not to mention the victims of these crimes).

Other churches and ecclesial communities have also suffered from scandals and crimes among its leaders and people, in congregations both large and small.

Such sins and crimes need to be addressed, the innocent need to be protected, and victims need to be comforted, but we should not have any illusions about Church leaders being perfect (or Church members for that matter).

Today's readings give us very examples of high-profile religious leaders who are painfully aware of their own sinfulness.

In the first reading (Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8) the great prophet Isaiah says,

Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!

But by the grace of God, Isaiah – unworthy as he is – is empowered to be a great prophet.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember
that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

In today’s second reading (1 Corinthians 15:1-11), St. Paul is also keenly aware of his sinful unworthiness but also of the power of God’s grace.

For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.

Likewise in today’s Gospel (Luke 5:1-11):

When Simon Peter saw this,
he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord,
for I am a sinful man.”

....Jesus said to Simon,
"Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men."
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.

You and I are not perfect – we are sinners and unworthy to be instruments of God’s word, love, and grace – but the truth and grace we share comes not from us but from God.

You and I must never ignore our sins, we must repent and seek Christ's forgiveness, we should always be aware of our unworthiness, but we cannot let anything stop us from proclaiming and sharing the truth, love, and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – unworthy as we are.