5th Sunday OT - Fr. Leo
Simon Peter, James and John become apostles after witnessing Jesus’ speech at Lake Gennesaret. They accept Jesus’ call to be fishers of men.
Paul too, becomes an apostle, but he had to have his arm twisted a bit. Not until Jesus knocked him off his horse and appeared to him, did he experience the Christ and become an apostle. This is why he makes the most incredible statement in the Scriptures today.
Acknowledging his unusual call, he states: “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.”
I love this statement because Paul started out as a persecutor of Christ and then, by God’s grace, becomes one of his chief apostles. The grace of God turned the sinner into a saint who gave his life for God. Paul is grateful for what God has done for him.
Can you imagine if Paul made this statement today! Many would decide he was not to be listened to. He sinned and that is it! No public office for you! Jail time for you. Excommunicate him now. This is the black and white response of our society is today. There is no mercy. There is no trusting in what God can do in peoples lives and how the sinner may become our apostle. Why, faith isn’t real. We don’t believe God can make such a difference in peoples lives.
We also lack faith in ourselves and God when we doubt our own calling to journey with God and minister to fellow members of the parish. We tell ourselves, “I don’t have that talent,” or, “I’ve never done that.” Or, “that’s beyond my comfort zone.”
Well, maybe on our own that may be true, but if we are empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who knows what we can do? We need to have faith in God, ourselves and each other that the Spirit can transform us, just as it transformed Paul.
Today, as we hear Paul’s confession, let us pray for the gift of the Spirit that we may receive the grace to fulfill our own baptismal call, in our own way, to be apostles of the Lord.