{"id":971,"date":"2013-02-10T12:39:09","date_gmt":"2013-02-10T17:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=971"},"modified":"2013-02-10T12:39:09","modified_gmt":"2013-02-10T17:39:09","slug":"hearing-our-call-to-care-about-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/hearing-our-call-to-care-about-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Our Call to Care About Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

5th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C<\/a>
\nIsaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
\n1 Corinthians 15:1-11
\nLuke 5:1–11
\nFebruary 10, 2013<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t easy to be a disciple of Jesus.\u00a0 When Peter realized it was Jesus standing with them, he felt so unworthy to be with Jesus, that he asked Jesus to leave them.\u00a0 Jesus tells him do not be afraid.<\/p>\n

Peter and the other actually got\u00a0a couple of\u00a0things right that day.\u00a0 First, that Jesus was no ordinary human and they realized they were not worthy to be with Jesus.\u00a0 Alone, they are right, we can\u2019t make ourselves worthy to be around Jesus.<\/p>\n

The second thing they got right was, even though they unworthy, they still left everything and followed him.<\/p>\n

Worthiness was not a new question with Jesus.\u00a0 It takes on a new significance with Jesus standing right before you but people have been feeling unworthy to be disciples for long before Jesus.<\/p>\n

We see in our reading today from Isaiah.\u00a0 It is the story of how Isaiah received his calling to be a prophet.\u00a0 Isaiah is seeing a vision of the Lord.<\/p>\n

He expresses his unworthiness to see this vision.\u00a0 He admits his failings and yet knows he is having a profound encounter with God.\u00a0 Read the story of the calling of just about any prophet in the Bible and you will see how they almost always say they are unworthy.<\/p>\n

In a sense they are not worthy.\u00a0 We are all imperfect and can\u2019t make ourselves worthy but God can and does.<\/p>\n

We see this with Isaiah when the seraphim flew to Isaiah and touched his lips with the burning ember, cleansing Isaiah of his sins.\u00a0 Only then does Isaiah accept the call, saying \u201csend me\u201d.<\/p>\n

God is calling each and every one of us to be his children, his disciples.<\/p>\n

Do we feel worthy?<\/p>\n

God makes us worthy.<\/p>\n

Feel like you don\u2019t have what it takes.<\/p>\n

Jesus will give you want you need to do what he wants.\u00a0 Not to do what we want, but what he wants.<\/p>\n

We each have a different calling but each calling is centered on the greatest commandment to love God and the second, calling us to love our neighbor.<\/p>\n

So do it!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure one of you is thinking right now, \u2018but Father, I don\u2019t feel like there is anything I can do to help.\u2019<\/p>\n

You would be wrong.\u00a0 At the very least you can pray.<\/p>\n

And I bet some of you have already done things that have made a big difference for someone else.\u00a0 For example, think back to December and the gifts presents giving by you through our Giving Tree program.\u00a0 Surely, it made someone\u2019s Christmas better.<\/p>\n

But that isn\u2019t enough!\u00a0 Think of the saying, \u201cGive a man a fish and you feed him for a day.\u00a0 Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

We need to start by taking care of the immediate needs of people around us like food, clothing, and to know God\u2019s love at Christmas.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s charity but we are also called to work for justice and we have an opportunity to do just that today.\u00a0 In using the word \u201cjustice\u201d I\u2019m talking about changing systems and policies that keep a person done rather than giving them a hand up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s our Diocesan Public Policy Weekend and that means we have a petition available for signing today.\u00a0\u00a0Today we really are talking about making a different in the life of a child not just for a day but for a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Our petition today (which is available at all the entrances of the church) asks our state government to restore child care funding back to the levels before they were dropped in 2010-11 budget.<\/p>\n

Why should we care about this?<\/p>\n

Well, first and foremost we should desire safe child care for all children that the parents can\u2019t afford on their own.\u00a0 Some might want to say \u2018tell them to get a better job.\u2019\u00a0 Many of them would like to.\u00a0 Do you have a job for them?<\/p>\n

Look at minimum wage.\u00a0 A person working full-time at minimum wage only makes $15,000 a year.\u00a0 That\u2019s below the poverty line.\u00a0 If both parents work, they have $30,000 but can\u2019t afford the child care they need then.<\/p>\n

And these are the most important years of development.\u00a0 It sets the stage for the entire rest of their lives.\u00a0 So, it is an investment for the future.<\/p>\n

Our diocese has statistics show that every one dollar invested in child care returns seven dollars in future savings due to the decreased need for special services later in school or live.<\/p>\n

Seven for one sounds like a pretty good deal to me.<\/p>\n

All you have to do is fill out a line on the petition.\u00a0 You can make a difference.\u00a0 Jesus loves the children and so do we.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1–11 February 10, 2013 It isn\u2019t easy to be a disciple of Jesus.\u00a0 When Peter realized it was Jesus standing with them, he felt so unworthy to be with Jesus, that he asked Jesus to leave them.\u00a0 Jesus tells him do …<\/p>\n

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