Scripture Study for

Again this week we have the call of a prophet, Isaiah of Jerusalem.  The scene is God’s “throne room,” the Holy of Holies in the temple.  The fearsome seraphim, whose name means “burning ones,” act here as the agents of God’s purifying action to prepare the prophet for his mission. In the presence of the thrice-holy God, Isaiah recognizes  the depths of his sinfulness as well as that of his own people; all of them are “unclean.” The burning of Isaiah’s lips not only prepares him for his role, but foreshadows what God has in store for all of Israel, if they will only allow themselves to be purified by the God who graciously sends this prophet to them. 

In his Letter to the Corinthians, Paul has addressed a number of ways in which his audience has failed to recognize or has forgotten important truths about the gospel and the path of Christian discipleship. It is thus fitting that Paul concludes his letter by reminding them of the central and most fundamental truth of the gospel he has preached to them, which is the death and resurrection of Christ. The basic content of the gospel is summed up neatly: Christ died for our sins, but was resurrected, a verification that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God. This central reality was then proclaimed by those who met the risen Christ, including Paul himself, whose own ministry has been nothing but a work of God’s grace.

After announcing his mission to fulfill God’s promises to Israel,  Jesus now encounters Simon and other fishermen, who have just arrived home from a disappointing night of fishing. Simon’s response to the command to go back out reveals both a natural tendency to operate according to human expectations (we didn’t catch any fish all night, why would we catch some now?) and openness to something beyond them (at your command I will lower the nets). The result is, of course, symbolic of what Peter and the others will be able to do once they learn to overcome their dependence on human ways of thinking, including the assumption that an imperfect and even sinful person cannot do God’s work.