5th Week in Ordinary Time (C) : Sunday 9th February 2025

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” To these questions the prophet Isaiah answers—“Here I am, send me!”

The questions are addressed to each of us as well, in fact to anyone who has taken his place before the throne of God. Like Isaiah, none of us feels worthy as we stand before God, recognizing our own weaknesses, yet judging the failings of our own local community, nation, and even our Church. Still, we are to respond to God’s call and play a role as disciples of Jesus and allow God’s grace working through us to bring to reality the Kingdom that Jesus preached.

Perhaps we magnify our own inadequacies and limitations, and forget to recognize St. Paul, who was painfully aware of His unworthiness to be an apostle, and yet, through God’s grace, he responded to God’s call and reoriented his life to carry the Good News to distant corners of the Roman Empire. God used St. Paul, his unique personality and knowledgeable background, to spread the Gospel. Jesus didn’t invite ‘the best and the brightest’ to be His disciples, He chose people for a specific purpose, like St Peter. Today, the Lord is inviting each of us to play our role in the daily tasks we are given to be witnesses of the hope that Jesus preached. When the Lord asks, “Whom shall I send?” Let our answer be, “Here I am, send me!”

Dear Lord, my hope is anchored in You, may I witness hope in dire situations.