Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Here I Am, Send Me
But I am sinful, of unclean lips, unworthy, unfit, and unqualified to be a follower of Jesus! These are the excuses we hear in the Scriptures this weekend. How then do we get to saying YES, to saying “Here am I, send me?”
At Mass, we often have children run to the altar for the dismissal for Children’s Liturgy of the Word. Sometimes I think some are racing to be the chosen one to carry the Book of the Gospels as they leave us. Others join them a bit slowly, and some reluctantly led by an older sibling. Whatever the motives for racing or plodding, they do all leave giving us witness to “Here I am, send me.”
When’s the last time you responded to a “call” that stretches you out of your comfort zone? Did you quickly disqualify yourself with reasons not to respond with an enthusiastic YES? What does it take to get to YES?
Every time we are with the community at Mass, we ask to be healed multiple times. We publicly admit that we are sinners and we ask for mercy. At the invitation to Communion we pray “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” We follow that with our act of trust in God’s mercy: “Only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Our procession to receive the Body and Blood of Christ is an act of faith and trust that God’s bounteous, loving mercy makes us fit to be sent! Communion fortifies us with strength and goodness, courage and resilience, and