Fr. Michael Williams

The Prophet Isaiah’s vision of God was truly awe inspiring, but it was almost too much for him to handle. Isaiah ‘saw the Lord seated on a high throne’ and the angels in His presence crying out, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts’. In the presence of the infinite God, Isaiah sees himself in his littleness and sinfulness and so he says, ‘What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips’. The awesome power of God is manifested to Isaiah, and he is overwhelmed by it. God’s astounding grandeur seems too much for Isaiah to take. However, the Lord does not abandon Isaiah in his feelings of inadequacy. Rather, the Lord sends an angel to strengthen him as Isaiah’s ‘sin is taken away’.

In the gospel, Peter the simple fishermen, was also overcome by the awesome Presence of God. When Christ initiates the miraculous catch of fish, Peter’s response is to fall to his knees saying, ‘Leave me Lord; I am a sinful man’. Witnessing God’s almighty power seems too much for Peter to take. Once again God does not abandon his creature in his inadequacy, but tries to reassure him by saying, ‘Do not be afraid’.

Occasionally God will make His Presence felt through miraculous and awesome ways today. In the Echo this week was the story of a young boy who had a brain tumour. In desperation his mother decided to take him to Lourdes. They went to Lourdes and when they came back, the surgeons opened the boys skull to try and remove the tumour he had, but they were astounded to find the tumour had gone.

Although God will manifest Himself miraculously to people at times, God’s preferred method is to comes to us in humble and gentle ways, which requires faith. The sacraments are a clear illustration of this. Whenever we come to Mass, the Lord enters into our midst, under the humble appearance of bread and wine. ‘The Living Bread which has come down from Heaven’ is made present on the altar, and we receive the Lord in Holy Communion as spiritual food. God comes to us in this humble and gentle way, because that is His preferred method. By encountering the Lord in this way we are not overpowered or overwhelmed by God. Although we should always remember that at Mass we truly enter into the Lord’s Presence, which calls for great respect and reverence to the One who humbles Himself for our sake.

But in the other sacraments too He comes to us in a very real way. I anointed a sick lady in the hospital last week and once I had anointed her with the oil of the sick she began to cry. The Presence of God had touched her and she felt it and she was strengthened by it. It is because of His great mercy that God comes to us in humble and gentle and gradual ways. If God were to just manifest Himself all at once it would be too much to take. God comes to us gradually so that when we do see the full vision of God at the end our lives, we will not be overcome by it.

The vision of God that Isaiah and Peter’s encounter with Christ the Lord were to shape their whole lives. Isaiah was sent by God to the people of Israel to speak out against moral corruption. Isaiah was persecuted to death, but remained steadfast because He had had a vision of God and he knew that being faithful to the Immense God was far more important than being faithful to morally corrupt rule makers. Peter also would die a violent death at the hands of those who would not accept the message of the gospel by being crucified on the Vatican hill. But again he remained steadfast amidst persecution. He had experienced God’s power in his life and he knew that to be faithful to God was all important.

Let us be strengthened today in God’s Presence so that we will be His faithful witnesses in a world that needs the love of God.