Receive, recognise, respond

There is a common pattern that emerges from each of our readings today, which reveals something of a three-fold structure of the Good News, the Gospel, that marks out the bond between God and us. The pattern is directional – it unfolds in a certain order of grace: to receive, to recognise, and to respond. Let me say something on each of these.

Isaiah, in our first reading, comes to God by way of God’s vision given to him. God reveals himself as the heavenly Lord of hosts, whose glory fills the world. It is quite the vision to have. This lordly God is royal in character and marked with great authority and majesty. Isaiah received this vision as his prophetic call.

In Paul’s case, from the second reading, what he has received from God is a revelation of the Christian faith, a creed by which to live: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. It is something revealed to Paul through what he has received in story and through Scripture. It is not just a set of facts Paul has received, but a way to live.

For his part, Peter in the Gospel story receives the Lord Jesus by way of his words that have become flesh. Jesus teaches him and then provides for him in abundance. God reveals to Peter the sacramental efficaciousness of his Son, Jesus – what is spoken becomes a real presence: God is among his people.

The first part of this gospel pattern, then, is one of receiving.

The second stage is one of recognition, and this takes on a very distinctive character. Each who has received, then acknowledges the reality of their own lives. Isaiah – I am lost; Paul – I am the least; Peter – I am a sinner. Each of them, when confronted by the God who has revealed himself to them, recognises the reality of their own lives: they are unworthy recipients, sinners, each in need of a purification that none of them can produce in themselves. Only God can provide.

But note, all three, in receiving the Good News and thereby recognising their unworthy states, nonetheless are immediately touched by hope, in faith. Isaiah, Paul and Peter do not despair at the acknowledgement of their fallen reality. To the contrary, each is enlivened and consoled. A new heart has been created in each of them. This moment of humble recognition is a moment of enlightening grace: in their unworthiness, God has come so close to them. In recognising themselves in relation to God, a revelation of deep hope and courage emerges.

The second part of the Gospel revelation is, then, one of recognising.

The third and completing part of the pattern is response. God does not leave the announcing of the Gospel to a mere passive reception, as if going to a great concert or watching a riveting movie. Receiving the Gospel has real consequences; God calls his sons and daughters to action. Isaiah is to be sent as a messenger. Paul is to teach what he has received. Peter is to become a fisher of people. Each is called, and each is sent. The way of the Gospel is the way of living. So, responding to God’s call is fundamental.

So, today, we see that to take the way of the Gospel is to receive, recognise, respond.

Feature image: The Great Catch by John August Swanson