Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

What is the true measure of success? What does it entail and how do we attain true success in life? 

In our Sunday readings, we meet three notable persons who were chosen by God to accomplish His mission.  We have Isaiah who acknowledged his unworthiness, being a "man of unclean lips." Paul confessed that he is "not fit to be called an apostle" because he persecuted the church of God.  Peter asked the Lord to depart from him for he is a sinful man.  

However, their stories don't end there.  Isaiah's unclean lips were touched by the ember of God's love, his sin was purged.  Paul, a staunch persecutor of the church, was freed by God's light and became a firm defender of the Christian faith.  Peter's doubts and sinfulness were washed away by the compassion of the Lord.    

Like Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, we are all sinful and unqualified.  And yet, the love of God prevails - each of us is still called by the Lord to discipleship as well.   Each of us is asked to surrender our sins, our disgrace, our insecurities to God and He will equip us to further His work in our lives.  Each of us is asked to listen to the voice of God, especially during moments when we have tried the best we can, we have exhausted all the means, we have been struggling for decades to make ends meet, and still, it seems like we are going nowhere and have gained nothing.  

Christ sees our struggles. He knows our failures. He cares about each suffering and hardship that weighs us down.  Christ immediately enters our boat, our hearts.  He comes to us through His Word and Sacraments.  He comes to the rescue and offers hope by the sound of His command, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” He just waits for us to follow Him, plunge into the depths of His love, and entrust all to Him in utter abandonment.   Then we, too, will be amazed and proclaim to our families, our neighbors, our community, the wonders that God has done in our lives.  Together, as one parish community, we, too, through the Spirit of God, can bring others into our St. Luke boat of the Lord, spreading His love, His mercies, His forgiveness, His salvation, forever worshiping and giving thanks to His name.

God is Love,

father Al