(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
“Here I am.” Only in the second part of the prophet Isaiah does God say, “Here I am!” In the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is only humans who say these words, and only when speaking to God. It is only in Isaiah God speaks these words to the people.
When we say to God, “Here I am”, we say that we are ready to accept God’s call to us. When God says this to us, is God saying that God is ready to respond to our call? Does God put conditions on God’s presence?
Perhaps, yes and perhaps, no. When we fast, when we do good deeds, when we give ourselves to prayer, when we give alms, we are engaging in a community effort. It is not we and our relationship with God that should be at the forefront of our acts of worship. Rather it is we, in community with one another, that are in relationship with God. This is why when we fast, others must be able to feast. When we pray for one another, we must feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We do penance, not to lose weight, but so that others can eat, find shelter, or find relief from oppression. When we are in community with one another, then we can hear God saying, here I am”. We shall find God is at our service, when we are at the service of one another.
Where does the world need our services? In the Balkans, Ukrainians needs our service, as do the Russian people. On our borders, Hispanics need our services. Among us, Black Lives Matter, the police, indigenous peoples, those discriminated against because of color, place of origin, gender, or disabilities need our services. Even those who disagree with us in politics or mindset need our services.
We shall not make it through Lent successfully unless our Lenten lives have this communitarian aspect. We do not get to heaven by ourselves; this is why we need the Church. It is only when we are in community with others and with God, that can have a successful Lent. Then we shall hear God say, “Here I am”. Alone, without the community, we are hypocrites. In the community, we say to God, “Here I am” and God says to us, “Here I am, also.”