If a common message runs through the Scripture readings today, it is the irony that God chooses thosepeople deemed unworthy for His mission. Isaiah has a vision in which he witnesses a majestic scene where God sits on a throne surrounded by angels. Faced with the holiness of God, Isaiah senses and acknowledges his sinfulness, his unworthiness, and that of the people among whom he lives. However, the Lord does not reject him. Instead, an angel is sent to bring a live coal to touch Isaiah's lips and, in this way, his sins are taken away.

Paul acknowledges his unworthiness to be chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ. He had persecuted the Church, and it is only by the grace of God that Paul has been found worthy to serve the Lord. Peter recognises and admits his unworthiness in the presence of Jesus after having become aware that Jesus is the Messiah. Although he and the other fishermen know that they are unworthy, Jesus still calls them to follow him and to become his disciples.

The Lord chooses people by His standards, not by human rules. He calls those who are unworthy so that they may become worthy of His mission by His grace. He chooses those who are weak to be strong, to bear the challenges and hardship that they encounter by His strength. He calls those who are ordinary so that He can make them do extraordinary things in His Name by His power.