Expected & Unexpected
Dear Friends in Christ,
“Life moves pretty fast! If you don’t stop and look around you might miss it.” Great advice from Ferris Bueller. Come to think of it, Paul offers a similar piece of advice to the good people of Corinth: “I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out…For the world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Cor 7:29-31) Time is short, he says. Do not let another day slip by without preparing for the coming of the Lord, which usually means at the end of time, but also each of us will arrive face-to-face with God, on our last day here on planet earth. It is easy for the days to blur into weeks, and the months to tick by. How might God be inviting you to grow? When you sit and listen for the voice of God, what does He say to you? Remember that beautiful short prayer from Samuel: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Making time to listen is pivotal to being open to how God may be trying to step into our lives, offering us a defining moment, a moment of clarity or significance, a moment for learning and understanding more about ourselves, more about God, more about other people in our lives.
This weekend, we hear about two decisive moments: the repentance of Nineveh and the call of the first four disciples of Jesus. In the case of the latter, it can sound rather familiar. Jesus wanders by the shores of the Sea of Galilee, invites two pairs of brothers, and they follow Him. But when we set ourselves in the scene, place ourselves right there on the shore, we can appreciate how incredible and how defining this moment was for those brothers. Never again would their lives be the same. And what was it about this Man on the shore that they left everything and followed Him?!
For me, my calling came first subtly. God was inviting me into deeper union with Him. I took to adoration and used the words of Samuel and other short prayers to try and open my heart to receive the limitless One. But then suddenly, in a clarion voice, from within me but also at the same time almost ringing in my ears, God said: “I want you to be my priest.” My priest. It was an early Thursday morning in February 2000, and my life has never been the same.
The case of Nineveh remains remarkable but in a different way. Jonah, the unwilling prophet, was sent to exhort them to repent. They did not know God or His ways; they had their own gods and customs. But due to the preaching of Jonah, even the animals put on sackcloth and ashes. The whole city proclaimed a fast, and God showed them mercy. Now we only catch a snapshot of the story in the reading, but the whole book (only four chapters) is an interesting read, a clear witness as to how God places certain key moments in front of us. And how we respond makes all the difference. Nineveh, in many ways, although unexpected, shows itself to be much more responsive, attuned, attentive than the prophet Jonah.
Just as Nineveh did, may we all become more aware of the defining moments in our own lives. One opportunity presents itself in our parish life this weekend, with our new member meet and greet and Community Sunday. This offers a wonderful chance to meet other members of our beautiful parish, and it might perhaps open hearts and minds to your next calling.
Prayers for a listening heart,
Fr. Joel
