How 6 different men encountered God - In a Dream / On the Road / At the Office
In the readings today we have the description of how 6 different Christians encountered God. For each of these men that encounter re-wrote the rest of their entire lives. The Prophet Isaiah encountered the Lord in Jerusalem, besieged by the army of a foreign country, in a dream. St. Paul encountered the Lord in the midst of his wrath and hatred for the Church on the road to Damascus. Peter, Andrew, James and John encountered the Lord while they were sitting in their boats cleaning their nets from a day of work.
Cleaning Fish Guts and the Gospel
Think about it - you are sitting on the sea-shore scrubbing nets which smell like fish-guts in the hot sun and the Rabbi comes along and asks if he can use your boat to teach. So you row a little out from the shore, cast out your anchor and continue to go about your work, while the Lord teaches about the Kingdom of God.
What about us here today? Have we entered into a relationship with God?
I think that it is a useful point for us to reflect on - have we entered into a relationship with the Lord? I ask that question because there is a portion of the Church for whom being Catholic, being Christian is a social engagement - I was raised this way, or my parents brought me to Church and I thought it was good. That is a good beginning and the Lord has a deeper vision for each one of us.
Isaiah’s Conversion
For the Prophet Isaiah, he was asleep when he had a vision of seeing God in heaven - while Jerusalem was surrounded by a foreign army. He lived at a time when most of the Jewish people had abandoned following God - which is why he cries out “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
In response to this recognition of the Truth, one of the Seraphim flies to Isaiah with a burning coal, taken from the altar and purifies him - freeing him to respond to the call of God. God uses Isaiah’s free response to His love to send him as a prophet to the Jewish people who are living in a time of tumult and trouble - and chose to put their faith in worldly alliances rather than in God.
St. Paul’s conversion story
St. Paul can also be thought of as a prophet. His title is that he is the Apostle to the Gentiles because he encountered the Lord while he was on the road to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem. He was convinced that Christianity was against God. He oversaw the stoning of one of the first deacons - St. Stephen, after which he was bound and determined to put an end to what he saw was a plague upon the Jewish faith. While he was on his way to Damascus he was struck to the ground, blinded and heard Christ asking him this question - “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”. His companions then led him to Damascus to a house on Straight Street where he spent three days in prayer and fasting and reflection. In the mean-time the Lord went to a devout Christian in Damascus named Ananias, and told him to go and help Saul. Ananias was reluctant to help but ultimately obeyed the Lord and Baptized Saul, who took on a new name - St. Paul.
Where were you when you first realized that God was real and our faith was there to let you grow closer to Him?
St. Peter says “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet 3:15-16a). As Christians we should be ready to explain to people why we have faith in God. Remember, Living in Colorado is living in a territory where many people do not know God. When people ask me why I am a Christian, I share with them the first time as an adult I encountered God in prayer and knew that it was Him, and not some psychological reflection of myself. After I was discharged from the Military my brothers invited me to attend a Teens Encounter Christ retreat, and on the morning of the last day of that retreat I vividly remember waking up in prayer praising God - and it was a joyful experience. That retreat changed the course of the rest of my life - and ultimately led me here to St. Michaels…
Where is your relationship with God (1 to 10)?
When I talk about a relationship with God, I mean a friendship that extends beyond the immediate confines of the Mass, into the rest of Sunday, and beyond Sunday into each day of the week. How much time do we turn to God, in prayer, in reflection, in praise throughout the week? Give yourself a score from 1 to 10, where 1 is only Sunday at Mass, and 10 is on par with Mother Teresa or Padre Pio. Where is that relationship for us?
Where would you like it to be?
Where do you think God would like it to be?
It does not matter how you answer that question (provided that you answer it honestly), because our relationship with God begins with an honest recollection of where we are at with Him today. As the Lord told Moses - I am a God of the Living not the Dead. I AM who AM - which is another way of saying I am here in your presence, desiring to deepen our relationship together, so let’s start from where we are at right now.
We can start growing in friendship from now
The readings today challenge us to recognize that wherever our relationship with God is, He is inviting us to deepen, strengthen, and make that friendship more intimate. So it does not matter where we are or what we have done up until now - what matters is what we do next, today, tomorrow, the rest of this week.
What if you are unsure about your reason for faith?
There is no better day than today and no better time than now to take some time and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you. Be persistent, ask, seek, knock. Just start with a simple prayer - Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit open my heart to understand your love this week. Pray this each day and then in the evening reflect - in what ways did God reveal himself to me today? This is how we move from a 1 to a 2 or a 2 to a 3 and so on.
What can I do next? - Overcome your reluctance to share…
One of the things that Catholics struggle with is sharing their faith with others. We are like a secret club, we meet here on Sunday - everyone has their place, we shake hands or hug at the sign of peace, and we all know how to sit, stand and kneel. Put us out in the world and many of us are uncomfortable in sharing the reason for the hope that lies within us. Part of this is because the culture around us has stereotyped Christians as being fanatics, who are superstitious, and believe crazy things. Part of this is out of a fear of being ridiculed or marginalized. Part of this is out of a reluctance to share that which is most precious.
My own hesitancy
After my encounter with the Lord I was hesitant to share my faith - partially because it was so precious to me, and partially out of embarrassment - working in a scientific and technical field I felt that it was against the grain of my profession. Eventually, I realized that everyone around me could figure out that I was a devout Catholic within about 15 minutes of meeting me - so I ditched the hesitancy and gladly shared with those who inquired.
Share you witness to Christ
If you do understand your testimony, then ask the Holy Spirit for an opportunity to share the reason for your faith. This has happened to me at work throughout my career. When someone enquires - share openly, honestly and without hesitation. Sometimes you might be called to defend the faith, sometimes to share, and sometimes to guide. As Christ said to Peter - Do not be afraid. From now on you will be fishing for men!
