As I got to the end of today’s gospel from St. John, I had one of those aha moments, an answer to something I think most of us wrestle with … why does God allow certain things in life to occur?
I’d bet that, by now, all of us have a list of things that we’d categorize as: “This just doesn’t seem right or fair.” And, among our faithful brothers and sisters, I’ve heard it said, “Well, one day, if I make it to Heaven, I’m going to ask Jesus a lot of questions!”
But to that, Jesus says, “But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
Jesus continues, “On that day, you will not question me about anything.” That’s what hit me! When we see Jesus face to face, everything will be revealed and make sense; we’ll have no more questions, only rejoicing forever.
So, that’s what we can expect in seeing Jesus. But what about the here and now? For that, we look to our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Listen to the words of the Lord given to St. Paul and us, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.”
In that message, God spoke to St. Paul’s natural fear of physical harm for preaching the Word of God. In certain places in our world, our brothers and sisters face physical danger for merely practicing our Catholic faith in worship; and an even greater threat with their public witness of this faith in God.
St. Paul trusted in God and settled in Corinth for a year and a half and taught the Word of God. So often we focus on St. Paul’s action-packed adventures: nonstop missionary trips that include shipwrecks, imprisonment, beatings, and trials. But today, we see that he also enjoyed times of relative calm and peace. Hopefully, most of our lives look more like this part of St. Paul’s life. But at times, we can feel like these times are ordinary, even mundane.
But as it was for St. Paul, these times have so much potential. While in Corinth, Paul worked in his business and was able to support himself. His work brought him in contact with all sorts of people, people he could help materially and spiritually.
St. Paul used his ordinary time to care for the Corinthian community, helping them to mature in their faith by his evangelization and works of mercy.
We can use St. Paul as our model. In the quieter, less busy times, we can take extra time to pray, study, and reach out to others in need. And I know that some of you are living this right now; God bless you.
When I think of the different people I’m blessed to know, including those gathered here in this chapel, it strikes me that whether we are in a quiet time, a busy time, or a wild time, we can begin by thanking God for this day … and trust that whatever our current circumstances, especially within our families, that God will help us to live out our vocation and our mission right here and right now!
“Do not be afraid; trust in God.”
Reverend David S. Marcham is the Vice Postulator for the Cause of Venerable Patrick Peyton, and Director of the Father Peyton Guild, whose members pray for Father Peyton’s beatification and spread his message of the importance of Family Prayer. Prior to becoming a seminarian, Father David was a physical therapist and clinical instructor, serving hospital inpatients and outpatients throughout the greater Boston area for eleven years. In 1998 he heard the call to priesthood and was ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2005. Father David grew up in Quincy, MA, and has fond memories of playing soccer, tennis and running track. You’re never without a friend when Father David is around, as he welcomes everyone into his circle with a smile on his face!
