The unexpected Jesus

Good News ReflectionTuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary TimeAugust 4, 2009
Today's Memorial: Saint John Mary VianneyPray for priests and those discerning vocations in later years: http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/JohnVianney.htm
Today's Readings:Num 12:1-13Ps 51:3-7, 12-13Matt 14:22-36 or Matt 15:1-2, 10-14http://www.usccb.org/nab/080409.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_08_04.mp3
The unexpected Jesus
We often have the same problem the disciples did in Matt. 14:22-36. Jesus approaches us in an unexpected way and we freak out. We misinterpret his presence – "It's a ghost!" It's a tragedy! It's just my imagination! It's illogical! It's impossible! God would never speak through THAT person! If it's not what I want to hear, it can't be right!
For example, in 1977, while I was very much a Protestant, God graced me with a belief in the miracle of transubstantiation – the transforming of the substance of the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus through the consecration prayers of the Catholic priest at Mass. I thought: This is super-wonderful, but it does NOT mean he's saying I should become Catholic. As a well-trained "PROTESTant", I had many reasons why God would not do that.
I started going to Mass just to be near the Eucharist and to be around others who understood this miracle, and my spiritual life blossomed. Even so, the invitation to become a full-fledged Catholic was like Jesus approaching me on the water. It couldn't be real. I was so certain of this, I behaved like the other disciples – not Peter, but the others who hunkered down in the boat when they saw the "ghost".
Eventually, this hunkering position caused spiritual muscle cramps. My prayer life dried up and no matter how I tried to revive it, I just could not feel connected to God. I shared this problem with a friend; she suggested that the dryness was my refusal to listen to God inviting me to become Catholic. Her words rang true. God always speaks directly to our hearts first, before he speaks to us through the voices of others, so that when the advice given to us by people is truly divinely inspired, it sounds already familiar.
However, I was not yet ready to believe what she said. To test it, I decided to become like Peter when he said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Still unwilling to jump out of my Protestant boat, I prayed, "If what my friend said is really true, then prove it to me. Give me a sign." I even choose the sign he should give me, just like Peter did. Asking for a sign can be used by the Enemy to mislead us, but if we're careful and discerning, and if we use it for the right reasons, God honors the request.
God gave me the sign that I had asked for and nearly knocked me over with it. Surrendering my doubts, I stepped out of the security of the old boat, and I've been following Jesus on unexpected waters ever since!
What about you? In what ways is Jesus doing the unexpected, the illogical, the discomforting? (If you're an unmarried man, could it be a vocation to the priesthood? St. John Vianney, the patron saints of priests, is praying for you!) Dare to step out of your boat. Don't look at the waves nor the impossibility of walking on water. Keep your eyes on Jesus. If you freak out and start to fail and flail, he'll grab you and rescue you, just as he did for Peter.
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaFor PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
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