I'm headed out this afternoon to spend the week as chaplain at Guggenheim. Please pray for me...and those kids!
There’s
an old joke which notes
that
when you talk to God, it’s prayer,
but
when God talks to you…you're crazy!
What
if I told you that God talks to me?
Often? Directly? Like an old, dear friend?
Would
that sound strange to you?
Would
you worry about your pastor’s mental health?
Or
would you suppose it’s true,
but
a rather rare and unique privilege?
Now,
what if I said that God talks to you, too?
Constantly? Eagerly? With a message meant just for you?
Maybe
you’re thinking, “OK, he really has
lost it!”
But
what I’m hoping you’ll realize—if you haven’t already—
is
that this “God talk” is absolutely central to the Christian faith
which
brings us together again this Sunday.
Thus says the Lord:
Just as surely as the rain
and snow
come down from heaven…
…so, too, does the word that
goes forth from my mouth…
God
speaks.
God
speaks through the words of the Bible—the sacred Scriptures.
We
don’t read them at every Mass
as
a merely historical record, like some ancient newspaper;
we
read them because the voice of the living God
continues
to speak to us through them—guaranteed.
And God
speaks through his Church—through her sacred Tradition.
As
God once spoke through Jesus on a sea in Galilee,
so
he still speaks through Christ’s body—again, guaranteed—
through
the liturgy, the saints,
the official teaching of Popes and Bishops.
But
God also speaks in an incredible variety of ways
particular
to each one of us.
The
Lord knows our interests, our needs, our desires—
after all, he made us!—
after all, he made us!—
and
so God addresses us in whatever ways
he’s
most likely to get through clearly.
I
know people to whom God has spoken through movies.
Or
friends. Or books. Or sunsets.
Many
times, God has spoken to me through music—
and
I don’t just mean church music, either,
but
whatever I’ve got on my iPod
or hear
coming through the radio.
(This
is where God’s sense of humor breaks through:
I’ve
never, ever been a very big fan of country music…
…but
I can’t count the times I’ve run across a country song
which
plainly contains a message meant just for me!)
Since
these many means
don’t
come with Scripture’s or Tradition’s guarantee,
then
how can I know that it’s God I’m hearing,
and
not just myself
or
something else trying to deceive me?
Because
when you notice God speaking to you,
you’re
listening not with your ears,
nor
with the powers of your mind,
but
with your heart.
When
God speaks, it strikes you deep.
His
voice makes more sense than anything else.
That’s
not to say it’s easy;
he
will challenge you…and challenge you a lot!
But
God’s word rings true.
It
excites you.
It makes
you come alive.
But
none of this can happen
if
I don’t pay attention, if I’m not open,
if
I don’t make myself ready to listen.
But
I’m getting ahead of myself.
We can
so easily get distracted
by
the many ways how God speaks.
First
off, though,
we
must be thoroughly convinced that God
speaks—
and
speaks, not just generically to the whole human race,
and
not just to other people—probably a select few.
God
is speaking to you!
Jesus
tells a rather sobering parable this Sunday—
the
story of the sower and the seed.
that only one out of four will make it;
the
other three get taken out by the world,
their
own flesh, or the devil.
Clearly,
Jesus is hoping
that you’ll be that one—
and
not only that you’ll survive,
but
that you’ll thrive
and
bear bunches and bunches of good fruit.
God
is sowing the seeds of his word—
constantly.
Where
are they falling in your life?
Are
they falling on a busy path,
where
they’re exposed
to the assaults of the evil one?
Are
they falling on rocky ground,
where
they won’t stand a chance of sinking in?
Are
they falling among thorns,
only
to be choked off by other priorities?
Or
are you making sure there’s plenty of rich soil
into
which God’s word
can send down strong, deep roots,
and
then flourish and grow?
God
is talking.
He’s
talking to you.
It’s
only crazy if you don’t listen.
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