While recently having the pleasure of attending a confirmation retreat with the youth of our parish, I found myself being met by Jesus in unexpected ways.
Our LifeTeen organizers did a remarkable job of centering the whole weekend around the theme of being “sent.” Each session was experienced through the lives of several key saints whom Jesus called from the most unlikely backgrounds to use in His mission to build a universal Church.
Over the course of the weekend, we explored the lives of St. Paul, St. John and St. Peter. Yet most of these men started in a very different place than the most holy apostles we remember in icons today. They came from lowly, uneducated backgrounds, some even from sinful lives of extortion and genocide. Remarkably, through the power of Jesus and the fortitude of the Holy Spirit, each man, cleansed of his past, became so much more.
St. Peter, who would become the rock of the Church, the first in an unbroken succession of Catholic popes, was a typical Jewish fisherman, most likely not well trained in Mosaic Law. Scripture tells us he could be impulsive and rash at times. Jesus met him where he was on the banks of the Sea of Galilee after an all-night fishing excursion during which the crew had caught nothing. Peter, called Simon at the time, was tired, drained and had no patience for Jesus. Yet the first thing that Jesus asked of Peter was, in fact, patience and a willingness to listen. Jesus sent Peter back out in his small craft, instructing him to cast his nets once more.
The resulting miracle won Peter’s heart and service to Christ for the rest of his life.
Similarly, St. Paul, known at the time as Saul, was going through life doing what he thought was God’s calling when he was literally knocked off his horse and blinded by Jesus. Before his conversion, Saul, a Jewish Pharisee, spent his days going from town to town persecuting Christians. In fact, Saul was responsible for condoning the stoning of St. Stephen. Christians feared Saul. But Jesus saw more. Jesus saw a passion and even a humility that could be redirected for the good of God’s Kingdom.
Christ has been meeting people where they are for centuries. Think of the Centurion, as well as the criminal crucified with Jesus, who were converted at the cross. Jesus met these men in their imperfection, in their daily job, and He pierced their reality.
God chose to meet the Israelites, His chosen people, where they were by coming to them in their slavery in Egypt. By sending His servants Moses and Aaron, God formed a covenant relationship with the people in ways they could connect with based on their time in bondage.
Think of Jonah, whom God met on a stormy sea as he was running away. Or Abraham, an old man with no children, whom God asked to count the stars as a demonstration of how numerous his descendants would be. Then there was David, whom God met in the field shepherding his sheep and called to battle.
This Lent, Jesus comes to us right where we are. Our pastor, Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, once quoted a line in his homily that I have never forgotten: Christ doesn’t choose the qualified, he qualifies the chosen. The people He calls may not have the background or the credentials, but they have the heart.
On our retreat, so many students shared in their testimony that they had never heard God speak to them, but they wanted to. The teens seemed to be thirsty to know how to make the right decisions when faced with the temptations brought to them by their peers and social media. They wanted to meet Christ. They wanted to hear His voice.
Even though my own desire was nothing more than to stay in my own cozy home for the weekend, having just completed a very stressful week of work, God met me where I was on that Friday night after my arrival at the retreat. He renewed me and showed me how to speak to the young people in my breakout sessions. I could truly see each young woman in my group listening and soaking up my own testimony and advice as a Christian woman.
Where should Christ meet you today? Would you like to give Him an open invitation? Many people struggle with not being able to hear or see God, but He is here. Christ is right here with you today in the mundane moments of your daily life. He is right here with you in your stressful day or in your sadness, your fear, and even your “mountaintop moments.” Open up your heart today to the way Christ can meet you where you are right now. Listen and be patient. There it is: the quiet knock.
He is waiting for you just as you are.
April Parker is a teacher and curriculum director at St. Pius X Parish in Greensboro.