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Several
decades ago, I read a short book, “Belief Today,” written by the
Jesuit theologian, the late-Karl Rahner. At the time and even today, I
consider this a fascinating little book for any of us who may be
interested in understanding better what it means to believe.
Rahner begins his
discussion of belief in the very first chapter which he entitled “On the
Theology of Everyday Things.”
When I first read
that particular chapter and what I have found myself reflecting about
many times since is Rahner’s observation that belief emerges in what he
called “common and trifling things,” those regular, rather ordinary and
unremarkable realities that confront us each and every day as we go
about our business. All too often, Rahner argued, we think belief is
found in the extraordinary, unusual and, especially, the miraculous.
Then, not experiencing much that’s extraordinary and unusual or
miraculous, when we look at the heroism of the Saints, we think it
impossible that we could ever measure up to any one of them. What we
overlook is the fact that every one of the Saints was, first and
foremost, very human like all of us. What made each of them so
different from many of us is that every Saint was on the alert to hear
God’s call in the common and trifling things of daily life. This was
the classroom where God tutored the Saints in holiness of life, what
Mother Theresa called being a “pencil in God’s hand.”
To test whether
belief is emerging in these common and trifling things of our lives,
Rahner offered a series of questions to ponder. As I remember it, one
of the questions is: “Have I ever done something that forced me to deny
and forget myself, or in circumstances that involved doing some
outrageously stupid and thankless thing?”
Of course, what
Rahner was challenging his readers to contemplate are not those
outrageously stupid and thankless things we’ve done which, in
retrospect, would cause us to blush if they were made public. No,
Rahner was challenging his readers to contemplate those common and
trifling moments when they found themselves worrying less about
themselves and more about others and, in those moments, to hear God
calling them to do something—perhaps something outrageously stupid and
for which they may have receive no thanks—simply because it was the
right thing to do.
Think, for example,
about where God might conduct His tutorial in holiness of life for
parents, spouses, and kids, so that each of us could be a “pencil in
God’s hand”…that is, if we did something outrageously stupid and for
which we may receive not thanks.
It could happen when
we want to do something as simple as wanting to take a nap.
But, rather than to
put one’s self-interest first, we might hear God speaking to us in the
voice of a child or spouse. So, instead of taking a nap, we go outside
to play catch or a little two-on-two basketball or to practice kicking a
soccer ball or passing a football with a child. Or, we help our spouse
with the yard work, perhaps by planting bulbs in the fall or sowing
seeds in the spring or by pulling up those dastardly weeds that never
seem to disappear during any season of the year, or perhaps by mowing
the lawn. Perhaps we assist in the kitchen by helping to stow away the
groceries, we dust the furniture, or perhaps we wash the floors on our
hands and knees.
That phrase,
“outrageously stupid and thankless things,” certainly must have passed
through Peter’s mind when he Jesus requested Peter to embark on that
fishing expedition. For at least two reasons that I can come up with,
Peter had to believe that Jesus’ request was outrageously stupid and
would, in all likelihood, prove not only a fruitless but also a
thankless task.
First, Peter and his
companions had already been out fishing all night. Having proven
unsuccessful, once dawn broke, Peter and the crew knew it was time to
clean the nets, to get everything prepared for the next night of fishing
and, then, to head home, have a good meal, and get some shut eye. To go
back out would require delaying everything, especially going home,
having a good meal, and getting some well-deserved sleep.
Second, professional
fishermen know that the prime time for catching fish is not during the
light of day but in the dark of night, and especially just as the sun
dawns a bit beyond the horizon. But, after this rather ordinary,
unremarkable midnight shift and with the sun moving higher and higher in
the sky, Jesus is now telling Peter to set out into the deep. Peter had
to wonder: Just what would a non-professional, like Jesus, know about
fishing?
But Rahner
challenges us, just as Jesus challenged Peter, to hear God’s voice in
those many “common and trifling things” we confront each day as we go
about our ordinary business. The challenge is to deny and forget
ourselves by doing what we would otherwise think “outrageously stupid
and thankless” because we care more about what God is calling us to do
than we do about our own comfort.
Like Peter, we
oftentimes find ourselves exhausted at the end of the day and week,
perhaps having worked very hard, yet having very little to show for our
labor.
But, it’s not our
jobs I’m talking about. What I am talking about is an apprenticeship in
holiness of life where God tutors us so that we might be “pencils in
God’s hand.”
As parents, it may
be that we’ve worked very hard to provide our children everything they
need. Looking forward to finally being able to do what we want to do,
God’s voice suddenly emerges as the kids once again badger their parents
for more time and attention. “Oh, com’on, Mom…Com’on, Dad…let’s do
this. It’ll be fun.” As we realize we’re not going to be able to do
what we want to do, God sharpens the pencil.
As spouses, it may
also be that we’ve worked very hard to build a good, solid, and loving
relationship. But, we want to carve out a little bit of space for
ourselves. And, just when we’ve accomplished that and we’re ready to
take that deep breath, to relax a bit in an all-too-brief moment of
solitude, and to enjoy a little peace and quiet, there’s God’s voice
calling us again: “Honey, can you help me with…?” God is sharpening the
pencil as the old “Honey do” list strikes again!
Kids, too, may have
worked very hard to do well at school, to complete their chores at home,
and perhaps even to get along with their brothers and sisters. So, just
when kids think they’re entitled to do what they want, there’s God’s
voice calling: “Hey, pal” (that’s how my Dad let me know I had to do
something), “could you do me a favor?” (I always wondered what
dictionary defined the word “favor” as “something that your father
doesn’t want to do.” It must be the same dictionary that defined a
homily as “a wearisome moralizing lecture expressed at tedious length.”)
As we reflect back
upon all of our efforts and we focus upon what we want to do, it may
well appear as if all of these efforts were for naught. Like Peter, we
were working so hard in the dark of the night and, with the dawn
breaking just beyond the horizon, we have nothing to show for everything
we’ve done.
So, when we turn the
lives of the Saints who seemed to be able to show so much for their
efforts, people like Isaiah, Peter, and Paul, and we ponder their heroic
sanctity, they seem to be no help either. Shrouded by their
sanctity, we figure that we could never become like them.
Yet, God called each
of them in the common and trifling things of their daily lives, just as
God calls us in the common and trifling things of our daily lives. And,
like us, these three Saints weren’t initially interested in doing what
God was calling them to do in those common and trifling things. In
fact, each told God that they were unworthy to do what God had called
them to do, in effect, telling God to
“bug off.”
Take Isaiah, for
example.
Even though Isaiah
was a well-educated and religious man, he wasn’t at all interested in
getting too friendly with God, fearful that this might require changing
his plans for his life. Yet, Isaiah somehow relented in his resistance
and allowed God to enter completely into his life. And, although the
message Isaiah preached on God’s behalf was very difficult for Isaiah to
utter, his outrageously stupid and thankless choice to preach God’s word
has made it possible for countless generations of people to recognize
what turning away from sin is really all about and what it requires when
we find ourselves in exile.
Perhaps we’re very
much like Isaiah the sinner. We respect God and fulfill our religious
obligations. Yet, we’re hesitant or unwilling to hear God calling us in
the common and trifling things of our daily lives. It may well be we’re
also fearful that, if we make the outrageously stupid and thankless
choice to allow God to enter into our lives, like Isaiah, we will also
will have to change our plans for our lives and to preach God’s word to
others around us. Then, we too can be a pencil in God’s
hand.
Then, there’s Paul.
Now, here’s a guy
who was so caught up in his own sense of self-righteousness that he
believed God had actually called him to see that those who didn’t follow
Paul’s version of the truth were put to death. So strong was Paul’s
resistance to hear God’s call in the common and trifling things of his
daily life that God had to knock Paul off of his high horse in order to
catch Paul’s undivided attention. In what certainly had to be a
frightening encounter between heaven and earth, Paul’s arrogance melted
into humility when he finally realized God had been calling this “one
born abnormally” to make the outrageously stupid and thankless choice to
allow God’s grace to transform him.
Paul’s arrogance and
self-righteousness didn’t completely disappear, however, as we heard in
today’s Epistle. He wrote the Corinthians: “By the grace of God I am
what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have
toiled harder than all of the apostles; not I, however, but the grace of
God that is with me.”
Self-righteousness
aside, had Paul not made the outrageously stupid and thankless choice to
listen to God’s call, it is likely that the early Christian community
would have been crushed in Jerusalem and eventually snuffed out in
Rome. The Gospel would never have been preached to the Gentiles and,
today, Jesus wouldn’t even be a footnote in history.
Perhaps we’re very
much like Paul. We believe that our opinions are infallible and we
stubbornly adhere to what we believe about everybody and everything is
fact. And, it may well be that God has to hit us upside the head
and to blind us in order to get our attention. But, if like Paul,
we make the outrageously stupid and thankless choice to listen to God’s
voice, then we too can be a pencil in God’s
hand as we proclaim the gospel to all nations.
Then, there’s Peter.
Not an overtly
religious man, Peter was quite skeptical of Jesus. At first, Peter
resisted Jesus’ request to set out into the deep, but finally decided to
give Jesus a chance, despite the fact that Peter deemed Jesus’ request
outrageously stupid and thankless. Later in the gospels, this is the
very same Peter who would deny Jesus three times but, when he heard
God’s voice in the cock crow three times, Peter realized his sin and,
later, became the Rock to whom Jesus entrusted His mission.
Perhaps we’re also
very much like Peter the sinner. We are tepidly religious, not too sure
that we buy into the whole
“God thing.”
We know that
we’re not perfect, but we also know that
we’re not all bad.
Yes, we do overstate our promises because, when tested, we oftentimes
find ourselves falling short, even for those whom we profess our love.
And, when we’re found out, we get very embarrassed and like to hide
until the problem we’ve created passes. But, like Peter, when the
cock crows three times and we realize our frailty and sinfulness, we can
become a Rock upon whom God builds His Church whether it’s in our homes,
neighborhoods, workplaces, nation, or world.
That outrageously
stupid and thankless choice would make us a pencil in God’s
hand.
All three of these
men were flawed, broken, and sinful human beings. Their behavior might
even be considered scandalous were it not for the fact that we now know
that each of them heard God’s voice and responded by allowing God to
transcend and transform their selfishness, reluctance, skepticism, and
stubbornness into love of God and neighbor.
In today’s readings,
we hear that God had to purify each of these sinners so that they could
fulfill their vocations as pencils in God’s hand. It took a burning
coal pressed upon Isaiah’s lips to cleanse him of his sin so that he
could prophesy. After he was knocked off of his high horse, Paul had
fast and pray for days on end before God healed his blindness. Only
then could Paul become the apostle to the Gentiles. And, despite all of
his protestations about how much he loved Jesus, the simple fact is that
Peter denied Jesus three times, ran away when Jesus was crucified, and
then locked himself behind closed doors with some friends to protect
him. Peter had to face the Resurrected Lord and receive his forgiveness
before Peter could continue Jesus’ mission as “the Rock.”
Imagine if God had
let Isaiah, Paul, or Peter beg off when they offered God all of their
lame excuses. What would have happened to the Jews while in exile in
Babylon if they had never received the prophet’s challenging and
encouraging words? There undoubtedly would be no Christian faith today
without Paul’s mission to the Gentiles and his words expressed in his
epistles. And, there would certainly be no Church without Peter’s
courage. Because each heard God’s call, each became a pencil in God’s
hand.
God’s call to
Isaiah, Paul, and Peter reminds us that God calls sinners not Saints to
do His work. Like, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul, we also are not worthy of
the vocation to which God calls us. But, if we don’t make that
outrageously stupid and thankless choice in the common and trifling
things of our ordinary daily lives, those whom God calls us to serve
will never know God’s love, hear His call, and experience His
forgiveness.
Karl Rahner’s
contention that belief emerges in the midst of the most common and
trifling things and not the uncommon, extraordinary, and miraculous
things means that belief is nourished as people like you and me discover
God’s call in those regular, rather ordinary and unremarkable realities
we confront each and every day as we go about our usual business.
Undoubtedly, none of us is worthy of the gifts God wants to lavish upon
us, especially the gift of His love and forgiveness.
After all is said
and done, however, God calls us to live our vocation not in the dark of
night just prior to the sun’s dawn just beyond the horizon. No, God
calls each of us to work in the light of day, trusting not in ourselves
and our abilities but in the grace of God at work within us so that we
may be pencils in God’s hand. In the spirit of Karl Rahner’s vocation
to better understand what it means to believe, let our prayer be:
“Purify me, Lord, so that
I will healed of my selfishness, reluctance, skepticism, and
stubbornness. Make me worthy of my vocation, so that in the common and
trifling things of the day and week, I may love and serve You by doing
the outrageously stupid and thankless things You call me to do for
others in Your name.” |
HOMILY
