Often I am asked whether or not I believe things happen for a reason, that is, whether or not there is a cosmic or divine purpose that is meant to explain events and situations in our lives or to teach us something.  Whether we say this ourselves or hear others say it, we tend to use this phrase to pacify the mystery of human behavior and situations. 

            I consider myself a Christian Realist, that is to say, real things happen in the world, but I believe that because of Jesus Christ, God is with us always; this is the lens through which I see reality.  I cannot believe that God intends harm or ill-will to happen to anyone as a way of “teaching us a lesson”.  We all know that human beings do enough harm to one another; we do not need to live in fear of a God who inflicts that upon us, too.  One test of a Christian’s faith, it seems, is not to blame God for the problems of the world, but rather to ask ourselves whether or not we believe God is with us and how that belief shapes our day-to-day lives.   If we believe this latter part we have a way to deal with the hardships of life; our faith-filled response to life’s challenges says more about our faith and our purpose in life.

            The Gospel story we hear today reminds us that people in Jesus’ time were looking for him because they liked having him in their presence.  We read and hear that Jesus came not only to clean-up the messiness in people’s lives, but to remind them that their lives with God in it would make tolerable their problems and ailments, not serve as a guarantee that they would never suffer or be uncomfortable.  Jesus interacted with people and made their lives qualitatively better, and more authentic, a reflection of his own life. 

            “Finding God in all things” is not just a maxim of Ignatian Spirituality but a conviction grounded in the faith that God is always around us and present to us, especially when we least suspect or conscious.  In turn, God uses these “aha” moments to prod us to participate in others’ lives, thus bringing us into his purpose and mission.

            Prayer—in its myriad forms—is one way that we encounter God. I think there is something consistent with Jesus’ life that included healing people and his eagerness to pray.  I think his praying allowed him to make sense of the world around him, especially when he witnessed the problems and difficulties around him.

            The Gospel challenges and invites us once more to work on our prayer lives, to find God, to rely on the presence of God to give us purpose and meaning to our lives. 

               Let us remember each other in prayer this week!      +Eric J. Knapp, S.J

Posted Thursday, February 2  2012