20140828 ENCOUNTERING THE GOD OF SURPRISES
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:1-9
2 to the church of God in Corinth,
to those who have been consecrated in Christ Jesus and called to be God's holy people,
with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord as well as
ours.
4 I am continually thanking God about you,
for the grace of God which you
have been given in Christ Jesus;
5 in him you have been richly endowed in every kind of
utterance and knowledge;
8 he will continue to
give you strength till
the very end, so that you will be
irreproachable on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
2 Day after day I shall bless you, I shall praise your
name for ever and ever.
7 They will bring out
the memory of your
great generosity, and joyfully acclaim your saving justice.
Gospel, Matthew 24:42-51
42 'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when
your master is coming.
43 You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder
had known at what time of the
night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have
allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.
44 Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at
an hour you do not expect.
45 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom
the master placed over his household to give them their food at the proper
time?
46 Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him
doing exactly that.
48 But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself,
"My master is taking his time,"
49 and sets about beating his fellow-servants and eating
and drinking with drunkards,
51 The master will cut him off
and send him to the same fate as the
hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and grinding of teeth.'
ENCOUNTERING
THE GOD OF SURPRISES
The parable reveals to us
the ways of God. He comes like a thief. God is a God of
surprises. But why, we might ask, does He come in such a manner?
Why can’t He tell us exactly the time of His coming so that we can be ready to
receive Him? Why should God be so unfair to catch us when we are unprepared and
off guard? Shouldn’t He keep us informed of His coming because if He did,
surely we would welcome Him with pomp even?
The truth is that without
surprises, there is no excitement, because there is nothing new. But God
is the living God, the same and yet always new. He is always
fresh. He is the God of the present. He is always faithful, but He
does not relate to us in the same old way. This is because every
relationship is new, growing, or deteriorating. It can never be the same
always. The God of surprises is manifested in the Old Testament in the
way He related to Abraham, when he was asked to sacrifice his son,
Isaac. He surprised the Israelites at the Exodus and again at the
exile by delivering them from the hands of their enemies. Most of all, He
surprised us at the Incarnation and the Resurrection, both events beyond the
imagination of man.
Without surprises, we
will fall asleep. How true, especially in our prayers, or even in the
way we read the scriptures. We know them so well that we no longer wonder
at God’s love and works. We read the scriptures the same old way; after
all, it is the same old text. We pray the psalms without any feelings, so
long as we chant them correctly, in the same way we have been doing for
years. Routine allows us to continue doing things whilst sleeping, like
saying the rosary, or even at mass, much like the way we brush our teeth before
we go to sleep at night. We like routine and institutions. We have
fixed mindsets. We loathe change. We are comfortable in being
static. Indeed, rituals and set prayers help people to pray without
involving their head and their heart. This is why we never encounter God.
For this reason, God will
never tell us when He is coming. He will come when we least expect Him,
because if He comes as expected, we would not welcome Him with excitement,
because there would be no surprise. Just like when He went to Nazareth
and the people could not recognize Him, as He was too ordinary. But when He is
not expected, His coming will bring about the sense of wonder and mystery in
us.
Isn’t it true that the
presence of God is felt most where and when we least expect Him, as when
we pass an exam when we were least prepared or are healed of a sickness that is
deemed incurable? Or when He helps us to solve a problem that apparently
has no solution? Whilst we pray, we tend to tell God what we expect Him
to do. Again and again, God surprises us by helping to resolve our
problems in unexpected ways. We fall into wonder and praise God like
today’s psalmist, who marveled at the wisdom and mysterious power of God’s
work.
Of course, God also comes
unexpectedly, not only on special occasions. He comes also when we are
not alert, but routinely engaged in our ordinary and mundane activities.
Like when we get an inspiration or an insight whilst preparing a homily, or a
talk, or simply just dreaming. Indeed, Jesus said, “Happy that servant if his
Master’s arrival finds him at this employment.”
When that happens, we are
given even more graces. When the Lord has surprised us once, we can
expect more surprises. Just as we expect surprises from someone who
has surprised us once before, because we have come to associate the person with
creativity and imagination. That is why those whose prayers have been
answered before, pray with greater faith on account of the prayers answered.
Consider the prayer to our
Lady, the “memorare”. “Remember O most Gracious Virgin Mary, that
never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored your help
or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this
confidence, I fly to thee, O virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee I
come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the Word
Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer
me.” It is based on past confidence that we can continue to pray to our
Lady with faith. Because of the surprises in the past, we are ready for
new surprises.
So how can we continue
to be surprised? St Paul tells us that we can do so by being
thankful and open to His graces: “I never stop thanking God for all the
graces you have received through Lord Jesus Christ.” Indeed, if only we
are more conscious of what the Lord has done for us, then we can be confident
that the Lord is always surprising us in new ways. Consciousness is the way
to be surprised. This might seem a contradiction. But without
consciousness, we cannot wonder. As Martin Heidegger says, “It is not
enough to be simply there but we must be there.” When we are conscious of
things, even ordinary things in life, then the Lord becomes the Lord of
surprises. Indeed, as the Zen story goes, “We only look at the moon but
never see it.”
Secondly, we can be
surprised if only we allow ourselves to be enriched by Him and are aware
of how we are being enriched. How can we be enriched? Paul said,
“especially in your teachers and preachers who help us to be more attentive
to the ways that God wants to surprise us.” Indeed, in sharing God’s
Word, we are called to enrich and surprise our listeners. It is amazing
how God can inspire us with new ideas all the time, or to do things which we
know we cannot do on our own. We get excited. When I give talks, I
am surprised at how I am able to give the same talk but with a different
perspective each time; ever old and yet ever new. I am surprised at
the way God works in my life, especially in my ministry in ways beyond my
expectation or ability.
Finally, we can be
strengthened and become more conscious of God’s surprises through witnesses
and testimonies. St Paul said, “the witness to Christ has indeed been
strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit
while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” Yes,
sharing our testimonies of what God has done for us will awaken our
consciousness to the Lord’s presence.
However, there is also a
warning for those who are asleep. Jesus said “But as for the
dishonest servant who says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time,’ and sets
about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his
master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not
know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the
hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” In other
words, he will suffer the missed opportunity of encountering the Lord whilst he
was drunk and busy with his own sinful affairs. Wouldn’t it be so sad to
know that the Lord came and passed you by because you were asleep, preoccupied
with your worldly activities and living in your own world?
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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