Is 6:1-2a, 3-8
Ps 138: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5,7-8
1 Cor 15:1-11
Lk 5:1-11
When I was in the seminary, local parish school students would come and visit to us. The kids would be anywhere from third grade through middle school. For many, if not all, it was their first time to visit a seminary: the place where men prepare to become priests. Of course the kids could not go everywhere, but the grounds of St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston are quite lovely, especially on a spring day. The pink brick of the Spanish mission style buildings provided a quiet and yet scenic place to pray, study, and work.
The kids would come and we, the seminarians, would give them a tour of the seminary, telling them about our day to day life. We would throw in fun bits of trivia and show them our recreation and television rooms. If they were nervous at the beginning of the field trip, they were probably jealous by the end of it because we had so many fun things to do. (Lucky for them, they did not have to sit in any of our theology classes!) When I gave the tour, I always ended with our chapel. I would gather them into the narthex, which was basically a large square box. It was dark, poorly lit and had a simple piece of stained glass to let in a little bit of sunlight. I would tell them a little bit about the chapel: that the pews were faced down the aisle, that there was a high altar and a canopy, so on and so forth; and they would nod in feigned understanding. When I was done describing the chapel, I then asked two of the kids to help me open the chapel doors, telling them that on the count of three to open them together. You could tell everyone was anxious to see what was on the other side. And I would try to quiet them down and ask them to take a moment in silence as they prepare to enter our chapel. 1…. 2…. 3….. Go! Wooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww……!
It’s hard to get young people fascinated with the faith sometimes, but this was different. They were struck in awe of the beauty of our chapel, because it really was beautiful. The chapel is a long Romanesque style chapel with a huge dome in the back with gold leaf all over and a mosaic of the tree of life sprouting its branches out and down into the sanctuary and into the aisles. Pillars of green marble and white marble lined the sanctuary and above stood the Lamb of God wounded with blood outpoured to water the tree of life. It was a sight to behold and out of these children one could see and hear true wonder and amazement. They were excited and energized to see it.
Today’s First and Third readings are simply a reflection of that natural human reaction with something so utterly beyond them and wholly unlike anything they have ever encountered. Imagine Isaiah before the throne of the Lord: angels singing and crying out Holy Holy Holy is the Lord! The sound that is so powerful and mighty that everything and everyone shook. The majestic throne filled with incense smoke and choirs of angels singing. What would you do if you were to see that vision?
Isaiah has it right, “I am a man of unclean lips… I am not worthy to be in the presence of His majesty.” Just like people meeting celebrities – they are excited and can’t wait to meet them and then, when they finally do come face to face with Beiber or Beyoncé, I am willing to bet there is stunned silence and shyness. But you know what? Seeing and meeting our Lord is so much more than a celebrity or any other dignitary, it is meeting your Creator – the One who has known you since before you ever were formed in the womb and loved you into existence. In the sight of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord. I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name.
What I am trying to describe is so difficult to put into words, but I hope that you can see what I am saying. When you encounter something in your life that is so utterly beautiful in nature – e.g. the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountains, and even a simple sunrise or sunset, there should be a movement in your heart; a movement of awe and wonder of God, of the Divine. When you go to the museum and the churches in Europe you see beautiful works of artists that just make your jaw drop and say to yourself but only with a whisper… “God is here.”
Sometimes that movement of awe and wonder goes even further and you are moved to unworthiness: “Who am I that the Lord should bless me with this view, with this sight, with this gift? Why does He love me so much when I am so insignificant?” That unworthiness comes when the something so utterly holy is placed next to something so far from holy that one is just blown away. And on top of that, when you place yourself next to something so great you feel even more insignificant!! When you see the photos captured from outer space of the nebulas and galaxies trillions of light years away, you realize you are just an insignificant speck in God’s creation. In life, it does not matter if it is natural or man-made, spiritual or secular – an encounter with the beautiful and the good will move one to awe. And much like Simon Peter – when he was awestruck before Christ after a mind-blowing miracle. Peter knew where he stood, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. You are too much, and I am too little. He knew he was not worthy, nor are we.
And this is where an amazing thing happens: Christ makes us worthy, He invites us to not only be followers, but to His sons and daughters!! As if it was good enough to just stand and admire it from far away. (A wallflower in heaven, can you imagine that!??) Jesus calls us to be right there in His midst and to participate in the eternal life of heaven. We are worthy and we are loved. Wow… and you know what – that cycle can start all over again: finding God in His awesome beauty and majesty and discovering we are found worthy and loved, moves us again to want to love more and be better for Him who loves us. It’s a perpetual cycle that never ends and never extinguishes itself.
Just off the top of my head you can see cycle in two situations in the world; you don’t have to wait until heaven. You see the good, the true, and the beautiful in married couples: as they fall in love with each other day after day; each day saying how beautiful the other is and how unworthy or how blessed they are to be loved by the other. It is a witness and testament to all of God’s love spurring us and encouraging us to love more day by day.
The other situation where the true, good, and beautiful moves us to awe and a desire to change is in the celebration of the Mass – where something awesome [should be awe-full huh?] happens every time we celebrate Mass. Did you know that as you sit there in the pews, all the angels and saints, all those have lived before us, and the entire Church, over one billion people are joined together in prayer in the worship of the one most holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Holy Eucharist? If you believe what you are praying and what you are truly experiencing is heaven on earth, you should be moved and filled with awe – Woe is me! I am doomed!… for I have seen the Lord!! I am not worthy to even be here!!! You would not ask why is Mass boring, but you would be moved to gratitude and thanksgiving: “the Almighty and Omnipotent God – the God of all Creation, the God that came from Heaven to have a personal relationship with us, wants me to be here…. I am beyond humbled and honored, I am filled with awe for you Lord.”
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be searching for and desiring God in searching for Him in the Beautiful, because you will find Him there. When you are moved to awe and wonder, and your heart wells up with joy – this is a movement and experience of God. It is real and you should desire it. If you haven’t experienced it, then perhaps this is something that you should seek during Lent: to find God in the beautiful. Lent is our time to seek Christ, to be in the desert, devoid of distractions so that you can find the true, the good, and the beautiful. I hope that your Lent is a blessed one filled with awe and wonder as you journey with Him in the desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment