God's agenda

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There were once seven young men who embarked on a spiritual quest for enlightenment. They had heard of a desert far away that was full of gurus, miracle-workers, and holy men. They dropped out of society and left their home with nothing more than hope, curiosity, and a few provisions. They traveled to a faraway country. The first holy man they visited lived in a cave on the side of a cliff, a five mile walk into the desert from town. He ate only raw food, was a vegan, and was said to have powers to heal. He was clairvoyant and could see into the future. 

This sounds like California in the 1970’s but actually it was Egypt in the 390’s. The holy father’s name was John of Lycopolis, a saint of the church, and his seven visitors were monks from Palestine. John greeted them joyfully through the hole in the wall of his cave, and the monks asked him to say a prayer. John was ninety years old and a renowned and experienced ascetic. Yet he was a layman and he asked if any of the brothers was a clergyman who could lead them in prayer. One of them was a deacon, but a little shy about it. He had not even told his six companions that he was ordained. Perhaps he was thinking, “This is a holy man full of the grace of the Holy Spirit. I’m just a deacon, what do I have to offer?” He kept silent and stayed back.

The old man looked straight at him, and with the gift of clairvoyance said, “You are a deacon!”

“Oh no, father, you are mistaken!” the young monk replied, a little timidly. John reached out and took the deacon’s hand and kissed it, out of respect for his office.

Yet he gently challenged the young man, “Do not spurn the grace of God, my child, and do not lie by denying the gift of Christ.” The ordained brother accepted the rebuke, and began the visit with prayer. The monks stayed there three days and John gave them good practical advice on living the Christian life.

The deacon was intimidated in the presence of a famous ascetic. He thought the grace that had been bestowed on him at ordination didn’t compare to the grace of the saint. In his fear, he decided to remain silent and out of sight. Perhaps he was newly ordained. A newly ordained deacon is often nervous that someone will criticize the way he swings the censor, or laugh at his mistakes in the altar, or find today’s sermon boring and irrelevant.

All of us, ordained or not, do exactly the same thing as that timid deacon. We sometimes hide our God-given talents and gifts, because we think they don’t measure up. We are afraid that someone will laugh at us, or look down at us. We think “My gifts and talents seem so puny next to his.” Full of fear, we procrastinate on tasks that will bring light to those around us. In the language of the parables, we hide our light under a bushel, or bury our talent in the ground.

When I compare my gifts to someone else’s I make the same mistake as the deacon in the story. I think my gifts and talents are my possessions, rather than God’s gifts. I compare the gifts I think are mine with that guy’s gifts and I feel like I just don’t measure up. Fearfully, I keep part of myself silent and out of view. When we do this, we are denying God’s grace; we say “no” to God’s agenda for us.

But how do we say “yes” to God’s agenda for us? Remember the story of Andrew the Apostle in the gospel of John. John the Baptist was standing in his camelskin suit by the Jordon with two of his disciples, Andrew and John. It was late afternoon on the day after Jesus’s baptism.

John saw Jesus and said to his two disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The two disciples heard this and went to Jesus. Maybe they hoped that Jesus would take away their sin. Maybe they saw something special in Jesus’s countenance. Maybe they just couldn’t take one more meal of locusts and wild honey.

Jesus saw them and said, “What are you looking for?”

“Teacher, where are you staying?” they replied. “Come and see.” Jesus told them. So they followed him and stayed where he was staying. Andrew then found his brother, Simon Peter, and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” By being the first one to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, Andrew said yes to God’s agenda for him. Unlike the timid deacon, he did not spurn God’s grace and he did not lie by denying the gift of Christ, but embraced the mission given to him by God.

Each of us has talents and gifts given to us by God. Each of us has a unique place in God’s universe. We may not know God’s plan for our whole life. We do not know what we will be doing after graduation, or in a year, or in ten years. We may not know if we are called into church work or not. But Christ calls you and me to be faithful to the mission he gives us today. As baptized Christians, we belong to Christ, not to ourselves. Our agenda for the day is set by Christ, not by us.

Perhaps your day will be filled with study, domestic duties, or administrative tasks. Today’s agenda probably does not seem as exciting as Andrew’s was that day by the Jordon. But we follow Andrew’s example when we faithfully attend to today’s tasks even when we don’t want to, even when our gifts seem puny next to those of our peers. When we use our talents and gifts with courage, for the service of our Lord and our neighbor, in whatever task we are presently occupied with, we answer the call of Christ. 

*This was originally given as a homily on the feast of St. Andrew