God Among Us. (2021-01-17, Sunday-02)

 [__ver 08__]     ●   Jan. 17, 2021 ●

 ● 2^nd Sunday ● 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 ● Pslam 40 ● 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 ●

John 1:35-42 ●

 [_01_]    What about God among us? as 1 of us?

          The first disciples are asking this question – a question also posed in a hit song of the 1990’s.

          The Christian author, Mark Shea, describes a moment at his workplace/office when this song came on the radio :

It was the old song of Joan Osborne asked – “What if God were one of us ?”

          Joan Osborne sang it this way

[][] If God had a name what would it be?  And would you call it to his face? If you were faced with Him in all His glory What would you ask if you had just one question?  [][]

          And, hearing it, one person would – what about that..what if …

Wouldn’t that be a great idea for a book, movie, story.

          To which, this fellow replied…

          God did become one of us!

Mark explained to his coworker that this has indeed already happened. 2,000 years ago, God did enter the world and became one of us. He did look just like one of us, no different from anyone else in the crowd. You could look into his eyes and ask him any question. He did have a name: his name was Jesus. (Source:  https://stpetersbeaufort.org/news/what-if-god-was-one-of-us  )

          So.. we do not need to ask what if …or what about… it already happened…

[_02_]    We may ask … what if ..or what about regarding God… but Boston College Professor Peter Kreeft observes that God takes the initiative in the Bible / Gospel.  (Peter Kreeft, Catholic Christianity, p. 69)  So…when we speak of “Revelation” &  “Salvation” & even “Mercy”, this is not my (or your) Google-search for God, but God’s search for me. I’m told that God has his own “search engine” called grace and wisdom. 

          Also, he already knows – by his own brand of GPS – where we are at all times.

          This love God has for us reminds us that our dignity and worth does not come from the government or politics or even the law, but from God.

          Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this about his own struggle – with many other brothers and sisters – …he lived by “what-about” or “what-if” but in a positive way regarding the self-evident truths of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every person.

          MLK wrote: “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle … Before the pen of [Thomas] Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here.”  (Letter from A Birmingham Jail).

          In other words, Martin Luther King Jr. did not discover or find justice or dignity …but simply asserted justice and dignity were theirs, by right.

          When we speak of Christians of the dignity of all lives, the born the unborn, the dignity of the oppressed, the dignity of the dying, we are simply asserting what is already there, what has been given by God. God took the initiative …

 

[_03_]    Sometimes, we can be troubled by or hindered by “what if”… or “what about…”

One example of this was a diagnosis and subsequent treatment given to mother…

          We asked what about…what if…

Several years ago, we took my mother to the doctor because of a medication/treatment had been causing some temporary cognitive memory loss. She could not remember certain basic things.

          Actually, we all had “memory loss” because the doctor had told us this was going to happen, don’t be alarmed but there was some freak-out factor when we noticed it and we immediately went for an appointment.

          The appointment went like this, to test my mother:

          What is 100 minus 7 =

          What is 93 minus 7 = …

          So if you do not know this you may have memory loss. My mother failed the little math test.

          But, I recall that the doctor was really not that concerned because he could see that her memory was returning to normal. He could see this by talking to her. 

          In the end, fortunately, my mother recovered her memory or what we define as “memory”.  But, what is a memory? It is not simply something we produce by our own strength or intelligence or talent.

          Our knowledge of God’s truth, or what is right and wrong – is not simply about being smart.

          Also our salvation is not about what we did or did not do in individual moments but about our continuing ongoing conversion and connection and always asking not what about this …or what about that … but rather  or what about him or what about her,  but what about me ?

          In the first reading from the Book of Samuel, the young prophet SAMUEL --  is awakened from sleep in the middle of night. He goes looking for Eli – the priest – twice he goes looking for Eli ..but then Eli gives him the instruction we all need – when we are looking, when we are searching to remember that God is already here that he has already found us… Jesus expresses it as Come and See…and Samuel expresses this connection as a prayer we are all called to make, to hear God’s voice:

          “Speak Lord for your servant is listening…”

          What about you, me? What if God was one of us?  [__fin__]