The question on a lot of people’s minds these days is: what is life going to be like after the Stay at Home order? Even with financial assistance, some businesses have shut their doors for good. Will people ever shake hands again, or stand close to each other? What will next school year be like for the students who have not been in a school building since 14 April? Will people go back to church in larger numbers?
What will make the difference? Is there a magic bullet that will bring back everyone to church and have them practicing their faith? Is there something that a person can do that will make it more likely to attend Mass and practice the entirety of the faith, rather than simply falling away after this time of not having public access to the sacraments?
What made the difference in the Apostles and the disciples? What was it that these generally uneducated men, and made them the greatest group of missionaries in the history of Christianity? What was it that made the disciples cling to their faith in Jesus even as the government tortured and put them to death in very gruesome ways?
The difference was that they knew Jesus. They had encountered Jesus in their life, and they were open to the Lord changing them through that encounter. Sometimes that encounter happened in marvelous ways, like when Jesus told Peter to put out into the deep, even though Peter had caught nothing after an entire night of fishing; like when Jesus simply looked at Matthew and said, “Follow me.” Sometimes that encounter happened through curiosity and wanting to find out more, like so many who heard about this itinerant rabbi who was not only teaching with authority, but also healing people. But they knew Jesus.
Knowing Jesus is different than simply being around Him. Think of the Bread of Life discourse in John, chapter six. The people there were around Jesus, they even saw Him multiply bread and fish for thousands of people. And yet, when the teaching got tough, most of them did not stay with Jesus, but walked away. Think about the crowds who were caught up in welcoming Jesus as He entered into Jerusalem the week of His Passion. They cheered Him on and waved palm branches. And yet, this same crowd, five days later, clamored for his crucifixion. Even most of those who did know Him, the Apostles, were not there when Jesus died. But then, we heard Peter proclaim in our first reading that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the one chosen by God. Even after a failure, Peter could practice his faith because He knew Jesus and knew He was risen.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus had been around Jesus, but it took Jesus Himself opening up the Old Testament and breaking bread for them to recognize Jesus. But once they did, they were ready to tell others that Jesus was risen. Their encounter with the Lord, though started in ignorance, ended with a new way of life for those two disciples.
So for us, have we encountered Jesus? If we have, then we can survive any tribulation and suffering. Where do we encounter Jesus? In the Word of God, the Scriptures. I would encourage everyone to find a good Bible study and read the Scriptures. It is through them that we encounter Jesus. I pray with the Scriptures, like every priest, bishop, and consecrated man or woman, 4 times per day, and I can’t tell you how often I’m reading a psalm or a passage, and I just know that God is speaking to me through it.
We encounter God in the Sacraments, in the 7 ways that God does great work to make us saints. While many only happen once, I think of especially the Sacrament of Penance, where we encounter God in His mercy and forgiveness. Maybe not always, but often the words of counsel that the priest gives me before I make my Act of Contrition, touches my heart and I realize I am in the presence of God.
We encounter God in the love and charity that we show to another. Especially in these trying times, I think that we recognize God through people going out of their way to be loving and charitable to each other, rather than the nastiness to which we have become so accustomed. As “Les Miserables” says, “To love another person is to see the face of God.”
And last, and greatest, we encounter God in the Mass. Of course, this isn’t as possible now as before. As good as it is that I can live-stream this Mass for you, it’s not the same, and it’s not the way the Mass is supposed to be. You, the People of God, are meant to be here, uniting your sacrifices with the bread and the wine, offered to God the Father in the one, perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Presence is important. The disciples on the road to Emmaus finally recognized Jesus in the Eucharist. And in the Eucharist, we not only encounter God, but God enters into us in a most intimate way. If we’re not encountering God in the Mass, then we have lacked something that we should be doing, because God is always making Himself present to us in the Mass, and it reminds us that maybe we’re holding back.
There are other ways to encounter God, but these are four great ones. And if we have encountered God, before, and hopefully during, this pandemic, then we’ll pick up right were we left off in our faith life. We will come to worship God; we will share the good news of the Resurrection and the new life that Jesus offers us through Him and only Him; we will let the love of God flow through us like a current of electricity that lights up every one with whom we come in contact. But that will only happen if we have encountered God. Think about it: when was the last time you encountered God?
