“God uses the ordinary circumstances of our lives to accomplish extraordinary things.”
Did you see the dancing bear?
There is a certain type of video that is popular on the internet. It is an awareness test or a perception test. In a typical video you will see two teams, one dressed in white and one dressed in black. As the two teams begin to weave in and out and around each other, you are asked to count the number of times the team in white passes the ball.
You focus on the team in white, carefully counting the numbers of times the players pass the ball to each other as they constantly move around the players dressed in black who are doing the same thing.
At the end of the video the number of passes is given and you pat yourself on the back for getting it right or shrug for having missed one or two. But then a question comes on the screen, “did you see the dancing bear?”
“There was a dancing bear?” you think to yourself.
Sure enough, as the video is played back, there is clearly a man dressed in a black bear costume dancing across the screen from one side to the other. How could you miss him? Easy, you weren’t looking for him.
As you focused on the players in white, your mind filtered out the players dressed in black. So when a man in a black bear costume dances across the scene, your mind dismisses it as irrelevant to the task of focusing on the players in white.
Our perception of things is affected by what we expect to see.
The Jewish people in first century Jerusalem were looking for a Messiah that would come as a conquering king, defeating the Romans and delivering God’s people from the yoke of oppression. They were not looking for a humble rabbi who spoke of the love and mercy and grace of God. Because Jesus did not fit their expectation of what the Messiah should be, He was rejected and persecuted by the authorities.
Do we still reject Christ and His teachings, given to us through His Church, because He does not fit into our idea of what He should be?
As Christians we interpret all of scripture, including the entire Old Covenant, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, in the light of the resurrected Christ. Jesus is the suffering servant, raised from the dead and glorified.
It was Jesus Himself who taught us to see things in a different light, to refocus our attention on the things that mattered. It was Jesus who opened the minds of the apostles so that they may understand the scriptures. And it is this understanding that has been handed down to us through the Magisterium and Tradition.
It was a lack of understanding, an ignorance, that led to the death of the Lord. And it is this ignorance that still keeps people from everlasting light.
It really is a matter of trust. Do we trust in God? Do we trust Our Lord to guide us in how we live our lives? Are we willing to put aside our willfulness and stubbornness? Are we willing to open our minds to the possibility that God is acting in our lives in ways we do not expect?
We cannot control the events that take place in our lives, that is for God. We can, however control how we respond to those events. It is God’s part to bring events and circumstances and opportunities into our lives. It is our part to trust in Him, to see the opportunities that exist within the trials and tribulations. In the midst of the storms that are visited upon us, God also offers us refuge.
There is a not-so-old story about a man caught in his house during a flood. As the waters rose and began to poor into his home, he moved upstairs to escape the deluge. He eventually was forced on to his roof where he prayed to God to deliver him from this dangerous situation. As he watched the water level grow higher, a man in a small rowboat came by and offered to take him to dry land.
“No,” responded the man, “God will save me.”
The would-be rescuer rowed away but a short time later a small fishing boat came by and made him the same offer. “No, thank you. My God will save me.”
A few moments later a large yacht came by. “We have plenty of room, come aboard.” “No,” the stubborn man insisted, my God will save me.
Then a helicopter hovered overhead and dropped a lifeline but the man ignored it, waiting for God to intervene to save his life.
The flood waters continued to rise and the man drowned. Standing before the judgment seat of God he challenged the Almighty. “I have been faithful to you all my life, why didn’t you save me?”
“My child,” came the response, “I sent you three boats and a helicopter.”
God uses the ordinary circumstances of our lives to accomplish extraordinary things. But we have to trust that those circumstances may not be what we expect.
Mother Angelica, the founder of EWTN, once said: “I am not afraid to fail, I am scared to death of dying and having the Lord say to me. ‘Angelica, this is what you might have done had you trust me more’.”
Because we have such a powerful advocate with the Father, we still may turn around and repent our sins. Christ died for the expiation not only of our sins but for those of the whole world. With that repentance a conversion of heart is required. To choose to remain in ignorance is to live in contradiction and not in the Truth
Today we receive the great commission from God, to preach the Good News that through repentance, sins are forgiven. We are called to go out and show the world the dancing bear.
Christus Resurrexit!
3rd Sunday of Easter