By Jeffrey A. Beer Jr. –
Imagine this: a young man grows up very wealthy. His father owns a large clothing manufacturer, and so the son has a very privileged upbringing. He throws huge parties for himself and his friends, has the nicest cars, and is accepted into Harvard Business School. He starts going to church to deal with the pressure of school. One day while studying in the library, he hears God’s voice telling him He wants him to be a catholic priest. So much to the dismay of his family, the young man quits business school and joins the seminary, devoting his life to the church all because he heard God calling him. This story is a modern version of the conversion of St. Francis of Assisi, who lived 800 years ago and really did hear Jesus speak to him, and who left his life of wealth and military triumph to start the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) and to serve the church and the poor. He made a tremendous impact on the church and all of Italy, and his feast day is this Monday.
This Sunday we hear a familiar Psalm which says, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Psalm 95). Although in my head He would sound a bit like James Earl Jones, I’ve never literally heard the voice of God, and I’m willing to bet you haven’t either. We hear people say things like “God called me…” or “God said to me…” Francis heard God speak to him through dreams and a crucifix. But hearing God’s voice doesn’t usually entail the sky opening up and a voice booming from above. Hearing God speak is much more subtle than that.
God speaks to us in the kind deeds of others which inspire us to be kinder ourselves. God speaks to us in a scripture quote or homily which really rings true to us. God speaks to us when we feel in our heart a desire or responsibility to serve God and the people in our church, school or community. God’s voice can be our teachers or parents. His words can be the hope and comfort we feel in a quiet time of prayer. Hearing God’s voice means hearing a calling to be a better brother or sister; son or daughter; a better friend and student; a better Catholic and child of God. We are constantly being called to a greater faith, and a better life. And if we listen for it, we might just find God’s voice in many of the things around us.
But this Sunday’s Psalm doesn’t stop at hearing God’s voice. It encourages us to not harden our hearts against His message. To not “harden our hearts” means to be ready, willing and open to our relationship with God causing us to make changes in our life. When we feel compassionate towards a classmate who is being given a hard time but do nothing about it, we have hardened our hearts. Or maybe we have felt like God might be calling us to be a priest or nun, but are not open to the idea. Not having a hardened heart means instead being totally willing to follow Christ wherever he would lead us, and being ready to respond to His call, as Francis did.
Being so open to the voice of God that we would change where we live, where we go to school, what we do with our lives and who our friends are might seem impossible. It takes tremendous faith to put our trust in God’s hands in both large and small aspects of our lives. This is probably why “the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5). Jesus’ reply sheds some light as to what it takes to be open to God’s calling in our lives. Christ said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ and it would obey you.” Just in case you don’t know, mustard seeds are really small. They are about as big as a pinhead. And so when Jesus talks about faith the size of a mustard seed having so much power, he is saying that even a little bit of real faith can go a really long way. Sometimes I wonder how open I really am to what God may be calling me to in my own life. I should probably pray the same thing as the apostles do in this Sunday’s Gospel, “Lord, increase my faith.” Because a little bit of faith goes a long way.
I’ll say one more thing about mustard seeds. Tiny though they may be, mustard seeds grow into really large mustard trees. If you compared the two side by side, it might seem impossible that such a small seed could grow into something so huge, just like it might seem impossible to surrender your life over to a God you may just be getting to know. But that’s how it is with faith. Even the tiniest bit of faith is powerful, but with the right nourishment, it will grow into something which may previously have seemed impossible. As St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do all that is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
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