There
is a restlessness in the city right now.
Students are back. Some coming
from near, some from far. Some sure of
what they are doing; some not sure of much at all. The fritteurs are hot and ready to go, grease
is steaming away. You can smell fries
flowing, wafting through the air. The kegs have all been tapped. The cellars are stocked with that much-prized
Belgium brew (thanks be to God for those monks). And for the past few nights you could see the
masses of young people making their way to the center of the city: the famous Grote Markt and Oude Markt. My guess though is that probably not many of
them are going to Sint Pieterskerk. Not
many going to stop off and fill up at the Sedes Sapientiae. Mary probably has had fewer customers these
days than De Rector, De Kroeg or The Capital.
But even though students may not stop off at the church that does not
mean that their hearts are not restless.
For all of our hearts are restless.
All are searching for something more.
It’s just that sometimes we don’t know where to seek. Sometimes we don’t even know where to begin
to ask.
The
Israelites were a restless people too.
They searched for God in many places.
Even when God revealed himself to them, they still weren’t really sure
where to find him. So they sought him in
pagans God, in idols of smooth stones and in sorcerers’ wisdom. They searched for him on mountains; they
searched for him in valleys. They were
restless and looked in so many places.
But Isaiah simply said to them:
Seek the Lord where he may be found: call on him while he is near. They knew where God could be found: in the
covenants and in the promises, in that culture sustaining monotheistic
belief. But they weren’t always so
sure. So their restless hearts searched
in many other places.
One
of the goals of my last assignment as a priest was to build community beyond
the walls of the church—especially with the youth. We went out one night in an attempt to do
just that, and were going to a play together.
I was driving and I had my GPS set.
Now I am terrible with directions, but the GPS has really enhanced my
life. It told me to take a right and so
I followed the directions. It brought us
into this cul-de-sac, I could literally see our destination just in view, but then
the GPS started going crazy. It told me
to go right, then left, then right again.
We kept winding around these houses.
It said that we were right next to our destination, but it kept telling
me to turn and turn and turn. We
couldn’t find our way out of these houses.
But I kept my cool. I wanted to seem like I knew what I was doing. Finally in a fit of frustration I turned to
the other chaperone sitting next to me and asked: do you know how to get out of here? She said:
I wondered how long you were going to wait to ask me. It is just up there straight ahead and take a
left. She was correct, and we proceeded
to our destination, no thanks to me.
We
have all embarked on a new journey.
Perhaps up to this point we have followed our inner GPS well. Perhaps unlike many of those parading to the
center of town the past few nights, we have been graced with the gift of faith.
And so we have chosen to come to Leuven.
For many of us we have chosen to stay in a community because something
inside of us encouraged us to do so. We
have all chosen to follow some intuition inside to choose the field and subject
matter we are invested in. In the midst
of all of that, hopefully, we have asked God for guidance and help in making
these decisions. This is a wonderful thing, but we can’t stop there. We must keep searching. For oftentimes when we think we are on the
right path, when we think we are following correctly, it is then that we start
to rely a little too much on ourselves, and it is then we find ourselves a
little like the Israelites, searching to settle our restlessness in the wrong
way.
If
the first reading is a gentle invitation to us all to search for the Lord where
he can be found, the Gospel today should be a bit more challenging. Here we see that it is not always so easy to
understand God’s ways. Most of us are
probably like the workers who worked hard all day. We have tried to be faithful. We are at least asking the right
questions. We know of our own
restlessness and want to find rest in God.
And yet it was just those who did all the right things, those who were
faithful and hard working in a good Palegian fashion, who misunderstood the
ways of God. Perhaps we think we have
done the right things and so we should know what to expect from God. But then the words hit us in the gut: God’s
ways are not our ways.
For in Christ God
changed everything. The old order was flipped on its head. In Christ when we think we have everything
figured out we must think again. For
in Christ:
The
first become last
The
last become first
The
wretched are redeemed
The
redeemed are asked to suffer
The
scoundrel is saved
The
saved are sent out
The
tax collector becomes a saint
The
saint is then despised
The
wise become foolish
And
the foolish are given a chance to see.
As
soon as we think we have it all figured out, as soon as we think we are certain
of our path, as soon as we think we have found the place where our hearts need
to rest, it is then that we must seek the Lord even more, ever more, always
more.
We
will have the chance to read a lot of books and take a lot of classes. We will know a lot about God and about faith
and about religion. But it is exactly at
this point that we should beg God for the humility to say that we really do not
know that much at all. This is not a
nihilistic skepticism. Rather this is admittance
that our ways are not always God’s ways.
When we think we have things figured out we must step back in humility
and beg God for assistance.
We
will have the chance to get to know each other in community. We will laugh and cry and rejoice and get
frustrated. But even when we think we
know each other well we should beg God for the humility to see that there is so
much more mystery in every person that we still don’t see.
We
have assurances that we know where the restlessness of the world can find its
rest. But lest we lose our place of rest
in Jesus we must always bring ourselves back to him.
So
in our studies we seek the Lord.
In
our meals we seek the Lord.
In
our tears and joys and frustrations and triumphs we seek the Lord.
In
all things we seek the Lord.
And
we know where he can be found. Right
here in this community that is gathered, in his church, in this historic chapel
that has for years connected America and Leuven, where for over 150 years,
right here, in the basic elements of bread and wine we see that our ways are
not God’s ways. For in this sacred
institution narrative God actually comes again and again and again to be with
his people. And he says to each of us, and
to each of those restless hearts in the city of Leuven: I am here.
I am waiting for you.
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