Transitions

Matthew 22: 1-14

The brother at the retreat house began his homily this morning.  “You know,” he said, “I’ve celebrated mass here a number of times in the past, but last week I was informed that I was to move into the friary here; this would be my new assignment.”

“Aaaaaaaaahhh!” he screamed.

He explained that the change was a surprise.  “I still had things to do, friends to meet with, and tasks I looked forward to accomplishing.  I had plans.” 

And then he went on to explain the Gospel today from a perspective I had never before considered.

The king had prepared a wedding feast for his son, but all the well-to-do people he invited begged off.  They had plans.  So, he invited all the town beggers.  But even one of those didn’t wear the wedding garment given him, so he was tossed out --- and that’s the guy the homily was focused on.

So many of us, the brother explained, are the ones too busy to answer God’s call.  A feast beyond our imagination is prepared for us, but we have our plans we think so important, and can’t be bothered with God’s plans.  He won’t force us to attend.  We, the “good” Christians however, can look at those people who won’t be at the feast and feel sad for them.  But if we’re honest, we’ve all been like those people at one time or another, putting our plans over God’s plans, only now --- perhaps even reluctantly --- we are on the path God has put us on to His great feast.  We want to get to heaven.  But to enter, we have to change, to put on the wedding garment.  And for some of us, that change is a problem.

We do want to go to the feast, but when our path is changed --- our plans to get to heaven OUR way, especially when suddenly, we want to yell “Aaaaaaahhhh!” as the brother did.  “That’s not my plan.  Why do I have to go THAT way?”  Our life has changed for the better, but we can’t see it.  All we see is pain, suffering, and unwanted change.  We can’t see forward to the great wedding feast prepared for our coming together with the Son; all we can see is our destroyed, ended plans.  We can’t let go of our plans, which will no longer happen, no matter what we do.  We can’t transition to a new life path, His plans, He has put before us.

Sometimes we fight change as we see it coming, but change thrust upon us beyond our control MUST be accepted, but so many of us react in stunned despair or anger.  St. John of the Cross notes that the first task to progress on our spiritual journey to God is to become masters of our urges for earthly satisfactions, to control our passions (the NEED to have things our way).  We can’t trust in God, in His plan, not ours if we are always angry at His plans.  Critical change points in our lives are opportunities to transition from our plans to God’s plans, to be who He created us to be.  He allows tragic changes for a reason.  All we have to do is trust, and walk forward, even through pain and suffering, not looking back and focusing on what was.

Our lives can be transformed, if we try to cooperate with God’s plans.  The feast is waiting, if we can walk the path He walked, even sometimes with pains as He had, to get to the place He went to.  Stop screaming at the path we are put on.  We can be eternally transformed, and it will be heavenly.

Really!

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I was reading a book tonight (Union With God) wherein it describes how St. Therese of the Child Jesus felt she was near the peak of the spiritual mountain, but she described it as holding Jesus’ hand and being “in a subterranean darkness, neither seeing nor understanding where He is leading her --- yet Jesus knows --- full of confidence in Him, the soul feels secure that He will guide it well and lead it to the blessed end” she feels is near.

I want that level of trust.  I want to be able to go forth confidently in the darkness where He is leading me, when my plans are thwarted, my life is changed.  I think I have quite a bit of that spiritual mountain to climb yet to get there, but I want to keep climbing.  I want the peace that total trust --- and love --- brings.