I admit it—I am a planner. I like to have plans and I like
for the plans I make to come to fruition. Sometimes they do and often they do
not. Sometimes planning can backfire. Peter comes close to missing an encounter
with God become he is also a planner. When God steps in and interrupts Peter
saying; “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him!” Peter wants to fit what
is happening into a plan. God invites him instead to experience the wonder and mystery of Jesus; not exactly according
to Peter’s plan.
How often we do the same. We want an encounter with God to
give us a sense that we are not alone, that there is something more than what
we can see and touch. But in those very
moments when God comes near—those thin places where earth and heaven come very
close—we find ourselves frightened, afraid, unsure—suddenly feeling very out of control. In times like these we resort to our baser
instincts and try to domesticate our experience of the Holy by fitting it into
a plan.
Maybe the church should not be the place we look for order
and stability. Maybe the church should be the place we meet to share our
stories of wonder and worry—our hopes and disappointments and stand with each
other as the God of our fathers draws near once again to unsettle our plans and
meet us in the mystery of God’s love.
Peace,
Father Mark+
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