Reflection - Plans

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042816.cfm

Acts 15:7-21
John 15:9-11

As is so often the case, because of the brevity of our daily readings, today's passage in Acts picks up in the middle of the story. The Council at Jerusalem, which we hear about in part today, had been necessitated by the demands of some Jewish Christians. They believed that Gentile Christians should also observe the laws and practices of Judaism. So, the Apostles and other early church leaders gathered at Jerusalem to discuss and pray about the matter. Ultimately they came to a profound conclusion, one that we still adhere to today: "We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." (Acts 15:11) and, correspondingly, that salvation does not come through the law or human practices. 

It's hard for us to appreciate today how remarkable this statement was, coming, as it did, from these Christian Jews in the middle of the first century. These were a people whose entire religious lives had emphasized the need to follow the Law and observe the rituals handed down to them. Even more amazing is the statement which comes just a few verses later: 

"For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things" (Acts 15:28) 

Bathed in the fire of the Holy Spirit, these men comfortably claimed their decision to be in sync with what God was doing in the now. It is the equivalent of saying, "What the Holy Spirit knows, we know." Or, "We know what God is doing." We ask ourselves: how could that be? And we turn to the words of the prophet Isaiah to support our disbelief.

"Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has instructed him? Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:13-14)

But the words of Isaiah speak to a different issue. He wasn't talking about being aware of what God is doing; rather, he was asking a rhetorical question: "Were you around to give advice when God created all things and determined how they would relate to one another?" No, it's not the words of Isaiah which are appropriate here; it's the words of Jesus: 

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:24)

At various times throughout my life, twenty-twenty hindsight has allowed me a glimpse of the dynamics which brought me to the present moment. The twists and turns have been remarkable. And, looking back, I can see the hand of God active in so many ways that weren't evident to me at the time. During those years I tried to tell God about my plans. Where I'm going to school. What I'm going to study. Who I'm going to marry. Where I'm going to work. All these things and so much more I related to God in prayer. Patiently, he listened. But it has always seemed too confusing, too much of a puzzle, even too mysterious to try and figure out what God was doing in my life at any present moment, where he would lead, what he would have me do. So my plan has been to just go on my way, trying to (in a weird sort of combination) follow the law and follow Jesus and hoping to get it right. In more recent years, however, I have come to see that particular spiritual methodology as being self-defeating, inadequate and severely limiting. The shift in my mind began as different things were brought to my awareness. These weren't entirely new; they were just there and I never paid much attention to them.

In reflecting on my situation I was reminded of a commercial shown not too long ago. A man with his wife are frustratingly driving from place to place and it quickly becomes apparent that they are looking for something they left behind. At the end, the man comes out of the most recent place he has searched and pulls his jacket hood up onto his head. His sunglasses come tumbling out. Joyfully, he runs to the car to show his wife. So, that's what these understandings are about. Suddenly becoming aware of what you've had with you the whole time.

First, when God was effectively guiding my life in the past, he was talking to me. If he was talking to me then and I can, looking back, see that now, why couldn't I hear it then?

Second, I've always been a bit envious of others who claim to talk to God; and I've never automatically assumed they were unbalanced. So, it finally occurred to me, if they can talk with God, why can't I?

Third, there has been a hidden intellectual assumption that God only talks to saints. But, since we're all sinners, how can that be true?

Fourth, Scripture tells me plainly that the reality is different. God frequently spoke to people in the Scriptures to tell them what he was doing, or what he was about to do. The potential examples are numerous; but suffice it for me to recall two of the better known. Moses and the burning bush! Mary at the annunciation! God really wants me to be aware of his speaking to me in the now and not just appreciate what he has done for me in he past. 

With these notions in mind, let me explain what I'm currently working on.

Hearing is something almost all of us know from birth. We've grown up with it; it is part of our normal everyday life. But even hearing is something we can and do block from our perception. Think of the many times someone has said to you: "Did you hear that?" "What?" you ask. Even worse, however, is our skill at listening. Remember the old parlor game with a large group. One person is given a simple story that they are to whisper to the person sitting next to them. That person then whispers it to the next in line, and so on to the last person who has to tell out loud the story he has heard. Does it ever match the beginning story?

There's an old saying in the college speech communication program that, except in the case of strictly factual information, the content of a communication is not words; the content of a communication is a person. What that attempts to say is that words alone seldom if ever convey the entirety of what is being said. When listening it is also necessary to try and both hear and understand what these words mean to the person speaking. What depth and richness of understanding are they trying to explain? What sense of feeling are they expressing?

So, I've been working on both hearing God and listening to God. I want to truly hear "the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33) and I've found that it takes every bit as much attention and practice as it does to really hear and truly listen to another person. 

Now, you may well ask: What's so important about this? If God really wants me to know something he will provide a burning bush or knock me off my horse. After all, he's in charge. I know that through him all things work together for the good. Ultimately, he wins. So, what's so important?

The answer is another one of those many things I have intellectually acknowledged but never really grasped its import: God has a Plan! God has a Plan! Paul speaks of it this way:      

"To me . . . this grace was given . . . to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

          (Ephesians 3:8-9)

Just what is that plan?

"He has made known to us, in all wisdom and insight, the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth."(Ephesians 1:9-10)

Back in the period of the Enlightenment, people known as Deists thought that God created the universe, set it in motion, and then sat back to watch. My own faith today tells me that the exact opposite is true. God has his hands in the entirety of this universal pie. The peculiar thing is, that very fact seems to have generated a tendency to let him go about his business while we go about ours, trying not to obstruct what he is doing. But that's not his plan. As it unfolds he wants it to envelop and involve me.

His plan is to unite all things in Christ.
His plan is to unite me, together with all things in Christ.
His plan includes me; and He desires that I participate in his plan.

That's why it's so important to listen and hear him speak in the 'now.' 

If I don't learn to listen in the 'now' but am content to review the wonders he has done for me in the past then I will inevitably come up, "a day late and a dollar short."