October 16, 2005: Being God’s Instrument

+THE TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Today’s Readings: Isa. 45: 1 –6; Ps. 96; Thess. 1: 1–5; Matt. 22: 15–21

I’d like to make a confession to you all today—and some of you may already know this: there are lots of times when I don’t know what I’m talking about.

One time, for example, I went to the wake of a parishioner of mine—a 22-year-old young man who died in a motorcycle accident. I was talking to some of his friends, trying to console them and help them make sense of this tragic loss. Many months later, one of these friends came to me and said, “I wanted to thank you, Father. You really turned my life around with what you told me at Eric’s funeral. You even got me coming back to church again.”

I blinked and smiled, thinking to myself, “What the heck did I say?”

Or the time I came into a hospital room to talk to the lady dying of cancer. She was scared of dying, and kind of bitter, too. My natural tendency, if someone presents me with a problem, is to try to solve it—but, of course, there was no making this all better. But we talked and over the next few weeks, we continued to visit… until the Lord called her home. At the funeral, the woman’s daughter came up to thank me for helping her mom so much—giving her peace and acceptance.

Again, I assumed the position: a blank smile, remembering that I was completely clueless and having no idea what I might have said.

Example #3. Chatting with a teenager who thanked me for making a big difference in his life in confession. He refreshed my memory about what issue he had spoken about… and true to form, I had no idea of what I advised him.

There are many other examples, too… but you get the idea of why I said that there are lots of times when I don’t know what I’m talking about.

That’s why I can really relate to King Cyrus of Persia whom Isaiah spoke about in the first reading today. Cyrus was a pagan king in the empire of Persia and Babylonia where the Jews of Israel had been exiled a century before. Out of the blue, he decided to release the Jews from captivity so they could go back to their homeland. And not only that. He also paid for the supplies and labor to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem!

Why would Cyrus do such a thing? He was an astute and powerful leader, but the Jews were a conquered people—nobodies. They didn’t pose any threat to him at home, and their release didn’t offer them the least political advantage. And frankly, Cyrus wasn’t known as a particularly benevolent or enlightened ruler. So what gives?

The Scripture says that the Lord had “anointed” Cyrus… and was holding onto his right hand. It also says that God had called him by name and gave him a title, even though Cyrus didn’t know him!

In other words, God decided to use Cyrus as his instrument. Why? For one thing, to accomplish the Lord’s purposes. And for another, to show the glory of God. If God can work through a non-believer with a mind and might of his own, just think how powerful this God really is!

The Bible, of course, is jam-packed with all kinds of characters whom God has used despite their obvious lack of abilities. Abraham was 99 years old—Art Kane’s age!—when God gave him a son. Moses was a terrible stutterer—yet God worked through him to get Pharaoh to free the Jews from Egypt. Bathsheba was an adulteress, yet God gave her Solomon, who became the wisest king of the ancient world. Mary was a nobody, yet she became the Mother of God.

So really, why should we be surprised when God uses one of us to be his instrument of blessing?

I was amused to read how another priest explained how God works. He said, sometimes God works with us. Sometimes he works through us. And sometimes he says, “Just get out my way. I’ll take care of this myself.”

Like Cyrus, we may not even know how God is using us… or even that he is. But to know it, to see the grace in it, and even to offer that he work through us is a tremendous blessing and gift. What could be more loving and generous than to tell God, “Lord, use me. Work through me to serve others. I put myself in your hands.”

One of the very beautiful dicta from the Second Vatican Council is that besides the ordained priesthood like mine, there is also a common priesthood of the faithful. Yes, you are all priests. Obviously not in the same way that I’m a priest, but priests in a way nonetheless. That means that in a special and mystical way, you all share in the priestly power of Jesus Christ. And what is a priest? It’s a go-between… and agent… a liaison between God and other people. When you volunteer to use your body and intellect and free will to serve God, you are acting as a priest in the most excellent way possible.

As we’ve heard over and over, God will not be outdone in generosity. If you put yourselves in his hands and offer to serve, his blessings in your life are sure to be phenomenal.

How to start? Well, pray for a heart that is open to God’s holy will. Most of us are too rigid and narrow. I love the little expression, “If you try to solve every problem with a hammer, then soon everything begins to look like a nail.” Trust God. Ask him to help you change and grow so you can be a multi-purpose instrument in his hands.

Don’t be afraid. God won’t ask more of you than he knows you can handle. The Holy Spirit will put the right words in your mouth, at just the right time.

And be joyful. What a great privilege and thrill to be God’s tool. People line up to get a pen that the President signs a bill with. How much better to be that implement!

Dear friends, may our good and gracious God open your eyes and heart today to be his conduit of healing, peace and love.