St. Paul says (in 1 Corinthians 15) "Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. You are being saved by it at this very moment." We are all being saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ RIGHT NOW! Jesus' saving work in our lives is ongoing, a work in progress. Whenever we open the Gospels and read, when we hear sections of them proclaimed at Church, and the priest, minster, or deacon preaches, gives a homily, Jesus is speaking to us, calling to us, IMMEDIATELY!
The question is, are we always ready to hear what Jesus has to say to us? Probably not, or at least not any more ready than his best friends were when he walked this earth. Fr. Ronald Rolheiser makes this observation about Jesus' calls to his apostles and disciples to follow him:
"Not even Jesus found 'the ready.'
"Jesus called Nathaniel...Nathaniel lacked openness. Nathaniel wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Philip...Philip lacked simplicity. Philip wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Simon, the Zealkot...Simon lacked non-violence. Simon wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Andrew...Andrew lacked a sense of risk. Andrew wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Thomas... Thomas lacked vision. Thomas wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Judas... Judas lacked spiritual maturity. Judas definitely was not ready.
"Jesus called Matthew... Matthew lacked a sense of social sin. Matthew wasn't ready.
"Jesus called Thaddeus...Thadeus lacked commitment. Thaddeus wasn't ready.
"Jesus called James the Lesser...James lacked awareness. James wasn't ready.
"Jesus called James and John, the Sons of Thunder...James and John lacked a sense of servanthood. James and John were not ready.
"Jesus called Peter, the Rock...Peter lacked courage. Peter was not ready.
"The point, you see, is that Jesus doesn't call the ready. Jesus calls the willing! That is a consoling thought because the heavy responsibilities of adulthood and the narrow gate of discipleship generally call us before we are really ready." (from "Sacred Fire.")
No one is ever really ready to shoulder the responsibilities of adulthood: a steady job, a serious relationship, a marriage, parenthood, or a vocation to priesthood or religious life, or to the single life. Life itself carries us along kicking and screaming, and our maturity and capability for commitment grow gradually, usually when we have our boots on the ground and are under fire. In the same way, no one is ever totally ready to respond to Jesus' ongoing call to discipleship. That's why he calls us over and over, every time we read the Gospels or hear them proclaimed. Jesus always has a new message for us, a new insight, a new challenge. We only have to be willing to listen, think about, and pray over what his words and actions teach us.
Jesus himself is the Good News of our lives! And Jesus dwells within us, ready to listen and ready to talk with us.
Perhaps we feel trapped. Jesus questions us "Do you feel trapped because you are in an unhealthy place or relationship that you ned to leave? Or do you feel trapped out of self-pity because you do not want to accept this responsibility?"
Perhaps we have a very narrow view of religion or spirituality, or we see people in a stereotypical fashion. Jesus jolts us and says "Are you ready to see your life - and the lives of others - differently?"
Perhaps we are completely broken-hearted. A part of us has died and we feel paralyzed by grief. We feel as if we can never laugh or enjoy life again. We may even feel guilty at the thought! Jesus comes to us and embraces us and says "I come to heal the broken-hearted. Live again! Love again! Find joy again!"
When we say that Jesus, dwelling within us, calls us IMMEDIATELY whenever we read his words, or hear them, or even remember them, we mean that Jesus calls us in the NOW. In the moment. In the present. In William Paul Young's book "The Shack," the main character, MacKenzie, meets Jesus face to face. To help Mack to be a more mature disciple, Jesus takes Mack to the end of a dock and invites him to walk on water with him. Immediately. NOW. Mack pulls back, afraid. He is definitely not ready! Here's the rest of the scene:
"Will my feet get wet?' queried Mack.
"Of course, water is still wet."
Again, Mack looked down at the water and back at Jesus.
"Then why is this so hard for me?"
"Tell me what you are afraid of, Mack."
"Well, let me see. What am I afraid of?" began Mack. "Well, I am afraid of looking like an idiot. I am afraid that you are making fun of me and that I will sink like a rock. I imagine that -"
"Exactly," Jesus interrupted. "You imagine. Such a powerful ability, the imagination! That power alone makes you so like us. (The Trinity.) But, without wisdom, imagination is a cruel task-master. If I may prove my case, do you think humans were meant to live in the present or the past or the future?"
"Well," said Mack, hesitating. "I think the most obvious answer is that we were designed to live in the present. Is that wrong?"
Jesus chuckled. "Relax, Mack. This is not a test, it's a conversation. You are exactly correct, by the way. But, now tell me, where do you spend most of your time in your mind, in your imagination: in the present, in the past, or in the future?"
Mack thought for a moment before answering. "I suppose I would have to say that I spend very little time in the present. I spend a big piece in the past, but most of the time, I am trying to figure out the future."
"Not unlike most people. When I dwell with you, I do so in the present - I live in the present. Not the past, although much can be remembered and learned by looking back, but only for a visit, not an extended stay. And for sure, I do not dwell in the future you visualize or imagine. Mack, do you realize that your imagination of the future, which is almost always dictated by fear of some kind, rarely if ever pictures me there with you?"
Again Mack stopped and thought. It was true. he spent a lot of time fretting and worrying about the future....(and) in Mack's thoughts of the future, God was always absent.
"Why do I do that?" asked Mack.
"It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't even real, nor will it ever be real. You try to play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try to make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear."
"So (said Mack) why do I have so much fear in my life?"
"Because you don't believe. You don't know that we love you. The person who lives by his fears will not find freedom in my love. I am not talking about rational fears regarding legitimate dangers, but imagined fears, and especially the projection of those into the future. To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good, nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it, you talk about it, but you don't know it."
Mack looked down once more at the water, and breathed a huge sigh of the soul. "I have so far to go."
"Only about a foot, it looks to me." Jesus laughed, placing his hand on Mack's shoulder. It was all he needed and Mack stepped off the dock. In order to try to see the water as solid and not be deterred by its motion, he looked up at the far shore and held the lunch bags high just in case.
Mack, a disciple just like us, is afraid, not ready. But he is willing to hear Jesus, to ponder his words, and finally to make a change in his life. He's not going to get stuck in the past or fear the future. He's going to hear Jesus NOW, today. He steps off the dock - NOW.
The Living Jesus speaks to us daily and waits. He waits for us to be ready, to get to the point that we choose to listen and act on his Word. But, the more we love Jesus, the more we trust him, trust that God is indeed good, the more we are ready to respond quickly in faith to his call.
When you hear Jesus intimately and personally call you in the Living Gospels, do you listen in faith? Are you truly present to him? Are you ready to step off the dock into unknown waters in life? Can you be free? Can you forget about worries, forget about whether the water beneath your feet is moving or solid? Because God is our Rock even in stormy waters. Keep your eyes on the far shore of His promise, on that waiting rainbow. You don't have too far to go. Only a foot or so - and he's there with a ready hand to hold you up and get you to the other shore of freedom, love, and healing.