It goes without saying, but we constantly need to be reminded that we live in an amazing world, yet often we fail to recognize or appreciate this reality. Those of us who are middle-aged or more can remember the wonder that captured the American people in the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy made a pledge to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. When the Soviet Union sent the first satellite, Sputnik, into space in 1957, Americans were inspired to respond. We were so captivated by the space program that when Alan Shepherd, John Glenn, and the many other brave Americans were launched into space we were glued to our television sets to watch the whole event. In the summer of 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon, we were all watching. We looked into the night sky, viewed the moon, and were amazed at this accomplishment. Yet, today, with the frequency of travel and the success of the space program, few people take notice of its accomplishments. Only when tragedy strikes, such as the Challenger and Columbia disasters, do we think how amazing space exploration is.
Medical science is another area where significant advances have been made in recent years, but the commonality of its practice today tends to dampen our enthusiasm. When the South African physician, Christiaan Barnard, successfully implanted a mechanical heart in a patient the world was amazed. Later when actual heart transplants (and many other organs) became possible we again stood by and took notice. Today, however, in major medical centers around the globe there are thousands of transplants, saving and extending the lives of countless people, yet few take notice. The frequency of these medical procedures makes them seem routine. To the individual involved it is a highly significant event, but the world barely notices. Familiarity again leads to a lack of attention or enthusiasm.
Travel and communication is a third area of life that is truly amazing, but again today we often fail to notice it. The twentieth century witnessed a virtual transformation in the ability of humans to communicate and visit with each other. In 1900, people were pleased to take a "modern" train to a distant location. After completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869, it was possible for one to traverse the continent in a few days. People thought that was quite amazing, especially when they remembered how their forebears had taken the trip via covered wagon, a slow and at times highly dangerous journey. Today, thousands of people will fly across the nation and the world on planes, for business and recreation, and never give the event a second thought. Only the tragedy of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks makes some pause when they enter a jet way at the airport. At the outset of the twentieth century people were amazed to send a telegram that could be received by the recipient in one day or less or post a letter that might arrive in a week. Today, we complain when our Internet system is not fast enough. The sense of amazement is fleeting.
The loss of amazement in our view of space, medical science, and travel and communication is, unfortunately, found also in our understanding of God and the amazing things God does for us. They say that familiarity breeds contempt, in this case a sense of aloofness. This certainly seems true when considering how the Christian community, collectively and as individuals, responds to the presence of God in our world. God is ever present; one can always count on God. Therefore, we have a tendency to forget and, thus, need to be reminded of what God does for us each and every day. Today's Gospel Reading is one example of many that demonstrate how amazing Jesus was and how people took notice. We are challenged, therefore, to again observe and perceive the amazing power of Christ in our lives.
The gospels abound in examples of how the people with whom Jesus had contact were amazed at what he did and said. Saint Mark (4:35-41) recounts the amazement of the disciples at Jesus' ability to control nature. A storm rages on the Sea of Galilee and the terrified apostles call out, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus rebuked the wind and water and calm comes upon the sea. Mark reports, "They [the apostles] were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?' " Jesus' teaching was also very impressive to those who heard him. Saint Luke (4:32) reports how the people of Capernaum, "were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority." Similarly Saint Matthew (7:29) reports at the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, that "the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." Jesus' ability to work miracles and effect cures of people was also amazing to those who witnessed these events. After Jesus casts out the demon from a mute man who speaks, "the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel' " (Matthew 9:33b). Again when Jesus cures a blind and mute man Matthew (12:23) reports, "All the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Can this be the Son of David?' " Word of Jesus' ability to cure drew all manner of people afflicted, all of whom were cured. Matthew (15:31) again reports, "The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel."
Today's Gospel Reading, drawn from the outset of Jesus' public ministry, demonstrates not only the amazement that people experienced, but how the Lord was able to convert hearts to such wonder. Only the previous day, the evangelist tells us, Jesus called his first disciples, Andrew and Simon (whom Jesus renamed Peter). Now Jesus encounters Philip who, after being invited by the Lord to follow, immediately found Nathanael, described by Jesus as "an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." Today we would say Nathanael is the "real McCoy" — what you see is what you get. Yet, Nathanael is wary at first. When told by Philip that he, Peter, and Andrew had found "him about whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote," Nathanael responds incredulously, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" His comment is not strange nor unexpected, since the Jews understood the Messiah to have origins from the House of David in Bethlehem. Galilee was the hinterland, the ancestral heritage of the Samaritans, the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel, conquered by the Assyrians some 720 years earlier. Nathanael was skeptical, but Jesus' amazing ability to know Nathanael and to have seen him under a fig tree before Philip's call is all that he needs. The new disciple proudly proclaims, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!" On the surface it does not seem that Jesus' words were so amazing, especially when compared with what the Lord would later accomplish, yet Nathanael was convinced; he was amazed.
The call of Philip and Nathanael and the latter's thorough amazement at Jesus presents numerous challenges to us, the Lord's contemporary disciples. We must notice the response of the disciples. None of these men, mostly simple fishermen, hesitated one moment once they encountered Jesus personally. His attraction and call must have been overwhelming; there was obviously an instant attraction. It was more than what he did or said; Jesus' person had to have been larger than life. Why else would men who had families and lives immediately leave everything to walk an unknown road? Logic cannot be used to explain their response; Jesus moved people almost immediately beyond logic. He truly was an amazing person.
Our challenge is thus twofold — to respond and to be amazed. The two go hand-in-hand. If we are truly amazed by the presence and power of Christ in our world, then we will have the courage and the capacity to respond. Familiarity, however, breeds a sense of ordinariness into our perception. Few people today are amazed at space exploration, the marvels of medical science, nor the speed and convenience of travel and communication because we are all quite familiar with these truly amazing realities. Contact with people and the gathering of information is so easy, literally at our fingertips through a computer keyboard, that those things that were considered so amazing only a few years ago are seen today as routine. We complain when our Internet connection is broken or its speed is slower than we want. We are not only not amazed; we become frustrated. Yes, familiarity can breed contempt.
We need to recapture that sense of amazement at the presence and power of Christ in our lives. We can do so in many ways, both ordinary and extraordinary. Tomorrow when we awake there will be numerous ways to be amazed at the power and presence of God in our lives. The mere fact that we are still alive should prompt a prayer of thanksgiving, especially when we realize that many will die without seeing another day. Sensing the weather is another way to appreciate the amazing power of God. We might see a beautiful sunrise, feel the warmth or the cold of the air, or hear the call of morning birds. God's creation is all around us; we should be amazed. As we prepare for the day ahead, we might eat breakfast, read the paper, or watch or listen to the morning news on television or radio. Each of these activities is possible, in the end, as a result of the amazing power of God. Next, many of us will travel to work via car, train, or bus. After our arrival, we labor long and hard for eight hours and then make the return trip home. How often in our day will we consider the amazing presence of God all around us? While much human effort is present, the energy, technical ability, and opportunity that generated what we have, comes from God. Yes, God is present in the miraculous, as when Jesus amazed the crowds with physical cures and his ability to control nature. But God is equally present in the routine, ordinary, and even mundane events of everyday life. God is present in our successes and joys, but the Lord is equally present in our failures and pain. God is present in every moment of every day; we must open wide our senses in order to perceive, experience, and fully appreciate what God does for us each day.
Day-to-day life, however, numbs our senses to God. Too often the only thing that seems to shake us from our lethargy of experience is something that is truly extraordinary, positive, or negative. Again, we must find ways to recapture the excitement and energy for life and most especially for our relationship with God. We must take the necessary time to find God in our daily lives. We rush from one event to another; our days are so filled with "things to do" we seldom, if ever, have any time to reflect upon life and how the amazing power and presence of God can be found in it. Thus, today we must overtly strive to discover God's presence in our world. In essence what we must do is empty out space in our lives so they can be filled with God's presence which comes to us in so many miraculous, as well as seemingly ordinary, ways. The need to concentrate less on our needs and what we think, and to seek God's presence is related in a humorous but illustrative story.
Fred Everybody, Thomas Somebody, Peter Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but not the type that most would want to know. They were odd people, troublesome, and difficult to understand. The way they lived their lives was a shame. These men all went to the same church, but most would not have wanted them as parishioners. Everybody went fishing on Sundays or stayed home and spoke with his friends. Anybody wanted to worship, but he was afraid that Somebody would speak with him. Thus, guess who went to church — that's right, Nobody. Actually, Nobody was the only decent one of the lot. Nobody did the parish census; Nobody joined the parish council. One day there was a call in the bulletin for people to apply for a position as a teacher in the religious education program. Everybody thought Anybody would apply; Anybody thought Somebody would apply. So, guess who applied? You are right — Nobody! My friends, let's not be an everybody, somebody, or anybody. Rather, let us truly strive to be a nobody. In such a way we empty ourselves so we can be filled with the amazing power of Christ, who died to set us free and, thus, will always be our brother, friend, and Lord.