Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
God, in his infinite wisdom, will allow terrible things to happen and will intervene in ordinary and extraordinary ways to alleviate those terrible things. This paradox can be tough for us to wrestle with but I want to spend some time on the latter half of it today.
Often God’s intervention comes through the people God calls, just as he called St. Vincent de Paul to a life of virtuously serving the poor. Occasionally that intervention comes in the form of miraculous healings or wondrous deeds.
This first kind of intervention is happening all the time. This is what is meant by a universal call to holiness and this is what we mean when we say that we are all called to be disciples. We are all called to be agents of God’s intervention in the world.
The second batch is a little less common, and we may wonder, why? Why does an all-powerful, all-loving, and all-good God not miraculously heal every sick child and deliver everyone from danger and suffering? There are a number of responses that one could give here and many are probably insufficient for someone who is in the midst of suffering. Knowing my inability to answer for God, I’d rather reflect on “Why does God sometimes choose the miraculous route, over the ordinary?” Why does God heal the eyes of a boy who had too much silver nitrate dropped in them? Why does God give sight to a blind girl while leaving her eyes in the same physical condition?
There are likely many answers to those questions, but I think one is given to us in today’s Gospel. Luke records, “While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Pay attention to what I am telling you’.” I think God chooses the miraculous and extraordinary to get our attention. God doesn’t do miraculous things because he is trying to wow us into belief. God does miraculous things in order to get us to slow down and listen. He wants us to love the Giver not the gifts.
I like to think of it this way. If I’m confronted with a loud room of people and I need their attention, I tend to raise my voice and shout and make a bunch of noise. I make it about how loud I can be. When God is confronted with a world full of busy people who need to be paying attention, there is a different response. God doesn’t shout loudly, use a megaphone, or clap three times to see who will clap along. Instead God, does something incredibly loving. It is not about convincing us how loud He is, but how loving He is. He is the creator of the human heart and knows that we will pay attention to love.
So let’s bring this full circle. God allows terrible things to happen and will either intervene in extraordinary ways or ordinary ways. One reason He uses the extraordinary is to get our attention. I believe this same principle applies when he is giving us the grace to intervene. He calls us to intervene out of love and with love in order to get people’s attention. This is why we honor St. Vincent de Paul today. Out of love and with love he got people’s attention and directed that attention toward God and the poor.
We may not be called to solve homelessness in our community but I think we should take some time to look around and be open to where God is calling us to love.
- - Spencer Hargadon