Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
There is a new Martin Scorsese film called “Silence.” The movie based on novel of historic-fiction is set in 17th century Japan. “Silence” captures the journey of two Jesuits to find their spiritual mentor who has gone there as a missionary but seems lost. I have not seen this movie and it does seem from its descriptions to be both violent and beautiful. This dangerous journey of these two Jesuits, answers God’s call for them to bring Christ to a country steeped in persecution to anyone who professes belief in Jesus. Their journey is both brutally physical and deeply spiritual as these men search for both their mentor and God.
One of the gifts of ministry is that we encounter others in the midst of their searching. The apostles find Jesus praying in a deserted place. They come to Jesus and tell him that everyone is searching for him. These words struck me as if I had not heard them before. So much of our lives are spent searching. We search for the right jobs, for the best schools, for the perfect house, for the best way to raise our children, for the best mass to attend with the best preaching and the worship music that fits each of us best.
My own searching is likely the reason that I am drawn to this scripture and this movie. In a world where so much of searching is for the temporal, the challenge becomes to enter with our whole being into searching for the Lord. The words of Saint Augustine at the beginning of the “Confessions” still ring true today; You have made us, Lord, for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Surely this is the longing that Mark is describing in today’s Gospel. So too this is the drive of the Spirit experienced by the saints and martyrs.
In prayer, each of must look within ourselves and reflect upon what is the focus of our search. The human heart is made to seek and to love God, and though God’s grace is enough, we sometimes search in the wrong ways. The readings remind us that Jesus came to be one with us, to heal us, to free us from all from sin and make us whole. As long as we are restless for the Lord, then we won’t be searching for silence.
Deacon Michael Montgomery