Sensitivity to God

Even in his mother's womb, John the Baptist was sensitive to the Presence of God.  When Elizabeth heard the sound of Mary's voice in greeting, the baby lept in her womb.  Later, in his ministry, John's heart lept when he heard the sound of Jesus' voice; he may have been the only one who saw the dove descend from heaven at Jesus' baptism.  John's mission -- to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness -- was based on his sure and certain knowledge that the salvation of God was near, that the long-awaited Messiah was about to arrive.

How wonderful it would be to be sensitive to the work of God.  We know that God is always at work, but we do not always know what He is doing in our lives.  I know someone whose gift is that of recognizing what God is doing in the lives of other people.  Like John the Baptist, she is able to point out: "There He is; behold, the Lamb of God."

One of the bishops who attended the Second Vatican Council wrote in his notes that the Church had always believed its mission was to carry Jesus to the heathen who did not know Him.  After listening to one another at the world-wide council, however, what the bishops slowly came to realize was that God is at work in all peoples, all nations, all cultures.  The "heathen" ceremonies that have been observed for centuries often have within them the elements of Christianity; they embed within their pagan rituals the truths that God has fully made known in Jesus Christ.  If that is true, then the task of the missionary is to be sensitive to God, to see where He already is at work in the lives of people and cultures.

Let us pray that God will open our eyes and our hearts to recognize Him hidden in ways foreign to us, unfamiliar to us.  Like John the Baptist, may we also have the gift of saying to others, "Look! There is God at work in your life!"