God’s presence among us
A mother was asked by her child, “Can you tell me where Jesus is?” She replied, “Can you name one place where Jesus is not?” In this after Easter season we can be certain that Jesus is among us, as he was with his disciples in the forty days after his resurrection.
Let me share a story that makes it easier for us to recognize Jesus among us. In 1981, a management consultant boarded a flight home to Kansas City. As passengers entered a silence suddenly moved up the aisle. Jim Castle stretched to see the cause, and his mouth dropped open.
Two nuns came up and stopped by his seat. He recognized Mother Teresa, who was going to be his travel companion. As passengers settled, the nuns pulled out their rosaries. Each decade was a different color. “The decades represent areas of the world,” Mother Teresa said. “I pray for the poor and dying on each continent.”
As the airplane taxied to the runway, the two women began to pray. Jim found himself joining in the prayer. By the time they finished, the plane had reached cruising altitude.
Mother Teresa turned toward him. For the first time in his life, Jim understood what people meant when they spoke of a person possessing an “aura.” As she gazed at him, a sense of peace filled him; …he felt it.
"Young man," she inquired, "do you say the rosary often?" "No, not really," he admitted. She took his hand. Then she smiled. "Well, you will now." And she dropped her rosary into his palm.
In the next few months, Jim lent this rosary to a few people who needed it. One woman was cured from ovarian cancer, another one from a deep depression, and another left her coma and died very peacefully with a beautiful expression on her face.
Jim's own life changed, too. When he realized Mother Teresa carried everything she owned in a small bag, he made an effort to simplify his own life. "I try to remember what really counts - not money or possessions, but the way we love others," he said.
You and I have encountered the presence of Jesus in his saints living among us. I had the privilege of sharing the rosary with several of the saints that have since gone on to heaven. At the time, I realized what a great blessing it was to share those occasions this side of the grave.
We don’t all get to share a seat with Mother Teresa, but we do get a chance to be Jesus to others and to appreciate the daily opportunities for these encounters. A priest moved to serve an impoverished remote community. After his first Mass there, a parishioner said. “We are poor in many ways, but we are rich in one thing – Jesus lives with us.” Jesus definitely lives with us.
That makes it easier to face all of life’s challenges, even death. The late Phil Robertson, professional football player and host of Duck Dynasty for five years on TV said: “All die. That is a fact. But in Christ, all will be made alive again.
“Our loved ones who have gone before us… they’re still alive. They are just separated from their body... Thank you for that great hope… And Lord, when you come back, Jesus, you’re bringing them all back with you. Thank you for that great hope.”
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