Consider the following truths: none of us chose to be born; our existence is a gift. We did not earn or buy the life coursing through our bodies; it was simply given. When we opened our eyes this morning, life generously granted us another day. The breath in our lungs is offered to us, without cost, every second of our lives. Even something as simple as laughter comes to us as a surprise and a blessing. Indeed, everything about our lives is a grace, a kindness, and a godsend — including our spiritual lives. In today’s Gospel from Mark 1:14-20, we see that Jesus’ disciples were not looking for a teacher, a messiah, or a guru; Jesus chose them:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.”
My point for us today is this: every prayer, meditation, and act of devotion is literally a response to God’s loving overture, a response to grace. God always makes the first move! We love God because God first loved us. Think about the moment when Sri Yukteswar told Yogananda, “How many years I have waited for you!” Grace is everything. In the following poem from Rumi, a man complains to an angel about God’s unresponsiveness to his prayers. Contemplate the words of the angel:
The man said, “ I called and called
But God never replied, “Here I AM.”
The angel explained, “God has said,
‘Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me
Is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love
Are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding
Every call of “God”
Waits a thousand replies of
“Here I AM.’”
