Read the signs
A few of the priests and people of this diocese made a quick trip to Valleyfield this week so we could be present for the joyous occasion of the Installation of their new bishop and so that we could join with the priests and people of that diocese who were there to witness this new beginning in his life. The hospitality we encountered there was absolutely wonderful. From the moment of our arrival, it was evident that no effort had been spared to make sure that their guests were cared for. In the airport, a simple sign bearing the word Valleyfield helped us to identify the gentlemen who had come to meet us, and who would transport us to the hotel. In the hotel, there was a hospitality desk where two women were waiting to point out all the details that we could possibly need to know. At the Basilica, members of the welcoming committee wore small badges which identified them as the ones who could point us in the right direction, and even yesterday morning, when the festivities were complete, one of the team came to the hotel to make sure that any lingering concerns were tended to.
Hospitality such as this is an art. It necessitates an ability to anticipate the needs of guests and a knowledge of how to respond to those needs. The printed sign that identified our chauffeur was evident to us because we had been instructed to look for it, but to other passengers arriving in the airport terminal, it would have been all but invisible. The hospitality table at the entrance to the hotel could have been put there for any number of functions, except that the women who were there identified us, in some cases before we ourselves even realized they were there and went out of their way to ensure our comfort. Each of the members of this team played a part in making this visit such a success for us, and we are all forever grateful.
At the beginning of the Lenten season, today’s gospel places us with Jesus in the desert, a place which is well known to be characterized by inhospitable elements, but there is no mention of the extreme heat, or the blazing sun. No doubt these elements were well known to Mark’s readers. In fact, the mere mention of the desert conjures even today an image of extremes where humans would perish if they were not familiar with life in such an environment. Beyond the immediate concern for human comfort, the evangelist seems to want us to understand that this was a time in Jesus’ life when he himself was being called to pay attention to the signs placed before him: Satan presented temptations, meant to dissuade him from his mission, and even though the wild beasts were present, there is no mention of them wanting to do him harm.
The desert image speaks to all of us because from the day of our own baptism, we have all been invited to grow in our knowledge of the love of God. Growth of this kind means that we must be attentive to the signs that God places in our path. At times, these signs are not as apparent as the one that greeted us in the Montreal airport this week. Instead, we need to learn to look for them with the eyes of faith. If Noah was not able to hear God’s voice, he would never have known that the rainbow was meant as a sign for him. If the author of the letter of Peter had not himself known Jesus, he would never have been able to see beyond the suffering and death of crucifixion to understand that this was really God’s way of giving us life.
The signs of faith are all around us, but we have to be able to perceive them. Could it be that God is calling each of us this Lent to open our eyes anew, to see the signs he uses to point us in the right direction? Could it be that we are being invited to listen with ears of faith so that we can hear his gentle voice calling us to follow him? Could it be that a hospitality beyond our wildest imaginings awaits us? The signs are there, but the question remains: are we looking for them? And when we see them, will we pay attention to them, or will we walk on by, caught up in the bustle of our own lives, and miss the ride that is meant to bring us to the celebration that is prepared?
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