I had never met him before so I didn't know what he looked like. From our phone conversation I judged that he was young; late 20's or early 30's. I arrived at the chain restaurant early to enjoy a good cup of coffee and take in the headlines from the paper. He entered the double doors and walked right over with extended hand interrupting my quiet time. He knew me or picked me out of dozens of professionals with a luck of the draw. How did he do that?
Our conversation covered a broad spectrum of topics but at every turn he spoke as if he knew me fairly well. This business professional had done his homework I thought. To be honest, I was unnerved at his knowledge about my life and yet his manner put me at ease with a convincing warmth. All was safe. We took care of the business and the stranger left me with assurance, optimism and trust in 30 minutes or less. Again I asked "How did he do that"?
In "The Guide To Almost Anything Jesuit" James Martin, SJ describes how Jesus meets people. In the Gospels, Jesus often meets people in the midst of their busy lives. For instance Peter mending his nets at the seashore or Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. Jesus also encounters people at their absolute worst like the woman ready to be stoned or the woman with the terminal illness or the man possessed, raging through the cemeteries.
In all of these situations God said to these people "I am ready to meet you if you are ready to meet me" (p.85). They were busy, stressed out or burned out, at their wits end, some almost ready to end it all. Jesus shows up and inserts himself into the person's crazy life and says "let's meet". Jesus sought and found whom he was looking for.
Martin writes "If God meets you where you are, then where you are is a place to meet God". Your life does not have to be in order. You don't have to wait till you "clean things up" or the kids leave home or your marriage is perfect. You don't have to wait till you get more religious or go to church more. You don't have to wait for any of that because God is ready now.
The Advent of Christ is coming, ready or not.
