What are you looking for?

(Jn 1:38)

It is not by accident that you are in Couples for Christ. God called you into this community. And you responded positively. God has a very specific plan for you. And you will discover this plan as you mature in your personal relationship with Jesus.

When Jesus called his first disciples, it was Jesus who took the initiative. Slowly, he revealed himself to his disciples, and in turn the disciples discovered who he was. They confessed their faith in him and followed him.

In the Gospel of John, the disciples first confessed Jesus as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:35); then they called him Rabbi (Jn 1:38); then Messiah (Jn 1:41); and finally Son of God and King of Israel (Jn 1:49). Then after the disciples witnessed the miracle of the changing of the water into wine during the wedding at Cana, they “began to believe in him” (Jn 2:11).

The writer of the Gospel of John remembers the first time Jesus called his disciples (Jn 1:38-39): Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. John’s description of the calling of the first disciples is a timeless portrait of vocation. The first question that Jesus asks of those who wish to follow him is, “What are you looking for?” After the question is an invitation, “Come.” After the invitation is a promise, “and you will see.” Those who come and believe in Jesus become the new Israel, which literally means people who see God.

When Jesus called us into the community of Couples for Christ, he also asked us, what are you looking for? And each of us had given him an answer. He then invited us to come, and we did. We made our commitment, signed our covenant and joined Couples for Christ. For the great majority of our brothers and sisters, Jesus’ promise of “you will see” has been fulfilled. They have found Jesus in the community. They have seen and continue to see God on the faces and in the actions of their other brothers and sisters. They have felt and continue to feel God’s presence in the community. They have become people seeing God Emmanuel, God with us.

But a few of our brothers and sisters are still seeking, looking for something they cannot fully comprehend, searching for some elusive ideal which they themselves cannot fully understand. And so while they have already joined the community, they are still struggling to answer Jesus’ first question, what are you looking for? Unlike the first disciples, they are afraid to ask Jesus – Rabbi, where are you staying? – because they are still unable to really make the commitment to “stay with Jesus.”

Last week I attended an ASEAN meeting in Hanoi hosted by the Vietnamese government. Since it was the first Friday of the month, I requested the organizers of the meeting to find out if there was a First Friday Mass at the Hanoi Catholic Cathedral. There was. And the Mass was at six o’clock in the evening.

I arrived in church before six o’clock and saw that the Blessed Sacrament was exposed on the altar while the congregation (about 60-70 people) chanted prayers in Vietnamese. I noticed that all the men were seated on the left side of the church while all the women were on the right. So I seated myself with the men on the left. At six o’clock the Holy Mass began. I noticed that none in the congregation had a prayer book or songbook, and yet throughout the Mass the congregation chanted all the prayers loudly. And I mean chanted! They did not recite the prayers. They chanted them. They had memorized all the prayers!

After the Mass, I noticed that no one was making any move to leave. So I also stayed, although I was already late for an official dinner at 7 o’clock hosted by the Director General in the Vietnamese government. When the priest came out again, three boy servers carrying two candles and a crucifix accompanied him. Since I did not understand the prayers in Vietnamese, it took a while before I realized that we were doing the Stations of the Cross. Again I noticed that the priest and the entire congregation chanted all the prayers of the 14 Stations of the Cross from memory!

The Catholic community in Hanoi survived the many years of prohibition during the communist regime in former North Vietnam. The present Vietnam (composed of former North Vietnam and South Vietnam) is still a communist state but with her shift to market economy and her joining ASEAN, there is now more religious freedom.

The remnant of the people of God in Hanoi has made a commitment to stay with Jesus. They have found what they have been looking for. They have come to Jesus and, as Jesus has promised, they have seen and continue to see God’s presence in their small community of faithful believers.

The many years of communist rule have reduced the number of Catholics in Hanoi drastically. Indeed, all the young government officials whom I have asked all told me that they practice no religion. But the years of hardship have greatly strengthened the faith and devotion of the few that have remained faithful. This is evident in the fact that they have even committed to memory all their prayers. This is perhaps the result of the fact that for a long time they were not allowed to use their prayer books. And since all the prayers have remained imbedded in their mind, Jesus has also remained imbedded in their hearts.

It was four o’clock in the afternoon when the first disciples made the firm decision to stay with Jesus. Let us, today, make it the “four o’clock in the afternoon” of our life. When Jesus asks us, “What are you looking for?” let us respond, “We are looking for you, Lord, because you have the words of eternal life.” And then like the first disciples and the remnant of the people of God in Hanoi, let us make an even firmer decision to stay with Jesus who is present in our community. Let us ask our Lord Jesus Christ for the fulfillment of his promise that we will become “people seeing God” if we come and believe in him. And then we should praise and thank the Lord for giving us the grace of finding him and the joy of staying with him in the community of Couples for Christ.

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