On the 2nd Sunday in Lent, the Transfiguration of Our Lord, Sr. Terry received an email from an old friend: "The morning meditation in The Living Gospel suggested that I remember a transformative experience and share it. Okay, here it is."
I had not noticed any bugs on my first trip to Israel. That time I had come laden with thirty-five years of hopes and expectations and preconceived notions of The Holy Land: not Israel, not even Jerusalem, just “The Holy Land.” I had no room for bugs. I had come to find Jesus. I had come to renew my faith. Now don't get me wrong. I was in no way disappointed with my first experience. In fact, at many sites I was profoundly moved. I was not disappointed, and yet…
Back to the bug…
I was playing guitar at a mass on the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. We had walked through the trees from the church to be right next to the water and out of sight of the tour buses and the other pilgrims. There was a pause after Communion to give us a time for silent meditation. And then, there it was, hanging in the air, shining golden in the sunlight. I wondered if Jesus had seen a bug like this. Of course he had. He had experienced everything that was present to me right now. That was my moment. I was totally captivated by the thought of this connection and, in that instant, time stopped. Everything else faded away. Two thousand years disappeared. Then, very slowly, I became aware—first of the sounds: the rustling whisper of the wind blowing through the trees, the gentle rhythmic rippling of the water against the rocky shore, the soft bright chatter of the birds in the trees. My eyes were the next to be opened. A tall, white bird walked slowly through the gently waving reeds by the shore. The glass clear water deepening to blue as the small cove opened out into the Sea of Galilee. The mottled browns and greens on the opposite shore, rose to the grey of the rocky Golan Heights with the sea blue sky and the soft, white clouds floating above. Warm, dry air with a faintly cool breeze on my face completed the moment. It was beautiful. Not because Jesus had been here. Not because a tour book had called it a “holy place.” No wonder Jesus had come here to rest with his friends. And though there certainly had been changes, the spirit of the place was the same for us as it had been for him two thousand years ago. In fully experiencing the moment, I had found Jesus.
I spend much of my life finding only what I expect to find: in people, in places, and even in myself. With God's grace, may we all let go of our limits and find what God has hidden right in front of our eyes.
Jaime Rickert is a pastoral associate at St. Ann’s Church, Ossining, N.Y. Along with RENEW's Sr. Terry Rickard and Sr. Maureen Colleary, Jaime was also a member of the Archdiocese of New York Parish Mission Team.