July 17, 2009
The Second Half
Chasing the Rabbit
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
Father Edward Hays begins his book, “In Pursuit of the Great White Rabbit,” with the story of a dog that jumps up to chase a passing rabbit. Other dogs join the chase, but they quickly give up while the dog that began the chase tirelessly pursues the rabbit. The first dog never gives up because it was the only one that actually saw the rabbit. The rest of the dogs had no first hand experience of what they were chasing and as soon as they got tired, they quit. The moral of the story is that the thing that sustains us on our spiritual journey is a personal encounter with God.
We used to imagine that by the time we reached this point in our lives we would have achieved our goals and we would be resting. Instead, we find our days full, going from one worthwhile endeavor to the next. Last Friday we wrapped up Vacation Bible School. This week we have begun preparing for RCIA and CCD this fall. There is great joy in the work, because each new venture is just our way of barking out the news that God invites all of us to pursue him. Still, we need places to come away and rest for a while. Tomorrow, we will leave for a few days of retreat, and hope to return better able to serve those who find themselves searching for something more. Even as we decide what to pack, we are choosing which pieces of work to take with us.
Sometimes, all of us get weary and want nothing more than to stop and rest for a little while. In this Sunday’s Gospel that’s what happened to the disciples. They had been out spreading the Gospel and returned to Jesus to report all they had done. Jesus gathered all of them and took them off to a deserted place to rest, only to find a huge crowd waiting for them. Instead of sending everybody home so they could have a much-needed retreat, Jesus and his disciples just picked up where they had left off and kept on working. No rest for the weary.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, Andrew and, according to tradition, John, were the first two men to become disciples of Jesus. From what is written of some of the other disciples, we know they were either called by Jesus or brought to him by others. The interesting thing about John and Andrew is that they chose to leave John the Baptist and initiated contact with Christ. What did they see in Christ that caused them to believe he was the one they had been seeking? Jesus asked the same question of them he asks of each of us: “What are you looking for?”
By the time we are in the second half of life, most of us have spotted the elusive rabbit more than a few times. Sometimes we try to lead the pack pursuing the God of our faith, and sometimes when we turn around for a moment, we find ourselves running alone. We keep on going, not because of what other people have told us, but because every now and then, usually deep in a valley or high on a hilltop, we have come face to face with the Great White Rabbit.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.