February 26, 2010
The Second Half
Looking for surprises
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
The trouble with these last several weeks of winter is that there are no more surprises. Unexpected visitors who were comfortable dropping in between Thanksgiving and Christmas never think about how nice it would be to stop by one day at the end of February. We have no more gifts to wrap for grandchildren, small plants to deliver as surprises for nursing home patients, or new ideas to try for the holidays. Valentine’s Day and Fat Tuesday were feeble, end-of-winter celebrations where we mostly sat around and ate stuff we shouldn’t in a final attempt at a little fun before Lent began. On the positive side, the banks of snow piled against the house have melted and left large brown patches of wet earth. Small shoots of green grass are already sprouting in the wet patches. Soon yellow and purple crocus will pop up between the blades of grass. It feels as though lots of little things are telling us to hang on, spring is not far ahead.
In Luke’s gospel, just before the reading for this Sunday, the disciples had witnessed the miracle of five thousand being fed with a few loaves and fish. Yet, in the days that followed this miracle, Jesus spoke not of glory but of his coming rejection, death and resurrection as well as the crosses they must bear as his disciples. That’s the way a life of faith unfolds for most of us. We bear the rejection and suffering we meet along the way while we barely take note of the resurrection promised at the end.
Peter, James and John could never have imagined what waited for them the day they agreed to climb the mountain with Jesus. In the glory of the Transfiguration, Peter behaved like Peter. Being a man of action, he decided to hold onto the surprise and joy of the moment by building something permanent. How often we behave the same way when we try to do everything we can to make a wonderful experience last! Those moments bring delight, lift our spirits and take us away from everyday routines, even though, invariably, we have to trudge back down the mountain into every day life while we wonder how long it will be before joy surprises us again.
Our grandchildren keep teaching us so much about the joy of surprise. Recently, when our son was going out of town, we surprised our daughter-in-law with a gift of free time by staying with the grandchildren. Jim took the girls out for the afternoon. I had play time with the boys. Angie was grateful to be able to get away. The surprise we planned for her spilled over into a great day for all of us. Our second-hand joy was as much fun as if they had planned the surprise for us. This morning Jamie and David ran in circles through the house. Each time they rounded the corner into the kitchen, they yelled, “Surprise, Grandma!” Though they did this more than a dozen times, I shared the joy of their surprise each time they appeared. This Lent, in spite of whatever darkness we face or the crosses we bear, we must not forget that always, just around the corner, God is waiting with surprises far beyond anything we can imagine.
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.