“What are you looking for?” A Reflection on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time by Angelica Rendek

“What are you looking for?” is a question that I often find myself asking. I’m sure that many of us have often asked ourselves what we are looking for. It is very rare that we ask this question and somebody approaches us and says, “Come and see.” But, it was only after time spent with Christ that the disciples announced that they had found the Messiah. What did they talk about when they followed Jesus to where he was staying? What thoughts did they share? How vulnerable were they with each other? Regardless of the answers to these questions, it was the time spent with him that they came to this revelation.
The church was dimly lit, the incense permeated the air, and there I sat. It was our monthly adoration and I couldn’t get the image out of my head. The image of an old church, out in the country, in the dead of winter. Snow surrounding it, warm were the people inside, doing exactly what I was doing at that moment. It was my grandmother’s church. The church that she fondly talked about her entire life. Often, we would go back and take her to visit and she always showed such excitement. While in adoration, I wondered how many times a week she would gather in a similar fashion. I wondered if after school, she looked forward to going to an adoration, a daily Mass, or a potluck at the town church. Back then, that church was their life. They helped build it, they helped repair it, and they helped keep it alive. This was their community and they cherished it deeply. I truly believe this is why after all her years, my grandmother still couldn’t wait to get to church, to see her friends, and share a meal together.
After all, the Mass is a meal. We gather, share stories, talk about our truths and then we sit down to eat. Before we eat, we pray. Sometimes it can be long or if we’re really hungry, short. But, in the end, we are in communion with each other. If you look up communion, Oxford Dictionary defines it as, “the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.” To be there for each other is to receive communion and to be with each other is to glorify God in your body. This is what Paul was talking about when he told us our body is for the Lord. We are all members of Christ and within each of us is the Holy Spirit. Although we can’t physically see Christ, Jesus is always walking beside us and through us. Because of this, I’ve received the best words from those that surround me. I have heard the voice of Jesus in many conversations. These conversations have the ability to feed us spiritually. Every time we’re together is an opportunity to directly and indirectly be graced with the living Christ. The words of Jesus are in all of us because we have the ability to act with and for the Holy Spirit through our actions and in our words. I believe that this is why my grandma always reflected on her church so fondly. It was because of the communion she received through the body of Christ and through gathering with her community.
In an age where the time spent at work is disproportionate to the time spent at home or in our community spaces, it is easy to get away from our true communion. Maybe this is what we’re looking for: togetherness. We are called by the Lord to go out and be with each other. For being with each other in our homes, offices, and places of gathering is to be with the body of Christ. Although it is important to receive God in the sacrament of communion, we do not just encounter God in the Holy Eucharist. If the Holy Spirit is within us, we are taking communion when we sit down for tea together, we are among the Lord when we carpool to a Tigers game, or when we’re sharing a meal. Even when we’re in our solitude, minding our own business, we are with the Lord because Christ is in us all! So, next time you’re with you’re at dinner, or getting coffee, or simply in self reflection- look around and, “Behold, the Lamb of God”

Tags: Adoration Communion Community Eucharist Ordinary Time