A friend of mine has had an interesting life. He was a committed Protestant when I first met him in High School. So much so that soon after college, he and his wife went to live as missionaries on a small island in the Philippines. He worked teaching literacy to the people so they could read and study Scripture. They were supported by a well-known missionary society.

However, he became very ill and had to be evacuated to the US. While he was recuperating, he collaborated with his wife, who is an author of books for Bible study groups. While researching the early Church, they both began to realize the teaching and liturgy of early Christianity were in continuity with Catholicism much more than in any of the Protestant church communities of today.

After years of reflection, they entered RCIA in a local parish and, at Easter Vigil, proclaimed their faith in all that the Church teaches and received communion for the first time. He now works as a pastoral associate in that same parish.

My friend and his wife had their life planned out, and it was a life serving God, until their life took an unexpected turn and sent them down a new path. 

Have your plans ever been disturbed by something unexpected, either something great or something sad? Perhaps you are experiencing life-changing disturbances right now. It can be in those moments that we hear the voice of God. 

We often overlook those moments when God speaks to us, those times when he “disturbs” our lives and shakes us out of our slumber and complacency. To be honest, we often hate to move out of our well-defined and secure comfort zone. Could it be that we miss those moments because we tend to believe that our life is in our control, not God’s? Or could it be that we perceive that the goal of our faith is to acquire blissful moments of pure relaxation, free of all disturbances or trouble?

The stories in today’s readings are of people whose lives took unexpected turns, disturbed not by the troubles of the world, but by grace. These are stories of how the Prince of Peace comes to disturb our peace. If the Prince of Peace is to bring real peace, he must expose the contradictions that are robbing us of that real peace. He exposes himself to our angry denials and hostility as we try to regain control over our lives. 

In the first reading, we heard about Samuel, a mere boy whose slumber has been repeatedly disturbed by none other than God himself. God called him to a prophetic ministry that would thereafter define his life. From the secure and risk-free life as a priest’s apprentice, he is now summoned by God to the often dangerous task of a trustworthy prophet of the Lord, exposing God’s will to the people, making and unmaking kings. The Lord has come to disturb Samuel from his peaceful slumber so that he may disturb the conscience of the king and the nation and call them to repentance and liberate them from the evil that had enslaved them.

In the Gospel, the first disciples of Jesus are called. Their contented lives as disciples of another renowned preacher, St John the Baptist, are shaken up and disturbed by the call to follow the Lamb of God. It must have seemed odd to follow a lamb, a creature not known for boldness or wisdom. They were soon to learn that this lamb is no soft cuddly pet, but the One who has come to set the hearts of his followers aflame with the fire of God’s love.

The two men follow Jesus at a distance, intrigued but not committed. Their cautious distance would be upended when Jesus turns around and poses a disturbing question to them: “What are you looking for?” Isn’t this the perennial question of every searching soul? They answer not with the words of deep longings and stirrings within their heart. Instead, they answer a question with a question: ” Master, where do you live?” In reply, Jesus issues the invitation which he issues to all of us, “‘Come and See’!” Only one who accompanies will see.  Jesus’ invitation was more than social niceties or oriental hospitality.

Jesus’ “‘Come and See’” is an invitation to acknowledge that we have embraced the world and its deceptive allure, forsaking our thirst for life-giving waters. It’s an invitation to being unsettled and jolted out of our accustomed comfort with sin. “‘Come and See’” requires us to broaden our perspective beyond the familiar and pull out into the deep. It beckons us to take risks and step into the unknown. Embracing “‘Come and See’” means relinquishing everything to gain everything in the person of Christ, an incomparable treasure.

Today, Jesus continues to ask, “What are you looking for?” and to challenge, “‘Come and See’!”. He invites the lost, confused, and directionless, ‘‘Come and See’. If you have lost your job and wonder what God wants of you, he invites you to  ‘Come and See’. If you ache with a pain that soaks up any good feelings, ‘Come and See’. And if you are feeling content, and full beyond compare, definitely ‘Come and See’.

My friend and his wife, newly come home to the Catholic Church, answered the call to ‘Come and See’ and it took them out of their old life and into new life.

The disturbing but transforming power of grace is still present and the Spirit is still calling disciples. You will only hear his voice when you are ready to be disturbed by his grace. We come to realize that even in our sins, failures, and limitations, we do not have to journey to find an elusive God. We have only to turn and hear the call “Come and See’.  God never stops calling us, God never stops disturbing us, and God never stops searching for the lost sheep, because this is a God who will never stop loving us.