1st Sunday of Advent

by David Lins  |  12/03/2023  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

This Sunday’s Gospel is all about being alert for Christ’s second coming. But we rarely think about what that means.

We should spend our days doing our best to hear and follow his will for our lives. In big decisions and small choices. We must be attuned to his will and listening for his promptings.

Years ago, I was wandering around the airport in Houston - waiting for my connecting flight - when I looked at a man in a chair looking back at me. It was Contemporary Christian Musician Matt Maher (who has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and GMA Songwriter of the Year in 2015).

Matt and I first met over 20 years ago at a multi-parish youth discipleship camp. I was the youngest youth minister there and he was brought in to do music. We’d seen one another every once in awhile at Catholic events ever since.

As we began to chat in the terminal, we realized we were on the same flight back to Phoenix. That was fairly random. Then - we found out we were seated next to each other. And that seemed more than random.

We boarded the plane - and it stayed there for something like two hours as crews tried to “fix the anti-skid controls.”

As Matt and I waited for pretty important sounding repairs to be done - we talked about our ministries, our futures, and our past. That’s when he told me something incredible. He said I was the one who introduced him to Christian music.

WHAT?!

He even remembered the album - “Take Me To Your Leader” by the Newsboys. Unbelievable.

Now…understand this: I know that if I didn’t introduce Matt to the possibility of using his gifts for God in this way, God could have used someone else.

…but my He didn’t have to.

And this isn’t about trying to take credit for anything, because I didn’t know what I was doing. Not really. All I knew was that I had a feeling he—as a musician—would enjoy the album.

But here’s the thing: if we pray, soak our lives in the sacraments, and stay alert, God can use us to change lives.

It’s true. He can always use someone else. But why don’t we all just do our best to follow his promptings so He doesn’t have to?