Recently I was blessed to drop in at Aquinas for a quick moment, only to later find myself among the MAPM (Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry) students from Oklahoma City. They are part of the Aquinas At-Home program and this particular Saturday was part of their studies. If I understand the gyst of it, we have talented folks from all over who are taking courses online and the deal is that they come in for some intense weekend study. Having finished high school in Oklahoma City, I should have immediately known that a blessing was coming for me.
Anyway, I was invited, along with my friend, to attend the 5pm Liturgy that was scheduled that day. George Boudreaux was the Presider and his homily included a dialogue, in the aftermath of Virginia Tech, about where can we find the resurrected Christ amidst violence. Violence like Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing.
The dialogue was amazing and incredibly touching. We talked about finding the Resurrection in forgiveness for the perpetrators, compassion for the perpetrators, selfless acts of courage, an increase in church attendance, in finding the “troubled” people BEFORE they can wreak havoc, and in understanding that there IS evil in the world and that the Cross and Resurrection means that we can contront that evil and overcome it.
Fast-forward a couple of days later and you have me meeting with a client (remember I have a part-time law practice). During this meeting I am laying out the options for my client to appeal an adverse action by a governmental agency. My client began to share with me how in the midst of his struggle with a work-related injury, failing to receive the approval to have surgery for the injury forced him to resign. Unfortunately for my client, his wife left him. She didn’t just leave him, though, she divided their family. You see, they have three daughters and, at the time, one was on her own already, the middle daughter was 15 and the youngest was around 10. What the mother decided to do was take the youngest daughter and leave the middle child with her father who had no job and few means to take care of either of them. (Let’s all cringe together!)
Suffice it to say, the Enemy was using my client’s wife and managed to destroy a family. Recalling the homily dialogue from just a couple of days prior, I was moved by the Spirit to ask my client, “Where can you find the resurrected Christ amidst that type of emotional violence that your ex-wife perpetrated against you and your daughters?” He stared at me with surprise and intrigue. I responded to the question this way…”You find it in your middle daughter getting married, having a family of her own and loving her children. You find it in your baby girl knowing that her father would never abandon her. You find it in your dignity and grace in court when your ex-wife was shouting mean things at you. And you find it in the fact that you are sitting right here with me, strong, resilient, loved. You are a survivor.”
This brought tears to both our eyes. My client said to me, “I needed to hear that. You see, I was really ready to give up. To call it quits. To end my life.” I said, “But you didn’t and here you are.” He said, “I needed someone to remind me of all that I have; not just what I had lost. It was like a beautiful poem and it was just for me.” I told him, “It simply came from God through me, because I’m not that eloquent.”
Everything happens for a reason. I was supposed to wander in to Aquinas and celebrate the Eucharist with people who lived the Resurrection after the bombing. They were supposed to touch me, so that I could touch my client. Now that’s Amazing Grace.
