God has ONE PLAN and it is my job to speak, so that I do not miss the opportunity to help Him to make His plan a reality…
There is a saying that people attribute to Saint Francis of Assis, and it goes like this…
“Preach the Gospel. Sometimes use words.”
In fact, Saint Francis of Assisi never said these words. Instead, he consciously and actively preached the Gospel.
And he did this because Christ told us to do that. He told us to SPEAK the Gospel.
“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-22).
When Saint Andrew found Christ he did not speak only with his actions. Instead, he spoke with words. He immediately went to his brother Simon and said, “We have found the Messiah (which interpreted means Christ). And he led him to Jesus.” (John 1:41-42).
Without those words – without that speaking, Simon would never have become SAINT PETER.
And though we hear the one sentence that was uttered, there were certainly more. Although we hear the few words spoken there were certainly more. After all, if someone walked into my ounge room and announced that they had met God Himself, I would certainly be interested to hear how and why…
And in hearing those spoken words in having those conversations, Saint Andrew was able to help in the moulding of Saint Peter. And when it was his time to die – crucified on an X-shaped cross, Saint Andrew is said to have spoken again and the words that legend has recorded him as saying are, “O good Cross, made beautiful by the Body of the Lord: long have I desired you, ardently have I loved you, unceasingly have I sought you out; and now you are ready for my eager soul. Receive me from among men and restore me to my Master, so that He – who, by means of you, in dying redeemed me – may by you receive me.”
And those words too have such power. It was not just the speaking of the words it was the actions as well. And without those two things working together, there would have been no Saint Andrew and no Saint Simon Peter and there would have been no first Pope of the Catholic Church – no rock upon which Christ was building. You see, God does not have a plan B. He has ONE PLAN and it is my job to speak, so that I do not miss the opportunity to help Him to make His plan a reality…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.