Merry Christmas, everyone!

Today’s homily is a St. Anthony’s parish special: it’s for frustrated people.  To those who are visiting, our parish family is a frustrated group!  In the past year, we’ve talked about frustration twice, and the response has been very positive; and it’s only positive because we have a lot of frustration!  So if you struggle with frustration, you belong here with us.

On the day of our Lord’s birth, let’s focus on one truth that helps our frustration: Jesus is searching for us.  Why did God become man?  Because He’s searching for us.  Why did Jesus live, die, and rise?  Because He’s searching for us.  What is Pope Francis trying to do?  Search for those who are lost.

In the first reading for Christmas Mass at dawn, God tells His people that their name is “Sought out” (Is 62:12).  Isn’t that interesting?  Their name is Sought out.  That’s their identity; they’re the ones God’s searching for.  Think about that for a moment: in spite of whatever’s bothering us today or has been lately, God’s searching for us.  I’ve been thinking about this phrase for over two months in preparation for this homily, and every time I think, “I’m being sought out,” a peace comes over me.

Why is this so powerful?  Because it gives meaning to our frustration.  Things are frustrating when they seem useless.  Why do we get mad when we’re waiting in a line-up, in traffic?  Because it’s a waste of time.  Why do we get mad when we fail?  Because it was a waste of effort.  Why do we get frustrated when people treat us badly?  Because there’s no point to acting in a mean way.

But what if God’s using these things to speak to us, because He’s searching for us?  It’s not as frustrating, because there’s a meaning.  Over a year ago, I mentioned how I had some nights where I couldn’t sleep.  I’d be so tired but couldn’t fall asleep, and then I’d get frustrated.  Then one kind lady mentioned to me that whenever she can’t sleep, it’s because God wants to talk to her.  That was a game changer for me.  This one thought—that God wants to talk to me in the night—made it all worth it.  I’m never angry now if I can’t sleep, because God has another plan that night for me.

When God’s searching for us, He could be saying something as simple as, “Slow down, be more patient,” “Appreciate more of what you do have rather than what you don’t,” or “Even if someone else treats you badly, don’t respond in anger.”

It can also be more profound.  We talked once about a man here in our parish who lost his memory.  He worked himself around the clock and neglected his family.  “He woke up one day and totally lost his memory because of the stress he put himself under.  He couldn’t remember anything, including his wife and his own house; even today he is still indefinitely on long term disability.”  Could you imagine the frustration he felt?  But then he started seeing God working through this.  It was the only way to make him wake up and see what’s truly important in life.  God had been searching for him his whole life, but, like most of us, he was too busy to pay attention.  So God used this incident to speak to him.  Now he actually thanks God for the illness, because getting closer to God has made him a better person, and those of us who know him see his illness as a blessing in disguise, because we love having him here at the parish and we appreciate the gifts he brings.

Being sought out also means we’re not alone.  Jesus says in St. John’s Gospel, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33).

Does everyone know the famous poem Footprints in the Sand?  In it a woman is walking along the beach with Jesus, reviewing her life with him.  Throughout her life she sees two sets of footprints in the sand: hers and Jesus’.  But at the lowest and saddest times she sees only one set, and so asks, “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way…  I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”  Jesus responds, “My precious child… When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

In life, it’s usually the same things that frustrate us.  My guess is that if something is frustrating us now, this is not the first time; we’ve been here before.  Do we see a pattern?  What’s happening is that God is speaking the same message, but we don’t listen.  The only thing that can break the repetition of frustration is when we change our response, our daily habits.

This idea that we are sought out should be “proclaimed to the end of the earth” (Is 62:11): we should remind each other of it and teach it to our children.

The book we’ve given out tonight, Rediscover Jesus, is a simple but profound way through which God seeks us out.  There are only forty chapters, with the longest being six pages.

Let’s think again of the frustrations we have and know that we’re sought out: there’s meaning to what’s going on, and we’re not alone.