Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For darkness shall cover the earth,    and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you,    and his glory will appear over you.  Nations shall come to your light,    and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60: 1-3)
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
   who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 

 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matthew 2: 1-12)

For centuries, the Jewish people were awaiting the coming of the Messiah. They prayed for the Messiah; they waited for his coming; everyone anticipated this great event. And when he came, the ones who should have cared the most paid no attention.

Notice in this reading, that the three wise men go to Herod and ask him where the Messiah is going to be born. Herod consults the chief priests and scribes, who were the religious men of their day. Certainly of all people, they would know where the Messiah was to be born. And sure enough, they did know. They told the wise men that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. And so the wise man set off for that place.

But did the scribes or Pharisees say to them, “Wait! Let us go with you.” No. Here, all of their lives, they had been waiting for and praying for the Messiah, and now they have some wise astrologers come, tell them that they have seen the Messiah’s star, and ask where the Messiah is to be born. The wise men set off to see the Messiah and the religious leaders of their day are indifferent. It was almost as if they could not be bothered to go to see the Messiah whom they had prayed for so diligently all of these years. They could not get out of their comfort zone and go and see if the wise men might be right.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied this when he wrote, “Darkness covers the earth and thick clouds the people.” The darkness is a spiritual darkness when licentiousness is seen as liberty, lies are seen as natural, and holiness is shunned. Isaiah is showing that a light is coming, the light of the truth, and this light brings joy, it brings light to the nations.

We are to be the light who bring Christ to the world. But we can’t do this unless we get out of our comfort zone. It is not easy to witness God’s love to others. It’s not easy to go to those who might not even want to hear about Christ. It’s much easier to stay in our own circles and talk about Jesus with people who want to hear about him. But God asks us to get out of our comfort zone. “Darkness covers the earth and thick clouds the people.” We are to be a light in that darkness.

The Magi were bringing gifts to a King, but he was not the King that they had expected. They did not say, “Well, this cannot be the King. This peasant girl and carpenter father cannot be his parents. The parents of the King? We’re going to take our gifts back.” No, they believed the star, the light, and fell down and worshiped the Christ child and gave him their gifts. The wise men were truly wise. They could see through the darkness and find the light. They knew that the Holy Spirit may come in a guise we do not recognize.

A young student whom I will call Peter was walking on the college campus one day when he saw the most depressed looking young man sitting on a bench. Peter felt sorry for this young man but did not know what he could do for him so he began to pray for the man. As he walked by, Peter heard an interior voice say to him, “Tell that young man that I love him, that Jesus loves him.” Peter knew that this was the voice of the Holy Spirit, but he began to wrestle with the Spirit. “I don’t know that man. How can I go up to him and tell him that Jesus loves him? He might even punch me! I have no idea how he will respond if I just go and talk to him.” With these and similar arguments, he tried to get out of the task at hand. But as he kept walking, the Holy Spirit again accosted Peter with these interior words, “You are my disciple to that man. Go and tell him that Jesus loves him.” The voice was so insistent that Peter gave him. At first he sat on the side of the bench farthest away from the young man and then gradually sidled closer to him. When he was within what seemed like a comfortable distance from the fellow, Peter said to him, “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. But I do know who my Master is, and He, my God, told me to tell you that Jesus loves you.” When the young man heard this, he began to weep for joy.

If we want to pierce the darkness, we have to get out of our comfort zone. We have to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead even into the unknown and into the places where we would rather not go. But God is calling us to spread the message of light, and the places that need the light are now in the dark. Get out of your comfort zone! Someone may need you who is in the dark.

--Transcribed from a homily by Fr. James Kumbakkeel, O.S.B