DOES GOD MICROMANAGE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B, is, “Does God Micromanage?”

VOCATIONS

We are supposed to preach today on Vocations? What to say?

We pray to the Holy Spirit as today’s first reading begins that we all do good deeds to others. 


We pray for parents to be good parents - to impart and be examples of love and giving - aware that kids pick up everything they see - except their toys. Kids learn by imitation. So to pray and then try to practice the good stuff. 


We pray that teachers and nurses and doctors and accountants and engineers - and all workers - be wide awake servants - working for others - giving a good day's work for a good day's salary. 


We pray that there be priests and nuns and brothers - for the service of the church - the people of God - teaching people how to get to know God as today’s second reading proclaims - as well as knowing the voice of the Shepherd as today’s gospel proclaims. 


In other words - that all be Good Shepherds with an eye on people as the focus - rather than be the hired man - as Jesus says in today’s gospel - with an eye on the pay check.

DOES GOD HAVE A PLAN?

As I thought about vocations, I asked myself a few questions: Does God have a plan for every person?  Does every person have a vocation - a calling in life?  If we don’t discover and then do that vocation, that calling, will we be basically unhappy, incomplete, unfulfilled - always have a spiritual and a human itch for more - for that something that is missing? 

Obviously, as priest, I hear mention of “God” a lot - but what about “God having a plan” - or what about “God’s will” for us?

Big questions. I think we all think about God’s plan, God’s idea, God’s Will,  from time to time.  Does God have blueprints or scripts?

Is it God’s will or in God’s plans that Charlie die while on vacation in Italy - at the age of 66 - just after he retired -  and he and his wife Cassandra never had a real trip like this since their honeymoon - and that was in the Poconos a long time ago?  Does God send snow in April and the flowers and trees and animals are all faked out? How does weather and a deer running into a car work?

How does God work? What are we praying for when we say in the Our Father, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

If God has plan, a will, how specific is it? Or in other words the title and question of my homily for today is, “Does God Micromanage”?

FIRST OF ALL: WHAT DOES MICROMANAGE MEAN?

Those who use the word, usually mean it to complain about a boss or a someone above them - who is picky, picky, picky.

Those who use the word “micromanage” use it to describe someone who is a “control freak” or shriek. They delegate a job to us - but they keep checking up on us - keep looking at the small details of a job. They are at the door looking in or over our shoulder and they are breathing down our neck. They keep telling us how to do a job they gave us to do. And they  keep feeding us with tiny, tiny ways they want us to do a job.

SECONDLY: WHY WOULD SOMEONE MICROMANAGE?

I assume there are two kinds of people who micromanage. The first type would be those who are neat, very neat by nature. They see everything. They want the job done and done rightly.  


I’m definitely not that type. Show me your room or the trunk of your car and I’ll tell you who you are. 


However,  I’ve met those who are that way and it doesn’t seem to take much effort to be that way. “Just doing what comes naturally.”

Years ago I was preaching at all the Masses in a parish where we were going to preach a parish mission that coming week.

I’m standing in the back of church on a Saturday evening - all ready for the 5 PM Mass.  It’s about 10 to 5.

An usher standing back there introduces himself and spots a Cheerio on the floor. He picks up that one tiny Cheerio and pockets it.  I’ve seen parents come with those little zip lock see through plastic bags with Cheerios in them for their kids at Mass. A kid must have dropped a Cheerio on the way in or out of church.

The usher then spots the pastor coming in the vestibule door and he’s talking to some parishioners. He asks me if I met the pastor yet. I say, “Yes!” The usher says, “He’s very neat - very, very neat.”

Then while the pastor is still out there in the vestibule,  the usher says to me with a smile on his face, “Come with me and watch this.”  I follow him. The usher then reaches into his pocket and takes out  the Cheerio that he picked up on the floor. He places it on the flat edge of the back bench about 20 yards away. We are out of the view of the pastor. Then he tells me, “Come back to the center" - we're still in the back - "and watch what happens when the pastor comes in. He’ll spot that Cheerio in about 1 second and a half.”

Sure enough the pastor comes in: black suit. French cuffs. Hair perfect like mine always is. Shoes shinned bright. He says to me, “Nice crowd!” and while saying that he spots something and walks the 20 or so yards, picks the Cheerio up and pockets it. Then he comes back and says that he’ll go up front now and introduce me. He made no comment about the Cheerio. He did the Cheerio removal move while on  remote.

That coming week I experienced a very neat and very detailed pastor in action. Being a slob, I was a bit nervous at time - but I knew, come Friday morning I’d be on the road again.

WILLIE NELSON

Speaking of Willie Nelson, myself and another priest, named John, who was my boss, and about  86% neat, were watching the 10 o’clock news one night. On came a story about Willie Nelson and marijuana. Willie was wearing his jeans and faded T-shirt - his red bandana around his head, which had long braids as well as a scraggily beard. John says to me, “Who is this guy?” I say, “That’s Willie Nelson!” And he says, “That’s Willie Nelson! Oh my God no. I liked his songs till now.”

I always liked Willie Nelson’s songs before and after that incident, - especially, “On the Road Again” - “Can’t wait to get back on the road again!”  That song hits me at times when I have to deal with rigid, my way or the highway, micromanaging,  type of person on the road of life - someone who gets me to want to be on the road again.

Then there are a second type that micromanage. This type we like. These are the ones who spot viruses - and terrorists - and hair in the French Fries - before they get to a customer's tray.

BACK TO GOD

Now is God a micromanager?

That to me is a great question - and it sounds to me that I'm hesitating to get to it.

Don’t you love it when you are at the Q. and A. session - after a talk? Or are you the type that wants to run. Gentlemen start your engines. I love it when someone asks a question and the speaker says, “Now that’s a good question.” You figure it’s giving the speaker  time to figure out where to go with what the speaker thinks the person is asking or really asking.

I like Q. and A. situations - because they can provide “Ah ha” moments - sometimes better than a whole speech. 


A significant learning moment in my life took place way back in the late 1960’s - in the Hilton Hotel in New York City - where well over a thousand people met for a power breakfast on the Drug problem in New York. The main speaker was Governor Nelson Rockefeller and someone asked a question. I don’t remember the question, but I remember the answer. Rockefeller didn’t say, “Now that’s a good question.”  He said, “Are you crazy? I wouldn’t answer that. Next!”

For the past 45 years I’ve sort of used Nelson Rockefeller's approach. When someone asked certain questions, I would say, “I can’t answer that!” Or, “I wouldn’t know how to answer that.” “Are you crazy? That’s a set up question.” Sometimes I add, “I don’t think that’s a question. I think you already have an answer to your question.”

Now back to the question: “Does God micromanage?”

Answer: “I don’t know!”

That would be my primary answer.

I don’t know. I don’t know God.

 

In fact I get scared when people say,  “This is what God wants!” or “This is God’s will.”  I don’t know if it’s true in that situation - other than to say, “God wants us to love one another and care for his stuff!” 


I noticed in the paper the other day that some priest in that trial that’s going on in Philadelphia was said to have said to some kid that it was God’s will that the kid do what the priest wanted him to do. Now that’s a horror show. And when fanatics of any religion think they have God’s will and then do other horrible things, uh oh.

Think about your life and your experiences. Have you ever winced or squeezed you face muscles in disbelieve when someone pulled the, “This is God’s will” statement on you one to one or from the pulpit or what have you?

We have a whole generation of Redemptorists in our province who went through the seminary with a priest in charge who thought that whatever he decided when it came to telling a seminarian that he didn’t have a vocation - and he would have to leave - that his decision was God’s will. I think many of us who reflected upon that experience, hesitate when anyone says, “This is God’s will.”

It took me a while, but that experience taught me experientially that I think that’s crazy. 


Years later, I ended up having a similar job for 9 years and I had to make decisions on future priests and brothers. If I cut someone even though it was not their choice, I inwardly prayed deeply to God. I would say to them, “Sorry, I don’t know if this is God’s will or not, but this is my decision.” And I made it with advice from an assistant and I forced myself to put my reasoning into writing and I’d give the seminarian a copy and gave him time to challenge me - if he wanted to. Then I had to send my recommendation to those above me for a decision.

To say something is God’s will can be a form of idolatry - just as it is to say or think that my image and likeness of God is God.

What is your image of God? Have you ever checked it out with God in prayer and study and reflection with others?

So does God micromanage?

I think God is aware of everything in the universe as well as a billion, trillion, gazillion other things, all the time. He’s keeping in existence the tiniest little algae at the deepest part of the ocean as well as germs on the head of pin as well as a door knob as well as a sore left back foot on an old elephant in Kenya right this second.

I think God gave us humans free will - choice - selection - and we can choose what we choose - within our limitations - so if we decide to fly up to the ceiling in this church to change a light bulb if it was out - we can’t. But we can choose to change a light bulb that is out with whatever gadget or machine they have to change light bulbs in a place like this.

Then there is grace, nudges, notices, angels, experiences, messengers, messages from God to help us - but these are mysterious and I am not scared to say out loud, “These have me baffled!” They always have and always will.

I see that we are what we eat - we are what we choose - what we buy - what we say. Just as there is a law of gravity, if I drop a book, it will fall to the ground and make a noise on certain floors, so too there is the law of consequences.


People do what they do in life - and when they make bad choices - the consequences can be harmful.


Much of what happens to us - health problems - this or that - is often what happens as the consequence of our decisions and actions. Sometimes when things go bad, people then blame God for what happened.

We become our habits. Our habits become us.

If they are good, we become better. If they are bad, we become worse. Good habits are called virtues; bad habits are called vices.

So does God micromanage? Does God rain on Cassandra’s parade and not rain on Charlie’s parade? I don’t know. I know if it’s raining, and there is a parade scheduled for that time and place, it’s going to rain on our parade.

There is an Earth Day thing today up near Target Center. It was cancelled last Sunday because of rain.  I was told, if it rains, it will be called off again. And there will be no third chance. I won’t pray for either. I do pray for rain, but I have to admit I don’t know how that works. That will be one of my questions for God, after I die, if God has a personal Q. and A. session.

CONCLUSION

So what do I know about how God manages people and things?

I know by faith that God sent his Son Jesus into our world and we have a choice to say “Yes” to him or “No” to him - that I be a wise builder - building my house on rock and not sand - asking Christ to be the cornerstone of my life. [1]

I know by reflection and luck and blessings and grace that I got that gift of faith from my mom and dad. They had it and I got it. And I thank those way back before them who made faith and life choices that came down as gifts to our family.

I know by reflection - especially on experiences - that God is fascinating.

I also know from experience that when I keep the Great Commandments - the consequences are inner peace.

I know from experience, that if we didn’t have freedom of choice, life would be rather boring. What makes life fascinating is that a human being can choose his or her life in the way he or she chooses to live it - as well as deal with what happens to us by nature or others actions. So if someone chooses to want to marry us - then what makes marriage so great is precisely that. And what kills us is when another stops choosing to love for whatever number of reasons.  I’ve seen divorces and I’ve seen disasters and I’ve seen classmates and friends leave the priesthood - as well as see people I know get divorced - and sometimes when I hear this kind of bad news, I want to run - and get on the road again.

So I don’t think God micromanages the choice to love - except to send his Son - the great lover. Amen. 




NOTES


[1] Matthew 7: 24-27; today's First Reading Acts 4: 11; today's Responsorial Psalm 118: 22.