Some years ago, I was attending Mass when I found myself particularly struck by the celebrant’s homily. In it, he presented the central question for us to reflect upon: Where do we find God? 

I was hooked. How essential this question is to the spiritual life! Eventually, the congregation was given the answer: We find God here, in the church (that is, the building), in the eucharist, and indeed in all the sacraments. 

These are all places where we can certainly encounter God intimately and enter into the mystery of his presence and love for us. At the same time, I was disappointed - not by what was included in the priest’s answer but, rather, by what was left out in two important ways. First, while we encounter God in all of the above places, we also encounter God out in the world; notably, in one another as created and beloved sisters and brothers of his. As central as the sacraments are to our spiritual life (indeed, they are essential), Jesus sends all of us forth to love and serve one another as he does in his healing of the deaf man in today’s gospel. 

What I also found notably absent on the topic of finding God was how often the converse is actually the case. That is, it is God who finds us. Today’s gospel shows us this as it was Jesus who went out and found the deaf man. All twelve of Jesus’ apostles would attest to the same experience of being found by him. 

Our faith is one that calls us out of ourselves and calls us out into the world. The celebrant of that Mass those years ago was right - we do find God in the sacraments. But let us do justice to these amazing gifts Jesus instituted so we, too, might love as he loved and allow ourselves to be found by him.