I remember a time in my past when I sat with a friend, no drinking, just in-depth talking, discussing real life experiences with ghosts. The couple of stories we shared were frightening. We were not doing this to will a ghost to show up, nothing nefarious. We were two kids, 20, in the dark, his living room, it was late, and we were sharing. Today, looking back, reading the gospel, I think how did the disciples hold it together when Jesus appeared to them after they saw Him die.
Being terrified is a good thing once in a while. It gets the heart rate up and makes one extremely aware of their surroundings. Every sound is magnified and catalogued, every movement discernable to the eye is observed, we become hyper aware. Our senses are brought to life.
We know we are alive.
Does it make us more religious? Asked another way, does it bring us closer to God?
One of the Priests I have interviewed in my Priest Podcast had a great story about religion and being terrified. I will give you the spirit of the story. You can listen to it here.
Father David was in the Navy before he became a Priest. He always practiced his faith outwardly and those around him knew he was Catholic. He never outright preached in the Navy trying to convert others. His way is one of example. Not hiding but inviting. Very Pope Francis.
On occasion others would make fun of his faith. Mock may be too harsh of a word but the words were negative. I am certain many of us have encountered this same type of verbal passive aggressiveness.
There goes Peter, off to church, to save the rest of us. Services on Sunday David, are you kidding me I need to sleep off a great Friday and Saturday. If He is King of the Jews, let’s see Him save Himself from the cross. I am sure many of you have examples.
Point is, everyone knew Father David was Catholic and carried a rosary with him. One day on a mission he and his team were flying through bad weather. The military plane was probably not in danger of going down but was in enough turbulence to scare the men. One of the commanders, a nonbeliever, came up to him and asked him to take out his rosary and pray for them and a safe flight.
Father David of course did. This made an indelible mark on him as he knew this man did not believe. However, being scared brings out faith. Innately, even if one does not believe, when in the face of something unknown, we want to believe in God. A higher power.
There are many moments in life when we are scared. These are opportunities to bring us closer to God.
Going back to the disciples, Jesus was a ghost to them. Until he said “Peace be with you”, they were terrified.
Maybe ghosts are not such a “bad” thing. Maybe being “scared” is not such a bad thing. We are alive with experiences. Do not shy away from these. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Invite others. Faith is found all around us. These are opportunities to bring us to God.
To quote the Bible: You are a witness of these things.
Copyright 2016, Peter Serzo
Peter Serzo
Peter Serzo, observer, listener, author, speaker, and blogger. Visit him at Dotirome.com where he shares practical stories on being Catholic and listen to his popular Priest Podcast. The Priest Podcast is an environment where we have an enlightening conversation with those that lead (Not a theology conversation but a conversation on being a Priest/Leader/Human). Peter travels visiting different Catholic Churches satiating his curiosity and desire to spread each parish's uniqueness though his blog and presentations.
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