So, I started mowing, and when I was done in the front of the house, I looked around. Now, in this yard, we have these weeds … well, to make a long story short, they fan out and lay low, so the mower doesn’t really get them. And at the edge of the grass they spread out into the sidewalk space. For a long time I’ve ignored them, and so, as you might imagine, the sidewalk has been shrinking. Today, I decided, “That’s it. They’re going.” Today, I decided to claim back the sidewalk space.

Today, I did the edging.

I took the weedwhacker and trimmed all the edges of the sidewalks around the house. When you do the edging, you have to go slow - you know, a few wandering moves and you cut up the lawn. And it adds to the clock, too. It probably tripled my mowing time. But the yard - even with the crabgrass - looked beautiful when it was complete. I never knew we had so much sidewalk.

Anyway, when I was finishing cleaning up, my father opened the front door of the house, looked around, and said:

“A complete job.”

Then, for the first time in as long as I can remember, he made me lunch.

Why did God raise His Son up from the dead? Why did He seat Him at His right hand and give Him all that is His? Why does He serve His Son?

Because Jesus always did the edging. He always did a complete job.

“I have glorified you on the earth; I have finished the work which you gave me to do. And now glorify me, O Father, with yourself, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with you.” (Jn 17:4-5)

It’s easy to “mow the lawn” in life. It’s easy to do “good enough” and walk away. But if you want to be raised with Jesus, then that won’t cut it. You’ve got to do the “edging” in life, too. You’ve got to complete the job. It’s more work and more time - but the reward is worth it.

When you complete the job, your Father will serve you.

Well anyway, after the first round of testing, the results came in. The results were pretty much what I expected: some very good, a lot pretty good, some not too good, and two really bad. OK, I thought, no big surprises. But, those two students were failing really badly. So I kept my eye on them.

Now, after the first test, I was offering one-on-one help for the students. Some kids would come to me individually, and some in groups. But the ones who failed very badly never showed up. But I kept my eye on them.

A few quizzes went by. No show. Then, the next test came up. I offered more hours for help. Still, no show. They bombed that one, too.

That’s it, I said. They won’t come to me for help? I bet they think I’ve forgotten them. I bet they’ve given up. I am going to go get them.

I noticed that they had a study period together at the same time that I had a period off. So, I went to the study class, politely asked the teacher to dismiss them, and called them from the doorway, “Brian, Dave.” I waved them to come out to me. A little embarrassed, they picked up their bags and made their way to the door.

When they came out into the hallway, I said, “I know you two are struggling in algebra. Well, now we are going to do algebra. Tell me everything you’re struggling with - we are going to find a room to sit down in and do this.”

They got a private tutoring session from the teacher for almost an hour. So many little misunderstandings were unraveled. All the little kinks that turn into big errors and broken confidence were ironed out.

They couldn’t believe what had happened. They thought they were forgotten. The teacher actually came for them? Are you kidding? Their grades improved, and more, they knew me. Everything changed after that.

We all know the story of the repentant thief who was crucified with the Lord. Let me ask, what had the thief done with his life? How had he done on the tests of life? He had been a criminal. That means that he undoubtedly caused a lot of people pain and suffering. Now he was paying the price by being humiliated and tortured in front of the whole city of Jerusalem. That’s in front of family, friends, strangers, enemies - everyone. Talk about rock bottom. Talk about failure. You know what I think he felt like? Hopeless. Afraid to go near God. Forgotten by God. “Lord, remember me when you shall come into your kingdom.” (Lk 23:42)

You know what? The Lord remembered him from the very beginning, in His eternal begetting from the Father. He remembered him through His conception in Mary’s womb, through His baptism in the Jordan, through His prayer in the Garden of Olives. He remembered him through the hammering of the nails.

He never forgot him. He always had His eye on him. And now He had come to get him. At the very rock bottom, the thief had a private tutoring session with the Teacher of teachers, and everything changed after that. “And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to you, this day you shall be with me in paradise.” (Lk 23:43)

If you feel hopeless, afraid to approach God because of your failures in life, remember, you are never forgotten by Him. He never gives up on you. He always has His eye on you, and He will come for you, and when He does it will be a great day. You will have a private session with the Lord.

Everything changes after that.

We picked out a single kayak, a two-seater, and the staff held the kayak out for us to get in. My priest friend said, “Oh, go in front - you will have the view.” So, we hopped in and headed out.

Along the way, he would point out the views on either side, while I picked with the oar to keep the kayak from pulling u-turns. In all my years in the city, I had never seen it from that perspective. It was a whole different view. It was a unique view that I could never have had unless I got into the boat with my friend. We kayaked a total of 12 miles, almost to the ocean and back. I’d like to do it again.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.” (Mt 13:16-17)

When the Lord calls us to follow Him, it is to see familiar territory from a whole different view. He will put us in the boat with Him, and He will put us in the front seat. Why?

Because the view is ours.

Some friends of mine evangelize out in public. They have some big signs, even a speaker and a mike, and they set up in a spot in downtown Boston or Cambridge and hand out “tracts” and fliers. Most people think they are either zealous or nuts. Most are shocked to find out they are Catholic. But there are always people who they reach in a profound way.

I was out with them recently, talking with my friend Jim. Jim is almost 50 years old, and has been out on the street evangelizing like that for almost 20 years. In the middle of our conversation, a young man walked up to us, and asked a question about the big sign Jim was holding, about God. He was in his early 20’s, he looked messy, he had dark shades covering his eyes, and he was sarcastic and full of skepticism.

He questioned whether there was really a God. He questioned whether there really was death. “Woah, he is really lost,” I’m thinking. After we tried to answer his questions, he said, “I’m a vet. I’m also an alcoholic. In fact, I’m drunk right now.”

Just then, Jim said, “Before God got me, I was an alcoholic too, in the Navy. I used to drink so much that I couldn’t get up in the morning. I used to miss shifts, and I was always on the outs. Twice I was almost thrown out of the Navy. I know what it’s like.” And he went on like that for a few minutes, telling stories of his alcoholism in the Navy.

And then he said, “But don’t lose hope. Always have hope.”

The young man said to him, “You just gave me hope. I’m going to cry.”

He took a tract and a flier and walked away with tears in his eyes - and with hope.

Everything is redeemable with the Lord. When we give ourselves to Him, all of our “past” becomes useful, especially the sins and failures. In His hands, our sins and failures make us a witness.

“For you shall be his witness to all men, of those things which you have seen and heard.” (Acts 22:15)

A witness to hope.

A while ago, a priest friend of mine invited me to stay over in a rectory room whenever I needed a break from being with my parents full-time. About a month or so ago, I was quite ready to take him up on his offer. I showed up in the evening, and he set me up with a private room right next door to the little chapel. I got a really good night’s sleep.

The next morning, I woke up early and noticed the sound of running water. It just so happened that my room was next to the bathroom. I listened more closely: sure enough, a leaky toilet.

When I went down to breakfast, he mentioned the brand-new toilet, how they were having problems with it. It kept running, and a plumber was going to be coming later in the day. “OK,” I said. But of course, the engineer in me was not OK …

I went back to the bathroom and inspected the toilet mechanism. After a few minutes examining it, I looked at a little screw, and said to myself, “That’s it.”

I went back downstairs and said, “Father, if you have a screwdriver, I think I can fix the toilet problem.” He said, “I think I do.”

So we went to the bathroom with the screwdriver. “When the water level gets high enough, this screw should push down on the valve here and turn off the water flow. But it’s too short. I think it needs just one turn and it will be long enough.”

So I gave it one turn. Then the toilet was flushed. The problem was fixed, and the Water Commission and a plumber were out a few bucks.

All that water flowing, costing a lot of money. A plumber coming, also costing a lot of money and time. The problem wasn’t in the handle, or the large valve, or the big float. It was in the tiniest screw.

Now, on its own, that little screw is, well, just a little screw. But in that appliance, everything depended on that little screw. In that appliance, that little screw becomes huge.

“And I say to you: That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18)

You see, the Greek word for Peter here means “pebble”, and the Greek word for rock here means “huge rock”.

In God’s Kingdom, everything depends on that pebble. In God’s Kingdom, that pebble becomes a huge rock.

Are you a little pebble? I mean, are you unimportant, overlooked, not so influential in the world’s eyes, in the way television and newspapers determine? Maybe ill-suited, maybe a failure, maybe not so “talented” or “on track”? Well, if you are, then know that you are very important in God’s eyes. Know that His Kingdom depends on you. Know that in His Kingdom, you become a huge rock.

When the moment finally came to open it, she tore off the wrapping paper to find an ordinary cardboard box. When she opened the box, she found three bars of soap and another smaller box that I had leftover from a computer printer I had bought a while before. “Great,” she thought, “soap and a computer printer. I don’t own a computer or use one!” She kept her disappointment hidden, and showed as much gratitude as she could, “Wow. Thanks, Jerome.”

I encouraged her to open the box. When she did, she found three bottles of beauty cream and another smaller box. Now, she was beginning to get it. The gifts got better as she went along, until the final gift, which was a special expensive bracelet , a design and color I knew she’d love, from the famous store that she could never afford. She was so happy. I was so happy. Neither of us will ever forget it.

Here’s the question: what if she had stopped at the computer printer box? What if she said, “That’s it, Jerome, I waited all this time for a special sign of your love for me this Christmas, you build my expectations with a huge mysterious-looking box, and you get me a few bars of soap and a computer printer? You don’t know me, you don’t love me, and on top of that, you’re a cheapo! Take a hike!” She didn’t. She trusted me.

“And this will be a sign unto you, you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12)… See, most of the Israelites were expecting a great sign that God had promised them of His love for them, a great anticipated gift from Him: the Messiah and His everlasting Kingdom. “A newborn baby in an animal feeder in a cold cave? We waited a thousand years in captivity and wandering, for a powerless little baby born into poverty and squalor?!” They could have stopped there and said, “God, You don’t know us, You don’t love us, and on top of that, You’re a cheapo! Take a hike!” But the shepherds didn’t. They trusted God.

God has promised each one of us something unbelievably great. When it seems His gift is disappointing and painful, don’t stop, don’t walk away. Keep opening the boxes, and you’ll get a gift you never dreamed of. A treasure is waiting.

Now, I hadn’t been home for an early spring in a long time, and, well, I really had no idea what was already planted in this trim. All I saw was dead leaves, and a scraggly blueberry bush that looked like its better days had passed.

So, I began raking the dead leaves away, and all I saw was dark dirt. “Good dirt,” I thought. “I’ll think of something to plant.”

Well, I got to a patch of really wet leaves, and so I reached down to pull it up by hand. When my fingers dragged through the dirt, they struck something in the ground. “Huh,” I thought, “What’s that?”

It was a little green bud, a little shoot that had just barely pierced the surface of the dirt. I completely missed it with my eyes. “Wow. Something’s growing here.”

Then I began to feel around and look more closely. “There’s another one.” Then I kept looking, and I was amazed to find that these little guys were everywhere. Almost the whole trim was covered with them. “Well, the plant problem is taken care of.” I mulched the trim, and after a month, it was filled with beautiful green plants. God already had a plan. Nothing to worry about. See, I was so focused on the dead leaves, it never occurred to me that there could be something new growing there.

You know what, I think that when it comes to looking at the Church and at society, most of us are like me in my gardening. We are oblivious to the great things that God is doing. Why? Because we are focused on the problems.

We focus on the culture of death, and we are afraid. We focus on the dead leaves and we think there’s nothing but dead leaves. We focus on bad priests, bad Masses, church closings, wars, broken families and schools, sexual confusion, bad politics, bad media, a God-less culture. We focus on all the darkness, all the problems. We forget that those things are on their way out, they are dying. We forget that God does His greatest works when things are the darkest, that new buds come out from under dead leaves.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Is 43:18-19)

Let’s all forget the dead leaves. Let’s all embrace the new buds.

After some blood tests, she and I got to meet with the nurse practitioner who is handling most of my mother’s care with the doctor. She asked some questions about my mother’s symptoms. Still amazed, she remarked again about my mother’s “miraculous” recovery. She seemed so happy and upbeat.

At one point, my mother asked her a question: “Am I progressing along as I should be? How much activity should I be doing around the house?” I smiled and laughed to myself - I’m thinking, my mother doesn’t quite get it yet. But I let the NP fill her in.

“Well, we don’t have any more idea than you do. We don’t have any data for anyone in your situation. We’ve never had any patient drop as low as you have and recover as well as you have.”

Then she paused and said to my mother: “You are in terra incognita.”

“Did you hear what she said?” my mother asked me with a big smile of amazement, with tears and a hug after the NP stepped out for a minute. “She used the word ‘miraculous’. Wooow.”

When the Lord called the apostles, they left everything. Not just some things, but everything, their families and friends, their work and daily rhythm of life, all that their life was founded on. And they did it suddenly, not over the course of time. They couldn’t listen anymore to the experts, to the scribes, to the educated and wise, to the influential and popular opinions. They listened only to Him. What did they enter?

Terra incognita. “For we walk by faith, and not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7)

Let me ask you: How did they walk in terra incognita? How were they able to let go? How did they make it without terror and anxiety?

Because they were with the Lord. And they got to witness the greatest things that have ever happened: indescribable conversions of life, healings, people raised from the dead.

When you decide to follow the Lord, you enter into terra incognita - but go, don’t be afraid. You’ll get used to two words: “Miraculous.” “Wow.”

“And when he entered into the boat, his disciples followed him: And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but he was asleep. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus says to them: Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying: What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:23-27)

One night, she went out with a friend downtown Boston. Well, after a few drinks, as the night got late, some things happened and her friend took off and left her. Alone. Drunk. Without a car. At 2 a.m. Some friend.

She called me upset and crying from her cell phone. “Stay there,” I said in a hurry, “I’m coming.” You wouldn’t believe how fast I reached my car. I drove as fast as I could to the site, and when I found her, I quickly pulled over. I got out and gave her a big hug. She got into the car and we left. She was so relieved. I was so happy that she was in the car with me. I was so happy she was safe.

I took her back to my apartment and set her up with a little bed and she fell asleep. I was so happy that she had called me. I was so happy that she was safe with me.

Now, remember, I got woken up at 2 a.m. I could have been angry. I could have said, “That’s what you get for going out and drinking like that downtown.” I could have taken my time and complained the whole way. I could have sought a little payback. I could have sought an apology. But there was none of all this in me. Why?

Because I loved her. I was just happy that she was home, safe with me.

How often do we make a mistake and go off without the Lord in life in the wrong direction, following the popular way and finding ourselves lost, frustrated, left in the dark, surrounded by dangers?

If you do this, call Him quickly. He is quick to respond. He comes to you where you are, and picks you up to take you back with Him. He does not criticize, He does not get angry. He does not seek a formal apology, and He does not seek a payback. No, He rejoices.

“What man of you that has a hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after that which was lost, until he find it? And when he has found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing?” (Lk 15:4-5)

Why?

Because He loves you. He is just happy that you are home, safe with Him.