All of us had just received the power of God in the bread and wine of Eucharist and yet none of us seemed changed in the slightest. Heads bowed or faces raised, we were probably reciting the same list of requests we always have and expecting nothing out of the ordinary to happen. Ho hum - just received Jesus Christ into my body and oh, by the way, where are we going for dinner?
Why isn't the United States turned upside down after a quarter of its population touches the Divine each week? Why isn't the world different when more than 2 billion Christians take some sort of Communion each week?
I don't think the issue lies with God's willingness to usher in the Kingdom. I think we have lost an awareness of the magnitude of the power that we say we believe in: God lives within us! What's more, this God loves us - unconditionally - and will bring about His will if we let Him.
In the movie Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is trained by a spiritual master to use the power of The Force to raise his downed aircraft from the swamp. His efforts are half hearted and fruitless. To illustrate the power at Luke's disposal, Yoda calls upon the Force within himself to accomplish the feat. As the giant X wing fighter rises out of the muck covered with mud and plant life, Luke shakes his head in wonderment and says, "I don't believe it!" Yoda closes his eyes sadly and replies, "That is why you fail."
The ancient world was changed by a group of uneducated fisherman who "cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly" as Mary attests in the Magnificat.
What would happen if we really expected our God to make a difference?
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