We become more like Jesus only over time and only if we consistently respond with a generous “yes” to the grace he offers to us. Every person who has encountered Jesus Christ, experienced initial conversion, and chosen to follow him needs to encounter him again and again. Every day our minds and hearts need to be turned more fully toward the Lord, and we need to access the grace he desires to give us.
To do this, we need to encounter Jesus each day. We need to come face to face with the Lord, who always gives his disciples an invitation to come closer, to take the next step. Even if we have had powerful experiences of God in the past, it doesn’t mean that he is done with us. God always has more to give us.
Don’t get me wrong: This is not easy. It takes effort to believe that ongoing conversion is necessary and possible. It takes a whole lot of patience before we see much measurable progress. Still, entering upon a life of conversion is eminently worth it. There is nothing more satisfying than to be in full communion with the King of the universe!
One of the best ways to encounter Jesus and continue living out conversion every day is by reading, studying, and praying with Scripture, especially the Gospels. This is why Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has said that familiarity with Scripture will be the key to a new spiritual springtime in the Church and the world. Reading the words of Jesus and pondering the stories he told allows us to respond as the first disciples did, by turning our lives over to him.
In fact, the more we study the Gospels, the more we see that Jesus is constantly calling us to conversion, not just once, but again and again. In fact, his whole public ministry is one big invitation to conversion! Sometimes the invitation is obvious, as in the call of Matthew (Levi), the tax collector (Mt 9:9–13; Mk 2:13–17; Lk 5:27–32). At other times, we must read and ponder more deeply. Jesus tells his disciples that he teaches in parables so people might “hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them” (Mt 13:15; see also Mk 4:12).
Jesus calls each of his potential disciples to conversion, and that call is for us too. Yes, the scriptural stories of in-person encounters with Jesus happened some two thousand years ago, and they were deeply personal. But they are recorded in Scripture for a reason. Entering into these stories allows us to turn more fully toward the Lord and advance in the life of discipleship, inviting the Lord to convert our hearts.
This book is an extended invitation to engage in lectio divina (divine reading). In lectio divina, a person asks God to allow the Scripture passage to be opened more fully, deeply, and even personally. In these pages, we will approach several Gospel passages, asking God to allow us to see them with new eyes and hear them with new ears. We will consider several individuals and the encounters with Jesus that changed their lives. I hope that these pages will offer you an opportunity to encounter Jesus, whether for the first time or in a new way, and to continue on the way of conversion in your own life.
It is also my hope that this book will be used in small groups and Bible studies. The reality is that our ongoing conversion happens within strong Christian community. Jesus never intended for us to walk this road of conversion and Christianity by ourselves. Christian disciples keep each other on the straight and narrow (sometimes hard) path. This book, therefore, includes questions at the end of each chapter for deeper discussion and understanding.
All of this leads us to know what the Bible means when it says that “the word of God is living and active” (Heb 4:12). Being immersed in the living word of God, individually and in community, gives us inspiration to follow Jesus more closely every day. I hope that by engaging in this study you will experience deeper conversion and a new zeal for the Christian life. And I hope that you will find a greater ability to share your story, your ongoing encounter with Jesus, with others.
Questions for Deeper Understanding and Reflection
1. What is your understanding of conversion? How does it apply to your life today?
2. Do you agree that conversion is the hallmark of the Christian life? Why or why not?
3. Aside from those listed, can you think of other episodes in the Gospel that make a clear call to conversion?
4. Describe a time when you encountered Jesus in a real way that has transformed you.
Chapter 1
Beyond the Commandments
Prayerfully read Matthew 19:16–22
The commandments are the basic requirements for living in right relationship with God. Salvation history makes it clear that abiding by the commandments is the path to a good life. On the other hand, refusal or failure to keep the commandments has grave consequences for our life and relationship with God.
The Old Testament abounds with examples. When Israel begins to stray from God’s plan, the Lord sends prophets to call the nation back to him. And they do not merely proclaim obedience to the commandments. The prophets tell Israel, and us as well, about the Lord’s deepest desires for our lives. For example, the prophet Hosea speaks on God’s behalf: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6). God’s will for those in relationship with him goes far beyond the commandments. He wants to give us something more, something deeper, that leads to abundant life. He wants to give us himself.
The commandments are important, not for themselves, but because they free us to grow in right relationship with the Lord, every day. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that conversion for his disciples goes beyond merely keeping the commandments. A young man approaches Jesus, asking about the way to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Mt 19:16–17). The young man immediately replies, “Which?” Apparently, he thinks there might be a specific formula of commandment-keeping that will be more effective than others.
In answer, Jesus lists some, but not all, of the commandments, seemingly at random. Clearly, he is indicating that all the commandments together should be kept faithfully. There is no magic formula. From first to last, all the commandments are bound up together.
Like this young man, I used to think that I could work my way to right relationship with God. If I could just do a little more of this, or a little less of that, I could earn abundant life. While I knew what was good and right (thanks to my parents and church community), somewhere along the way I began to think I had to somehow provide it for myself. I forgot that grace always leads the way.
I have known a lot of others who have fallen into this trap as well. Too many well-intentioned Christians forget that God leads and we follow. For some reason, most (maybe all) of us want to be do-it-yourself saints. So we focus on the commandments and the precepts of the Church as ends in themselves. We end up thinking, “I haven’t committed adultery, and I gave my tithe to the parish, so I must be doing pretty well in the spiritual life.” But the commandments aren’t ends in themselves. They’re only meant to lead us to Jesus Christ, who sets us free to love and serve God wholeheartedly.
This is why I’ve chosen to begin this book with the cautionary tale of the rich young man. That young man didn’t think he needed to convert, because he kept the commandments well. How many of us think that same thing? Lots of people, even nonreligious people, fulfill the commandments. Coming to abundant life requires each of us to realize that Jesus is calling us deeper into a lifelong pilgrimage with him. This lifelong pilgrimage may include some difficulties, some getting beyond comfort zones. But it’s an invitation to something much more fulfilling. If we think differently about conversion, if we think that it leads us deeper into the reality of Jesus’ life, then our own life will be far more fulfilled than by merely keeping the commandments.
The young man in the Gospel replies, “All these I have observed.” Yet he clearly has some intuition that something is missing from his life. Keeping the law isn’t enough. So he asks,