God wants us to realize his constant presence in our lives, his life-giving love for us, each and all, his steadfast mercy and grace, his awesome power and glory, and all the facets of his holy being. God wants us to realize who he is so that we may come to know him personally, intimately, so that we may “abide in his love” and that [our] joy may be complete.” (Jn.15:10,11) To facilitate our realization, God meets us where we are as we are to open the eyes of our hearts.

Our lessons today provide a variety of examples of how God may reveal himself to us. In the gospel, it was the word of God in the parable of the wicked tenants that caused the chief priests and Pharisees to realize the desperateness of their plight. For the psalmist, God used the majesty of creation as the vehicle for realization. For Paul, it was the encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus that enabled him to realize that God was not interested in zealousness for the law but in relationship. God’s theophany for the Israelites struggling through the wilderness came in “the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet the mountain smoking” so that they might realize God’s wondrous presence.

Through the centuries, the saints have shared their experiences of their realizations of God with us in their writings. In God’s “Showings” to Julian of Norwich, she realized the maternal aspects of God. John of the Cross realized God in the dark night of the soul. Francis of Assisi realized the presence of God in poverty. In Hildegard’s relationship with God, the nun from Bingen realized herself as a feather on the breath of God. Thomas Merton realized God’s image in each of us and our need to uncover it. Therese of Lisieux realized God’s being in her physical and spiritual desolation. In pondering the transforming silkworm, Teresa of Avila realized the soul in the hand of God. Augustine realized that our hearts are restless until we find rest in God. And on and on, unique realizations inspired in each and all, but all leading to a deeper relationship with God, drawing us ever closer as lover to the beloved.