For the past several months St. James has been using a program called Sycamore. The usual pattern for Catholics is to provide the catechism which has all the answers. Sycamore is designed so that those who attend can ask questions. In an age which calls itself “spiritual but not religious” the starting point has to be meeting those with a spiritual quest on their own terms. What is on your heart? It is only after hearing people’s hopes and dreams, doubts and confusion, hunger for more that the program steps in and says, Jesus is, in fact, what you are looking for. This model is the one Jesus used when he met the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Instead of telling them the answers, Jesus let them ask their questions. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” It was only after they talked about what was happening in them that Jesus described how God was working in the confusing events of life. As usual, Jesus gets it right!
