We’re going to begin with a day focused on fraternity.

And how does fraternity begin?

By beginning. This morning, I’ll tell a short story, give three reasons I don’t like beginning relationships, and then a handy acronym to help in making introductions.

Let me tell you a brief story about my beginning of my baseball career. It wasn’t a long career- just four years of Little League.

It started when I was ten years old— old enough to walk home the mile and a half after practices and games. My mom dropped me off at the entrance of the park. She asked if I knew where I was going. And I said yes— the second field, up the hill.

I got to the bottom of the hill, and looked up. There were adults everywhere on the edge of the field— parents of the other kids, I suppose.

And then I hesitated. I didn’t know any of the other kids on my team, I didn’t know the coach, and they certainly didn’t know me.

So I paced at the foot of the hill, confused why I didn’t just go up and start.

Part of me wanted to just walk home and forget the whole thing. Part of me knew how bad at baseball I was; sure, I was one of the best players of backyard baseball in my family, but that was because I was the oldest player of backyard baseball…and I wasn’t even the best at that. Part of me just didn’t know what to say— I had a lisp, and I just didn’t want to be misunderstood.

For years, I would remember that story and think about the kid that I was, and how I hesitated.

Now I look back on the story and see not just the hesitation, but also what happened next.

I walked up the hill, asked where the coach was, told him my name, he told me I was late, and then sent me to do one of the drills. That was it. I made a mountain out of what was just a little hill. And then I moved on. I met new people, I introduced myself, and I got four years of baseball that I never would have gotten if I had given up and walked home.

So I’d like to talk a little about introductions.

We were made for relationships. Aristotle taught that we’re a social animal, a political animal, an animal that doesn’t make sense outside of a community. Genesis says that it isn’t good to be alone. Ultimately, we’re meant for a relationship with God. We’re made in His image, and at the heart of God is a series of relationships— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Maybe you’ve heard this before, that we’re made for relationships. And usually the next line is that we, as the human race, broke our relationship with God, and need a Savior. But maybe you haven’t heard what that means. It means that Jesus reaches out to us. He initiates. He introduces Himself to us.

The beginning of the catechism reads:

“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man.”

At every time and in every place, God draws close to man.

If you haven’t had a chance to greet Him, or if it’s been a while since you’ve talked with Him, maybe this morning will be a good time to say hello.

And if you have struck up a conversation with Him, this next part will be as easy as pie.

Because I’ve found three things that consistently hold me back from introducing myself to someone new. And all three of them disappear if I’ve been talking with God.

The first thing that trips me up from introducing myself to someone else is wondering if I’m worthwhile. Am I just going to waste their time? Is a relationship with me any good?

Well, if God wants a relationship with me, then whether anyone else does or not doesn’t really matter. Who am I to argue with God?

The second thing that trips me up from introducing myself to someone else is, pardon me for saying it, wondering if the other guy is worthwhile. Is he a waste of time? Is a relationship with him any good?

And here’s the kicker on that one— God is drawing close to the other guy too. He thinks each and every one of you is worthwhile. And again, who am I to argue with God?

And the third thing that trips me up from walking up to you and introducing myself? Fear of the unknown. Sure, the next guy I meet might become my best friend— but there’s about an equal chance that he’ll be my worst enemy. If nothing else, how could I possibly have time to develop a new relationship? Isn’t my calendar already full? Isn’t my heart already stretched enough? Don’t I know everyone I need to already?

And this fear, fear of the unknown, of the possibilities, of the future— this is dispelled when I remember that this God fellow, who draws close in every place, also will draw close at every time. Including the future. That’s the only part of the future I’ve been given. Everything else, I just need to climb the hill and see.

Maybe these three hesitations are ones you have felt. Maybe, God willing, you’ve left all of those behind a long time ago. And maybe they’re still hanging around.

I’d like to just point out that these three things— feeling worthless, doubting other people’s worth, and fear of something new—not only stop us from meeting new people, but also stop us from getting to really know the people we already know. How many of us have relationships that haven’t grown in years— maybe with our wives, our kids, our brothers, our friends? How many of us hold back from our relationship with God because of one of these three hesitations?

Maybe we’ll return to that later; for now, let’s focus on introducing ourselves to someone new. If it’s been a long time since you’ve done it, I’ve found a handy acronym to remind me of things to bring up when I meet someone new. The acronym is “INVITE” I-N-V-I-T-E.

I— Introduce yourself. Shake his hand, make eye contact, tell him your name.

N—Name. Learn his name. A trick I use is to use his name two or three times in the rest of the conversation.

V—Values. What is it he likes? What is important to him?

I—Interests. What does he do? What is his career, and what are his hobbies?

T—Tribes. What groups does he identify with? Is he a church-going fellow, a member of a club, a member of a large extended family?

E—End the conversation. I like to get the other guy’s phone number, and follow up with saying it would be great to see him again, or that we’d love to have him over—at the very least, affirm that it was good to meet him…

I-N-V-I-T-E. Introduce, name, values, interests, tribes, and end. The V-I-T categories can go really fast, or might end up occupying a lot of your time.

And obviously, you’re going to want to share a bit about your values, interests, and tribes, too.

But this morning we’re not just going to talk about introducing ourselves. We’re also going to field-test it. We’re going to pray a decade of the rosary, and after that, feel free to get more coffee and try introducing yourself to two or three new men. We’ll have about [20] minutes for that, and after that, we’ll ask you to circle up for small group discussion and debrief.

We’re about to pray a decade of the rosary. The point of the rosary is to meditate on the life of Jesus with Mary. This morning, let’s turn our attention to the joyful mystery of the Presentation. Simeon and Anna both get to meet the baby Jesus. Their joy at meeting the Christ-child is a model for the kind of joy we can have whenever we meet anyone. Let’s meditate on this moment together as we pray…