Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
I have
considered the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to be busied
about. He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless
into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the
work which God has done. (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11)
Blessed
be the Lord, my Rock! (Psalms 144:1)
Once
when Jesus was praying in solitude and the disciples were with him, he asked
them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist;
others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ Then he
said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ
of God.” (Luke
9:18-20)
Piety
Lord, I beg
You for the peace and faith to accept Your timing. Help me to trust more and
stress less.
Study
Timing, as they say, is everything.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus directs the disciples not
to share what Peter has figured out: that Jesus is the Christ. It’s too soon;
the prophecies must yet be fulfilled.
We’re all familiar with the first reading from
Ecclesiastes: a time to be born, a time to die; a time to kill, a time to heal;
a time to mourn, a time to dance. But perhaps that familiarity prevents us from
listening to what comes next: the writer’s paean to God, confident that whether
we ever understand it or not, He has “made everything appropriate to its time.”
The rush of the fall and coming winter has already
begun. You’ll find Christmas displays peeking through the Halloween retail offerings,
and perhaps you’re already making your family’s Thanksgiving and New Year’s
plans. Is all that “appropriate to its time”?
Maybe. Maybe it’s not always bad to live at breakneck
speed. Maybe He has blessed some of us with so many ministry opportunities and
so much to do in His name that warp speed is the only way to serve Him. Can you
imagine Dorothy Day or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta or even Pope Francis
listening when people advise them to slow down? We are here but a little while,
and as the saying goes, we can sleep when we are dead, confident in the
knowledge we did all we could for the Lord while we were here.
Timing, as they say, is everything.
Action
The
Arlington Diocese tomorrow presents a terrific one-day seminar in Woodbridge
titled, “Risk Jesus ‘14.” Please prayerfully consider slowing down long enough
to attend. You’ll find more information on the Diocese Web site.
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