The first part of the reading from the book of Wisdom reminds us that life is fleeting, we are only here temporarily. Eleanor Roosevelt once said "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present". I think that sums it up pretty well! The other part is that the only sure thing that we can count on in life is that we will all eventually die. It is unavoidable.
The second part of the reading we see the foretelling of the coming of Christ. The book of Wisdom was written about 150-180 years BEFORE His birth! We also read of His persecution and death. We get the whole story before it even starts. This is why we need to understand the Old Testament before we get to the New Testament. When we finally do see the birth of Christ in the New Testament, we can truly appreciate how His whole life was preordained and that the promise of a Saviour has been fulfilled.
Moving on to our second reading, again from the book of John. We are slowing working our way up to Jesus's crucifixion. We see more and more the disbelief of some of the people regarding who Jesus really was. The people thought they would recognise who the "true Messiah" was because He would be someone that they wouldn't know, They were familiar with Jesus, as His reputation was spreading like wild fire. There was no way He could be the Messiah. Jesus tries to explain to them that, yes, they know of Him and where He comes from. But, He did not wind up here accidentally. God, His Father, the One they have never seen, was the One who sent Him. Of course, this further incensed the people. They wanted to throw Him in jail, but they didn't. For some reason, they knew the timing was just not right. 
Timing is everything in life. Arrive too early and things haven't started yet. Arrive too late
and you probably missed something important. God's timing is always perfect because He had already set things in motion. To us it may seem like forever, but with God, it's more like in the blink of an eye. In this way, God is teaching us patience. We have to hang in there to see how the story ends. We can't hurry things along. That would mess up God's plan for us. We need to realise that everything in our lives happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is. Even Jesus had His doubts at times. But He knew that His Father had a plan and He had to trust in that plan. And, like Jesus, we need to trust in the plan that He has made for us. We may not like waiting. We are impatient creatures. It is in those times that we need to seek out Jesus and ask Him to help us see the way clear. To follow what He wants for us. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. With Jesus, all things are possible!
and you probably missed something important. God's timing is always perfect because He had already set things in motion. To us it may seem like forever, but with God, it's more like in the blink of an eye. In this way, God is teaching us patience. We have to hang in there to see how the story ends. We can't hurry things along. That would mess up God's plan for us. We need to realise that everything in our lives happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is. Even Jesus had His doubts at times. But He knew that His Father had a plan and He had to trust in that plan. And, like Jesus, we need to trust in the plan that He has made for us. We may not like waiting. We are impatient creatures. It is in those times that we need to seek out Jesus and ask Him to help us see the way clear. To follow what He wants for us. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. With Jesus, all things are possible!
So, dear reader, just hang in there. Keep steady the course. You'll get to where you need to be. Just not in your time. Ask Jesus to give you peace in the waiting. And as I always remind you, be a nice human, because someone else is playing the waiting game too. 😇
Father Bill's reflection on today's readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=truwsDP_wvY
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