It's All In The Timing

Happy Friday, dear reader! Rejoice, for the Lord has seen to it that you have awakened and are here! 

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! 

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

Hope springs eternal

Good Monday morning to you, dear reader! This morning I bring you the joyousness of miracles! 

Throughout the Gospels we see the many acts that Jesus performs that shows the people He is the true Messiah. These acts can be interpreted to mean that those who believe in Jesus Christ will have eternal life. The healings are a symbol of how His love can renew a broken soul. He brings us hope in life everlasting. 

This is a very similar message from what we discussed yesterday, that when we take what Jesus is offering, when we profess our faith in Him, He gives us new life and that we should celebrate that newness! "The things of the past shall not be remembered, or come to mind" (Is 65:17, NAB). He is reminding us that our past will not be held against us. That we need to leave the past in the past and celebrate the fact that we are His new creation! 

I think that's why Spring is always so glorious! We have survived the dormancy and cold of a long, dark winter and now it is a time to be renewed! I know how excited I was when I saw the first shoots of tulips show up in our front yard just a few weeks ago. And even though we have had snow and cold since then, those early blooms hung in there. In a few more weeks we will, once again, have beautiful flowers that herald the newness of Spring. 

Our faith is much the same. The seeds are planted and nurtured through God's words. The more we care for these little seeds, the greater our faith will be. Even when we feel like we're stuck, when life seems hopeless, we still have those little green shoots of faith. It's just a little harder to see them. We need to pull the weeds of doubt and despair so that our belief will bloom like beautiful flowers!

Examine your spirit today. Are you still in the dormancy of winter? Have you maybe let doubt creep in? Let todays word water your spirit. Let prayer be the fertilizer. Let your belief grow! Rejoice in His goodness! Remember, in a few short weeks, we will celebrate the resurrection and new life of Jesus! 

As always, dear reader, be a nice human. 😇

Here is a truly inspiring video from Jeremy Camp.. "Jesus Saves": https://youtu.be/d-dDZtm8yjM

Annunciation of the Lord

Good Afternoon and Happy Friday!! Today we celebrate the news given to Mary that she would conceive a child, through a miraculous conception, a child who would be the Saviour of the world. It is also the second part of the Holy Trinity, where Jesus is the incarnation of God. This also fulfills the Old Testament prophecy, "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Is 7:14, NAB).  

Mary was speechless when the angel Gabriel told this to her. This humble young girl wondered why God would choose her. Once the news sank in, Mary made the conscious choice to serve her God, to carry this blessed Child. She proclaimed "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to Your word." (Lk 1:38, NAB) We can interpret her statement "according to Your word" as the will of God. Remember, "thy WILL be done". Not only is this to be done to her, but it will be what God orders. And her free will to accept this. 

Mary was a homemaker. She cooked, cleaned, cared for the animals. And Joseph, her "betrothed", was a carpenter. He went to work every day to provide for his family.

Yet, he was also chosen, however indirectly. When he had trouble believing how Mary could be pregnant if she were still a virgin, an angel came down and spoke to him as well, "Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us'." (Mt 1:23, NAB).

How many of us would do what God calls us to do without question? Actually, we do it daily. Think of it. Each day you get up you chose to follow Jesus, to do what He expects from us. Every prayer uttered, every mention of His name.. This is Him guiding you through your every day life, just like Mary. 

Let us always remember what Mary did. May we mimic her, serving our Lord with humility and grace just as Mary did. Be Blessed, dear reader. And as always.... be a nice human. 😇

Father Bill's reflection for today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQycZRRP1Lk

Some more information on the annunciation: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/annunciation-of-the-lord

Signs

Water. It's important. Something we need for survival. In the Bible, we see water as cleansing. It is used to baptise the believers, it is used to heal, to bless, to wash. Matter of fact, water is so important that it is mentioned in the Bible 722 times! In the story of the leper, he is told to bathe in the river Jordan seven times and he would be healed. Naaman got angry with this. He thought that God would come down and lay healing hands on him in order to be cured. He was expecting some sort of grand miracle. Instead, he is basically told to take a bath in dirty water. (At that time, the Jordan was a muddy river.) You'd think that was the last thing you should be doing!! 

Apparently Naaman's servants knew something he didn't. I guess Naaman figured he had nothing to lose if he tried this. At the very worst, he would still be a leper. So he did as Elisha had said. And voila! That did the trick! He was absolutely thrilled!! He then went back to Elisha and offered to give him gifts for this magnificent healing. But Elisha refused. He wasn't looking for anything other than helping this man as God had wanted.

When we pray for healing, don't we expect some great thing to happen like we see in the movies? Something that is an undeniable sign that God hears us? We always seem to be looking for the grand gesture, the big bright sign. We want tangible, unmistakable signs that God is moving in our lives. We tend to overlook the simple, the every day. There is a beautiful song by Laura Story called "Blessings" which reminds us that sometimes God's work shows up in ways we wouldn't expect. "What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know Your here? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in diguise?" Sometimes the best things are the simplest things. And that's what God wants us to understand. Don't look for the big answer. Don't look for glam and glitz. Remember this acronym, KISS-- Keep It Simple, Stupid! lol 

Today's Gospel reading involves our first reading. I've often found that in order to understand the New Testament, you need to understand the Old Testament. Much of what we see in the New Testament harkens back to the Old Testament. It's a reaffirmation of the coming of Jesus, the birth of a Savior. We are reassured that these things will happen and that they were preordained by God, delivered through prophets, signs and symbols. 

Our story opens with Jesus being back in His hometown of Nazareth. He attends  temple on the Sabbath day (Yes, Jesus was a Jew.) He spoke eloquently and the people were impressed. But when He told the story of Naaman the Syrian, this story really made the crowd angry. The people of Nazareth want a glorious sign that Jesus is, indeed, the Man who will save them. Why should the people outside of this city, outside of this country be the benefactors of Jesus's healing? Why are the lowest of the lowley being helped? Why include the poor? Do they think these people aren't worthy of what God is giving because they are looked down upon? 

All of this enrages those at the temple and they throw Jesus out and try to kill Him. This will be a common thread as we work our way through the New Testament. It is the foreshadowing of Jesus's eventual death upon the cross. He is constantly rejected, His life threatened. How could this Man, son of a carpenter, be the promised Savior? Why does he include the ones who aren't a part of "mainstream" society? Why doesn't Jesus perform grand miracles to prove who He is? Surely this Man must not be who He claims He is. We see this doubt throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. 

When we pray, don't look for immediate answers. Don't look for the bright neon billboard saying that God heard you and will be with you shortly. It doesn't work that way. It's all in the timing, God's timing and not our own. Keep plodding on, waiting, and praying. You'll eventually get your sign, it just may not be in the way you expected.

Today, look inward. What kind of signs are you hoping for? What are your expectations? Take that inner reflection to Jesus and ask Him to help you have patience, hope and faith. Ask Him to remind you that it's in the little things. Keep an open mind and an open heart. It will come to you eventually.

Be blessed dear friends. And, as always..... be a nice human.😇

"Blessings" by Laura Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xRNrnh__SE

Today's reflection from Father Bill Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fatr7Y_Rp4A